google-site-verification: google6508e39c6ec03602.html Here are the longest Jan. 6 prison sentences handed down so far ~ The news

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Wednesday, 6 September 2023

Here are the longest Jan. 6 prison sentences handed down so far


Enrique Tarrio, the former top leader of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Tuesday, the latest in a series of hearings for members of the far-right group over their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Close to 1,100 people have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 riot so far, and more than 300 have been sentenced to periods of incarceration. More arrests continue to roll in more than 30 months after the attack.

Tarrio is the last to be sentenced among a group of Proud Boys who were convicted of seditious conspiracy in May, and his sentence is the longest of any Jan. 6 defendant so far. Here are the longest prison sentences rioters have received.

Enrique Tarrio: 22 years

Tarrio, former chair of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Tuesday for masterminding a seditious conspiracy aimed at keeping then-President Donald Trump in power. Tarrio has been in jail since his arrest in February 2022.

Prosecutors wanted Tarrio to be sentenced to 33 years in prison.

Tarrio wasn’t present at the Capitol on Jan. 6 because he had been ordered to stay away from Washington after being arrested and charged with setting fire to a Black Lives Matter banner. However, prosecutors say Tarrio continued to rally his men from afar, urging them to remain in the Capitol.

Tarrio was convicted in May.

Stewart Rhodes: 18 years

Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the far-right Oath Keepers, was sentenced last week to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy.

Prosecutors say Rhodes planned a weekslong effort to derail the transfer of power from Trump to Joe Biden, leading to the organization of dozens of allies to descend on Washington on Jan. 6. Rhodes was convicted in November.

Rhodes, a Yale Law graduate and military veteran, was the first of 14 Jan. 6 defendants, including nine Oath Keepers, to face sentencing after being convicted of seditious conspiracy.

Kelly Meggs, Florida chapter leader of the Oath Keepers, was sentenced alongside Rhodes to 12 years behind bars.

Joe Biggs: 17 years

Joe Biggs, a Florida leader of the Proud Boys on Jan. 6, was sentenced last week to 17 years in prison for conspiring to derail the peaceful transfer of power. Prosecutors had asked for a 33-year sentence.

Prosecutors say Biggs was a part of the driving force behind the violence on Jan. 6 by facilitating breaches at police lines and helping crowds advance into the Capitol.

Biggs is an Army veteran who sustained a head injury in Iraq and then was a correspondent for the conspiracy website InfoWars.

Zach Rehl: 15 years

Zach Rehl, another leader of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 15 years in prison alongside Biggs last week for conspiring to derail the peaceful transfer of power. Prosecutors had asked for a 30-year sentence for Rehl.

Rehl was seen on video spraying a chemical irritant at police officers outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 but lied about the assault when he testified. Rehl also led at least three other men into the Capitol and into a senator’s office to smoke and pose for photos.

Peter Schwartz: 14 years

Peter Schwartz of Pennsylvania was sentenced in May to just over 14 years in prison. Schwartz was found guilty in December on 10 charges, including four felony charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers while using a dangerous weapon.

A jury convicted Schwartz on assault and civil disorder charges for throwing a chair at officers and spraying them with pepper spray. Schwartz also has a prior criminal history of 38 felony convictions dating back to 1991.

Daniel “D.J.” Rodriguez: 12 years

Daniel “D.J.” Rodriguez, who drove a stun gun into a police officer’s neck on Jan. 6, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in June.

Former D.C. Police Officer Michael Fanone’s body camera showed the officer screaming in pain after Rodriguez shocked him with a stun gun, according to The Associated Press. Rodriguez also deployed a fire extinguisher at police officers and shoved a wooden pole at the police line.

As Rodriguez was led out of the courtroom after his sentencing, he yelled, “Trump won!”

Dominic Pezzola: 10 years

Dominic Pezzola, a New York Proud Boy, was sentenced to 10 years in prison last week for triggering the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol when he smashed a window with a stolen police riot shield.

Pezzola also filmed himself inside the Capitol smoking a cigar and celebrating the Capitol breach.

Pezzola, unlike other Proud Boy members, was a newcomer who didn’t write violent online messages leading up to the Jan. 6 attack, according to The Associated Press. However, the judge argued that Pezzola was still “the tip of the spear” in allowing rioters into the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Thomas Webster: 10 years

Thomas Webster, a retired New York City police officer who assaulted a D.C. officer on the front lines of the Capitol riot, was sentenced to 10 years in prison last week.

Webster was the first defendant to present a self-defense argument, though a jury rejected that claim because he tackled a D.C. officer and grabbed his gas mask. Webster has said he wishes he had never gone to Washington.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta described Webster’s assault on the officer as one of the most haunting and shocking images from Jan. 6.

Kelly Garrity contributed to this report.



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