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Proud boys’ leader jailed for 22 years in Capitol riots case
07-09-2023
WASHINGTON: A United States judge has sentenced Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys group, to 22 years in prison for his role in the US Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly’s sentence on Tuesday marks the longest prison term handed down to date in relation to the attack on the US legislature. In announcing his decision, Kelly called Tarrio “the ultimate leader” of the January 6 conspiracy.
“What happened that day damaged an important American custom that helps support the rule of law and the Constitution? That day broke our previously unbroken tradition of peacefully transferring power,” Kelly said.
Tarrio, who was not in Washington, DC during the storming of the Capitol building, was convicted in May of several charges, including seditious conspiracy, for his involvement in planning the events of January 6.
A mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the US legislature that day in an effort to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election that Trump lost to his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
Many were motivated by the false claim put forward by Trump and his allies that the vote had been “stolen” from the Republican leader.
“I am not a political zealot. Inflicting harm or changing the results of the election was not my goal,” Tarrio said ahead of his sentencing.
He asked the court for “mercy”, saying: “I ask you that you not take my 40s from me.”
Tarrio’s sentence comes after three fellow Proud Boys members, who also were found guilty of the rarely used seditious conspiracy charge this year, were sentenced last week to prison terms ranging from 15 to 18 years.
Another group member who was not convicted of seditious conspiracy was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland has promised to ensure accountability for the Capitol attack, telling reporters last year that investigations into what happened will go on “as long as it takes and whatever it takes for justice to be done”.
“Those involved must be held accountable. And there is no higher priority for us at the Department of Justice,” Garland said at the time.
Last month, the Justice Department reported that more than 1,106 defendants had been charged in nearly all 50 US states, as well as in the District of Columbia, in relation to the riot.
More than 600 people have pleaded guilty to a variety of federal charges while about 110 were found guilty at trial, the department said. (Int’l News Desk)
