Enrique Tarrio, former chairman of the Proud Boys, was sentenced on Tuesday to 22 years in prison for his role in organizing the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an effort to stop the transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.
While more than 1,100 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol riot, Tarrio’s 22-year prison sentence is the longest a January 6 defendant has received.
Tarrio was convicted on seditious conspiracy and other charges earlier this year. While he wasn’t actually at the Capitol on January 6, prosecutors accused him of being the “primary organizer” of the conspiracy and described him as “a general rather than a soldier.” Prosecutors said in a court filing that he used his influence “to condone and promote violence.”
Judge Timothy Kelly said seditious conspiracy was a “serious offense,” in explaining the sentencing decision. He said Tarrio was the “ultimate leader of that conspiracy” and had been “motivated by revolutionary zeal.”
“An entire branch of government was brought to heel,” the judge said. “That was all brought about in part by the actions of the defendant and his co-conspirators.”
Tarrio began threatening a civil war in the wake of the 2020 presidential election across various social-media platforms and in message groups.
His co-defendants gathered with other members of the far-right group on January 6 and marched toward the Capitol where they forced their way into the building as Congress met to certify President Biden’s victory. Co-defendants Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl were all convicted of seditious conspiracy as well, while a fifth defendant, Dominic Pezzola, was acquitted on the most serious charge but was found guilty of using a stolen police riot shield to break a window at the Capitol.
Tarrio took ownership of the insurrection on social-media saying, “Make no mistake, we did this.”
“His not being present did serve some strategic purposes,” the judge said, “It did allow his lieutenants to rile up the crowd that day, and it did, from his perspective, insulate him…and distance himself from what in fact unfolded that day, and that is useful to someone as smart as Mr. Tarrio.”
“I don’t have any indication that he is remorseful for the actual things that he was convicted of,” Kelly said.
Tarrio spoke on his own behalf and pleaded for leniency during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday. He apologized to law enforcement and Washington, D.C., residents for the events of January 6.
“The citizens of D.C. deserve better,” Tarrio said. “What happened on January 6 was a national embarrassment.”
He explained that he was angry at the time because Trump lost the 2020 election and he kept hearing false allegations that the election was stolen.
“I am not a political zealot. Inflicting harm or changing the results of the election was not my goal,” he said. “Please show me mercy.”
Tarrio’s attorneys sought to separate his social-media comments from the Capitol riot.
“Did he say some things that he shouldn’t have? Did he celebrate?…Sure,” Tarrio’s defense attorney Sabino Jauregui said on Tuesday. “But he did not have any direct influence, any direct orders.”
Jauregui argued Tarrio had “no way to know” what would ultimately transpire on January 6.