Former Proud Boys Chairman Enrique Tarrio received a 22-year prison sentence for his involvement in seditious conspiracy and his leadership in an unsuccessful attempt to hinder the transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.
Enrique Tarrio, the former national chairman of the Proud Boys, has been handed a 22-year prison sentence for his involvement in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Among the six Proud Boys leaders charged with conspiring to obstruct the certification of the 2020 presidential election results in Congress, Tarrio has received the lengthiest prison term to date.
Initially, Tarrio’s sentencing hearing was delayed due to Judge Timothy Kelly’s illness. While prosecutors sought a 33-year sentence, Tarrio’s defense team pleaded with Judge Kelly for a maximum of 15 years.
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Notably, Tarrio’s fellow co-defendants in the Proud Boys seditious conspiracy case have received shorter prison sentences than what the government had originally requested.
Among the January 6 rioters, the Seattle Proud Boys chapter leader, Ethan Nordean, and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who faced a separate case, have received the lengthiest sentences to date, each serving 18 years. Nordean’s sentencing took place last Friday.
In May, Enrique Tarrio, Joseph Biggs, Nordean, and Zachary Rehl were all convicted of seditious conspiracy and other charges. A fifth defendant, Dominic Pezzola, was acquitted of that charge but found guilty of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and robbery involving government property.
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Just like Tarrio, prosecutors sought a 33-year prison term for Biggs, but Judge Kelly imposed a 17-year sentence.
Tarrio was also convicted of obstructing an official proceeding, conspiracy to prevent an officer from performing their duties, obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder, and destruction of government property valued over $1,000.
Notably, Enrique Tarrio was not physically present at the Capitol riot as he had been arrested days prior for setting fire to a Black Lives Matter banner stolen from Asbury United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C., and had been ordered to leave the city. Prosecutors assert that Tarrio directed his Proud Boys to attack the Capitol from a hotel outside of D.C.
Tarrio’s legal team has maintained that he had no communication with any organization members during the riot. They have instead highlighted Nordean and Biggs as the individuals responsible for orchestrating the events of that day.
Additionally, they emphasized that merely participating in the Proud Boys’ protest on January 6 should not be equated with instructing others on the ground to forcibly breach the Capitol through any means necessary.
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