Proud Boys member “Spaz,” who lit a cigar for a “Victory Smoke” after breaking into the Capitol while wearing a riot shield, is sentenced to 10 years in prison
- Proud boy Dominic Pezzola was sentenced to 10 years in prison
- He was the only one of the group not convicted of seditious conspiracy
The proud boy who used a police riot shield to break a window at the US Capitol, allowing the first wave of the MAGA mob to storm the building, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Dominic Pezzola, also known as “Spaz,” was convicted of a number of other charges, including assaulting or resisting a police officer, stealing a police shield, destroying government property and obstructing an official proceeding.
He was accused of leading the Proud Boys in the attack because he was one of the first rioters to enter the Capitol by breaking a window with a police shield, prosecutors said in a court filing that included social media posts were quoted.
Prosecutors said Pezzola broke a Capitol window, allowing rioters to storm the building on Jan. 6.
His sentence on Friday is the third handed down against right-wing extremists this week.
Her case is one of the most serious brought in the unprecedented attack of January 6, 2021.
Pezzola was the only one of the five Proud Boys who was not convicted of seditious conspiracy.
Video showed Dominic Pezzola breaking a window with a riot shield to enter the Capitol on January 6th
Pezzola (pictured) was one of the first rioters to enter the Capitol
A witness said Pezzola discussed assassinating Vice President Mike Pence
Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and three other members of the group were previously convicted of seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6 riots.
Pezzola, of Rochester, owns a business called D Pezzola Flooring.
Videos show Pezzola, a Marine Corps veteran, breaking windows with a riot shield and entering the capital.
“Victory smoke in the Capitol, boys.” This is fucking awesome. I knew we could take on this bastard [if we] “I just tried hard enough,” Pezzola said, according to a criminal complaint.
The witness also said that Pezzola “bragged about breaking the windows of the Capitol and entering the building.”
Court documents show Pezzola bragged about breaking the window
Prosecutors accuse Pezzola of destroying government property because he broke the window
Pezzola has now been sentenced to ten years in prison
A witness told the FBI that Pezzola talked about killing Vice President Mike Pence “if given the chance.”
Pezzola was also pictured wearing the Proud Boys logo at a December 12 MAGA rally in Washington, D.C., where four stabbings occurred.
The rioters who stormed the US Capitol were just 30 meters from the officer where Pence and his family were hiding.
It took 14 minutes to evacuate Pence from the Senate chamber after the MAGA mob first broke into the building, video footage showed.
Secret Service agents eventually managed to persuade the vice president to leave and rushed him and his family to an office before moving them to a second secure location.
Less than 60 seconds after Pence was taken to his hiding place, a violent crowd followed a Capitol officer up a flight of stairs – just 33 meters from the office but away from the meeting room where many lawmakers were still present.
Pezzola pictured himself marching in support of Trump in Washington, D.C. on December 12th.