Sentencing of Enrique Tarrio caps one of the most significant prosecutions in the investigation into the January 6 attack
The former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Tuesday for his part in the failed plot to keep Donald Trump in power after the 2020 election.
Prosecutors sought a 33-year-term. The judge did not agree but nonetheless handed down the longest sentence yet in a case relating to 2020 and the January 6 Capitol attack. The longest sentence previously handed down in such cases was 18 years, to both Ethan Nordean, a member of the Proud Boys, and Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers militia.
Tarrio was a top target in one of the most important cases prosecuted by the US justice department over the deadly attack on Congress on 6 January 2021.
In May, he and three lieutenants were convicted of charges including seditious conspiracy, a civil war-era offense previously rarely brought but now levied against members of far-right groups which took part in the January 6 attack.
In remarks to the court in Washington, Tarrio said he was sorry for the events of January 6, and credited police officers for their bravery in resisting the attack.
“What happened on January 6 was a national embarrassment,” Tarrio said, adding that he both now knew Trump lost to Joe Biden and blamed himself for actions that led to losing his freedom.
Becoming emotional, Tarrio said: “I do not think what happened that day was acceptable.
