Current:Home > MyFormer Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio faces sentencing in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack-InfoLens
Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio faces sentencing in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack
View Date:2024-12-23 16:02:42
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio will be sentenced on Tuesday for a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to stop the transfer of presidential power after Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.
Tarrio will be the final Proud Boys leader convicted of seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack to receive his punishment. Three fellow Proud Boys found guilty by a Washington jury of the rarely used sedition charge were sentenced last week to prison terms ranging from 15 to 18 years.
The Justice Department wants the 39-year-old Tarrio to spend more than three decades in prison, describing him as the ringleader of a plot to use violence to shatter the cornerstone of American democracy and overturn the election victory by Joe Biden, a Democrat, over Trump, the Republican incumbent.
Tarrio wasn’t in Washington on Jan. 6 — he was arrested two days earlier in a separate case — but prosecutors say he helped put in motion and encourage the violence that stunned the world and interrupted Congress’ certification of Biden’s electoral victory.
“Tarrio has repeatedly and publicly indicated that he has no regrets about what he helped make happen on January 6,” prosecutors wrote in court documents.
Tarrio, of Miami, was supposed to be sentenced last week in Washington’s federal court, but his hearing was delayed because U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly got sick. Kelly, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, sentenced Tarrio’s co-defendants to lengthy prison terms — though far shorter than what prosecutors were seeking.
Ethan Nordean, who prosecutors said was the Proud Boys’ leader on the ground on Jan. 6, was sentenced to 18 years in prison, tying the record for the longest sentence in the attack. Prosecutors had asked for 27 years for Nordean, who was a Seattle-area Proud Boys chapter president.
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was found guilty of seditious conspiracy in a separate case, was sentenced in May to 18 years in prison. Prosecutors, who had sought 25 years for Rhodes, are appealing his sentence and the punishments of other members of his antigovernment militia group.
Lawyers for the Proud Boys deny that there was any plot to attack the Capitol or stop the transfer of presidential power.
“There is zero evidence to suggest Tarrio directed any participants to storm the U.S. Capitol building prior to or during the event,” his attorneys wrote in court papers. “Participating in a plan for the Proud Boys to protest on January 6 is not the same as directing others on the ground to storm the Capitol by any means necessary.”
Police arrested Tarrio in Washington on Jan. 4, 2021, on charges that he defaced a Black Lives Matter banner during an earlier rally in the nation’s capital, but law enforcement officials later said he was arrested in part over concerns about the potential for unrest during the certification. He complied with a judge’s order to leave the city after his arrest.
On Jan. 6, dozens of Proud Boys leaders, members and associates were among the first rioters to breach the Capitol. The mob’s assault overwhelmed police, forced lawmakers to flee the House and Senate floors and disrupted the joint session of Congress for certifying Biden’s victory.
The backbone of the government’s case was hundreds of messages exchanged by Proud Boys in the days leading up to Jan. 6. As Proud Boys swarmed the Capitol, Tarrio cheered them on from afar, writing on social media: “Do what must be done.” In a Proud Boys encrypted group chat later that day someone asked what they should do next. Tarrio responded: “Do it again.”
“Make no mistake,” Tarrio wrote in another message. “We did this.”
veryGood! (55793)
Related
- Can I take on 2 separate jobs in the same company? Ask HR
- Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh agrees to plead guilty to nearly two dozen federal crimes
- What will Federal Reserve do next? Any hint of future rate hikes will be key focus of latest meeting
- India asks citizens to be careful if traveling to Canada as rift escalates over Sikh leader’s death
- West Virginia expands education savings account program for military families
- Colts TE Kylen Granson celebrates first NFL touchdown with hilarious baby photoshoot
- Chicago Mayor Unveils Reforms to Fight Environmental Racism
- Apple's iOS 17 is changing the way you check your voicemail. Here's how it works.
- Don't Miss This Sweet Moment Between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's Dads at the Kansas City Chiefs Game
- Horoscopes Today, September 19, 2023
Ranking
- DWTS' Sasha Farber Claps Back at Diss From Jenn Tran's Ex Devin Strader
- Wonder where Hollywood's strikes are headed? Movies might offer a clue
- Second teenager arrested in video recorded hit-run crash of ex-California police chief in Las Vegas
- In break with the past, Met opera is devoting a third of its productions to recent work
- Tony Todd, star of 'Candyman,' 'Final Destination,' dies at 69
- Tornado kills 5 people in eastern China
- Lazio goalkeeper scores late to earn draw. Barca, Man City and PSG start Champions League with wins
- Dabo Swinney adds kicker from 'off the beach' to start for Clemson against Florida State
Recommendation
-
Nevada trial set for ‘Dances with Wolves’ actor in newly-revived sex abuse case
-
Overhaul of Ohio’s K-12 education system is unconstitutional, new lawsuit says
-
Will Lionel Messi play in Inter Miami's next match vs. Toronto FC? Here's the latest.
-
Former Colorado officer who put handcuffed woman in car hit by train avoids jail time
-
Tony Hinchcliffe refuses to apologize after calling Puerto Rico 'garbage' at Trump rally
-
Former Colorado officer who put handcuffed woman in car hit by train avoids jail time
-
A look at Canada’s relationship with India, by the numbers
-
'Hello, humans': Meet Aura, the Las Vegas Sphere's humanoid robots designed to help guests