For championing the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, a former leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio has been slammed for a 22-year jail term.
According to reports, the judgment was the longest sentence handed down so far over the attack.
The attack happened when lawmakers were certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
39-year-old Tarrio, reports say, was not in Washington during the riot, but he helped organize the far-right group’s involvement.
A 33-year jail term for the riot was recommended by prosecutors. So far, over 1,100 people arrested and charged.
The rioters turned out in support of former president Donald Trump, who has continued to deny that he lost the 2020 election.
Trump has also promised to pardon most or all of the rioters if he is re-elected president in 2024.
Tarrio was convicted in May of seditious conspiracy, a Civil War-era charge, and multiple other counts. He has been in jail since his arrest last year.
In their sentencing recommendation, prosecutors described Tarrio as a “naturally charismatic leader” and “a savvy propagandist” who was the “primary organiser” of the conspiracy he and his co-defendants were convicted of.
They also said he condoned and promoted violence from others. “He was a general rather than a soldier,” prosecutors wrote.
They argued he helped rally members of the far-right group to come to Washington DC and, while he was not in the city at the time, prosecutors said he monitored their movements and encouraged them as the attack unfolded.
As Trump supporters laid siege to the congressional complex, Tarrio posted online that he was “enjoying the show”.
“Do what must be done,” he wrote, urging on the rioters.
US District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump nominee who presided over the sentencing hearing, concluded that Tarrio began planning an attack on the Capitol in December 2020 and instituted a rigid command structure.
“Tarrio was the ultimate leader, the ultimate person who organised, who was motivated by revolutionary zeal,” Judge Kelly said. “I don’t have any indication that he is remorseful for the actual things that he was convicted of.”
Before he learned his fate on Tuesday, an emotional Tarrio apologised to police and residents of Washington DC for his role in the riot. “I am extremely ashamed and disappointed that they were caused grief and suffering,” he said. “I will have to live with that shame for the rest of my life.”
Tarrio, who wore an orange jail uniform, added: “I was my own worst enemy. My hubris convinced me that I was a victim and targeted unfairly.”
Acknowledging that Trump had lost the November 2020 presidential election, Tarrio said: “I am not a political zealot. I didn’t think it was even possible to change the results of the election.
“Please show me mercy,” Tarrio asked the judge. “I ask you that you not take my 40s from me.”
Tarrio was the national chairman of the Proud Boys. Founded in New York City in 2016, members of the far-right group have described themselves as an all-male drinking club.
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