For the Capitol incident on January 6!..US judge will sentence two more Proud Boys
D.C., September 1 – On January 6, 2021, members of the far-right Proud Boys invaded the U.S. Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent Congress from recognizing President Joe Biden’s victory. A federal judge will jail two more Proud Boys members on Friday.
Dominic Pezzola, the first Proud Boy to face sentencing on Friday morning, did not have a position of leadership within the organization and was the only one of the five defendants to be found not guilty of seditious conspiracy. He was found guilty of further offences, such as resisting law enforcement and assaulting them.
Ethan Nordean, the second defendant, was the group’s commander and was found guilty of seditious conspiracy and other offenses.
Following a speech in which the Republican erroneously asserted that his defeat in the November 2020 election was the product of massive fraud, thousands of Trump supporters invaded the Capitol. Even though he is in the lead in the Republican primary for the nomination to face Democrat Joe Biden in 2024, Trump has continued to make these fraudulent assertions.
Over 140 police officers were hurt, and five people, including a police officer, died during or immediately after the violence. The damage to the Capitol cost millions of dollars.
Pezzola and Nordean’s sentences come after U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly on Thursday sentenced Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl, two other former Proud Boys leaders, to 17 years and 15 years in prison, respectively.
Biggs’ punishment is just one year shorter than the 18-year sentence that Stewart Rhodes, the former founder of Oath Keepers, was given earlier this year.
Biggs and Rehl received sentences that were significantly less than the 33-year and 30-year punishments that federal prosecutors had requested.
Pezzola and Nordean are up for 20 and 27 years in prison, respectively, according to the government’s request.
Although Pezzola was found not guilty of sedition, the prosecution claimed that a significant jail term would be appropriate given the assault on former Capitol Police Officer Mark Ode during which he took Ode’s riot shield and used it to break a Capitol window.
Prosecutors stated in their brief on sentence that Pezzola’s actions and evidence “leave no doubt that he intended to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion.” On January 6, “he committed acts of terrorism.”
In their sentencing memo, Pezzola’s attorneys stated that their client has already served roughly three years in jail while awaiting trial and that they are seeking for a sentence of about five years in prison.
Nick Smith, Nordean’s counsel, intends to argue for a sentence between 15 and 21 months.
According to Smith, Nordean “walked in and out of the Capitol like hundreds of Class B miscreants.” When the government does separate Nordean’s activities from those of any other January 6 defendant, it does so through characterisation rather than actual evidence.
Over 1,100 people have been detained on suspicion of crimes related to the Capitol attack. Of those, over 630 have entered guilty pleas, and at least 110 have been found guilty after a jury trial.
Enrique Tarrio, a former chairman of the Proud Boys, will be jailed on September 5. A 33-year sentence is what the government is requesting.
