Enrique Tarrio was the leader of the Proud Boys, the group of Donald Trump loyalists who were among the first to storm Congress on January 6, 2021. After being convicted in May of “seditious conspiracy,” Judge Timothy Kelly handed down a sentence of 22 years in prison on Tuesday in Washington. It is the most severe sentence among the 500 prison or house arrest sentences for that day’s events.
For the judge, he is “the leader of the conspiracy.” With that, Tarrio explained to Corriere a famous line from Trump that was directed at the Proud Boys during a presidential debate: “Standing down means relaxing and waiting until after the elections.” Stand by: Stay by my side. And we’ve done that from day one.” It was December 2020, Tarrio tore a Black Lives Matter flag from a church during a march and set it on fire, and for that he was banned from Washington; He watched the attack on Congress from Baltimore but encouraged his comrades via text message and social media.
On Tuesday, the 39-year-old defendant, with a shaved head, a long black beard and an orange prison jumpsuit, expressed remorse for the attack on Congress (“A national disgrace”), acknowledged Trump’s defeat in 2020 and claimed he had it as early as December doubted, he apologized, said he had changed. His mother and sister tearfully pleaded with the judge not to sentence him to 33 years in prison, as the prosecution had requested, because the judge recognized the aggravating circumstance of an “act of terrorism.”
The defense had asked for a prison sentence of 15 years, less than the sentences of two leaders who were present during the attack: Stewart Rhodes of the Oath Keepers militia and Ethan Nordean, who led the Proud Boys in Tarrio’s absence. The defense defined the latter as a “keyboard ninja” and denied that he planned the attack or ever had any real control over the group. But Judge Kelly, a Trump appointee, said Tarrio’s absence did not excuse him at all, suggesting he may have thought he was creating an alibi while remotely urging his surrogates to attack “the American Democratic people.” Tradition” incited. ” Last Friday, Dominic Pezzola, a member of the Proud Boys who was the first to storm Congress with a police shield, raised his fist after his ten-year prison sentence and announced: “Trump won.” Tarrio, on the other hand, criticized the former president, who also threw him in the white House accused of urging his supporters to fight against the “stolen elections,” but this could not be proven in court.