new York -Henry “Enrique” TarrioLeader of the far-right Proud Boys militia, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection donald trump stormed the US Congress to prevent the certification of victory Joe Biden to the presidential elections.
The harshest punishment for the attack on the Capitol
It is the harshest punishment among the hundreds that have been imposed on participants in the revolt so far. So far, more than a thousand people have been charged. TarrioThe 39-year-old was found guilty of a number of offenses including sexual harassment planned the uprisingin the trial, which lasted fifteen weeks and ended with the verdict in May.
Under the American system, the amount of the penalty is determined at a second hearing. That day has come today and follows the severe sentences imposed on other members of the militia, with sentences ranging from ten to seventeen years and a penalty of Stewart RhodesLeader of another far-right militia, the Oath Keepers, sentenced to eighteen years in prison.
Tarrio’s threatening messages are intended to lead the revolt
Unlike the others, Tarrio was not in Washington on the day of the insurrection. A few weeks earlier, in December 2020, he was arrested in the American capital for burning a flag Black lives matter, during a protest against Trump’s defeat. Tarrio, who lived in Miami, Florida, was expelled from Washington and banned from returning. But federal prosecutors and then the judge in Washington found that Tarrio, as a “charismatic leader” and “skilled propagandist,” had nonetheless played a leading role in the insurrection.
(afp)
Among the phone messages seized by the FBI and cited in the verdict were some in which the Proud Boys leader ordered the militia members in threatening tones, “Don’t try to walk away” on January 6th and gave up the uprising. In other messages, Tarrio had emphasized the value of revolt. He asked one of them
his lieutenants in a Telegram message: “Whatever the outcome…make it a spectacle“. “The soldiers of the right tried to keep their leader in power. They failed. They’re not heroes, they’re criminalsprosecutors wrote in a brief filed with the court in August. Among these soldiers, Tarrio was the frontrunner: his far-right group, which promotes violence and espouses anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim and misogynistic views, for the civil rights organization the Southern Poverty Law Center is a hate movement.
Repentance before judgment
Last week, the same judge, Timothy Kelly, sentenced the group’s other leaders, Joseph Biggs and Ethan Nordean, to 17 years in prison; Zachary Rehl at 15 and Dominic Pezzola at 10. The group was beheaded. The entire leadership of the National Socialist, anti-Semitic, anti-gay and racist organization will spend years behind bars. Before the verdict, Tarrio, like all his companions, showed that he regretted what he had done. “At first,” he admitted, “I had doubts as to whether the elections had actually been rigged, but then all means became legitimate to express my disappointment.” “But this protest was not legitimate – he added – what “What happened that day is unacceptable.” Tarrio also apologized to the police officers who were attacked during the riot. “I’m condemned,” he admitted Live with this shame your whole life“.