Proud Boys leader Tarrio sentenced to 22 years in prison for attacking the US Capitol

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“That day broke our tradition of the peaceful transfer of powers that were previously intact,” Judge Timothy Kelly said at the nearly four-hour sentencing hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Sentenced Enrique Tarrio to 22 years in prison. This is the highest sentence ever given in connection with the attack on the Capitol.

On January 6, 2021, approximately 200 members of the Proud Boys were involved in the violent attack on the US Capitol by radical supporters of the overthrow of President Donald Trump. The attackers wanted to prevent Congress from finally confirming the victory of Democrat Joe Biden that day in the November 2020 presidential election.

Tarrio, 39, and four other members of the Proud Boys were convicted in May of “provocative conspiracy”. The other four received prison sentences ranging from 10 to 18 years last week. By that time, Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, another right-wing militia involved in the US Capitol raid, had been sentenced to a maximum of 18 years in prison.

33 arrests demanded

The prosecution had sought a 33-year prison sentence for Tarrio. Despite not being in Washington on January 6, 2021, he is accused by members of the Proud Boys of directing the attack on the Capitol. Judge Kelly justified the high sentence imposed on Tarrio, saying he was “the chief leader of the conspiracy”.

The judge was not impressed by the remorse expressed by the accused in the courtroom. Tarrio, in a somewhat tearful voice, described January 6, 2021 as a “terrible day” and pleaded with the judge for mercy.

Prosecutors said Tarrio had done “much more harm than he could have done as an individual agitator” even though he was not personally in Washington on January 6, 2021. They said that Tarrio acted “more like a general than a soldier.” “The only reason Tarrio didn’t walk with the others was because he was arrested on arrival in Washington DC.”

BLM burned its flag

Tarrio was arrested for burning the Black Lives Matter flag two days before the Capitol storm. The supporter of then-President Donald Trump was initially released on the condition that he stay away from Washington.

After the 2020 presidential election, Trump refused to admit his defeat to Biden and made multiple denied allegations of voter fraud. At noon on January 6, 2021, the Republican urged his supporters to march to the Capitol and “fight hell or hell”. The attack on the Capitol, which resulted in the deaths of five people, caused worldwide horror and was considered a black day in the history of US democracy.

Trump was indicted by the federal judiciary in early August for attempts to retroactively reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election to stay in power. He will appear in court in March on election conspiracy charges. In another lawsuit filed against Trump and 18 other defendants for alleged election interference in the state of Georgia, a date has not yet been set for the start of the trial.

(AFP)

Source :Blick