Ex-Proud Boys leader sentenced to 22 years’ jail for role in US Capitol attack
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Enrique Tarrio (centre) was given the longest sentence so far handed down in connection with the Jan 6 riots.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - A former leader of the right-wing Proud Boys group was sentenced on Tuesday to 22 years in prison for his role in the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol
Enrique Tarrio, 39, was given the longest sentence handed down so far in connection with the Jan 6 riots, despite not being present at the US Capitol building that day.
Tarrio was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in planning the storming of the Capitol, when thousands of supporters of the Republican former president sought to stop Congress from certifying the results of an election that Trump falsely claimed had been tainted by widespread fraud.
Tarrio’s lawyers said his absence from Washington on Jan 6, the result of another judge’s earlier order, meant that he had no “direct influence” on the riot.
But in imposing the sentence, the judge said: “Mr Tarrio was the ultimate leader of that conspiracy. Mr Tarrio was the ultimate leader, the ultimate person who organised, who was motivated by revolutionary zeal.”
Prosecutors said Tarrio had remained in touch with the Proud Boys group and monitored their actions.
“He was on a tier of his own,” Assistant US Attorney Conor Mulroe said, adding Tarrio was a uniquely influential figure among the Proud Boys.
Prosecutors had asked US District Judge Timothy Kelly to sentence Tarrio to 33 years behind bars, saying he helped direct the attack from Baltimore.
Tarrio’s attorneys had asked for a substantially shorter sentence.
Judge Kelly last week sentenced another far-right Proud Boys leader, Ethan Nordean, to 18 years in prison, less than the 27 years prosecutors had sought. Oath Keepers militia founder Stewart Rhodes in May was also sentenced to 18 years.
In court on Tuesday, Tarrio said he was sorry for his actions. “I am extremely ashamed and disappointed,” he said about violence against law enforcement on that day, adding: “What happened on Jan 6 was a national embarrassment.”
More than 1,100 people have been arrested on charges related to the Capitol assault. At least 630 have pleaded guilty and at least 110 have been convicted at trial.
Five people, including a police officer, died during or shortly after the riot and more than 140 police officers were injured. The Capitol suffered millions of dollars in damage.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was tapped to investigate broader efforts to overturn the 2020 election, has charged Trump, the front runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, for trying to keep himself in power. REUTERS
