Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the neo-Nazi Proud Boys group, pleaded for mercy. "I'm 39 years old, give me another chance," he pleaded with Judge Timothy Kelly. "I'm sorry for what happened and I apologize to the police," he insisted.
Despite lowering the 33-year petition requested by the prosecution (“too long a sentence,” he said), the judge imposed 22 years in prison for leading the failed plan on January 6, 2021 to prevent the peaceful transition of the presidency. in the US and take away Joe Biden's right to access the White House.
It is the harshest penalty of those handed down for this attempted coup. Judge Kelly, appointed by the former president, pointed out that he did not observe remorse in the prisoner, who after the assault on the citadel of democracy continued to boast of the crime and justify it with the great lie of Trump's victory.
Tarrio was not there that day, but he did conspire to have others do the work. He did not attend because he was arrested days before for burning a Black Lives Matter movement banner next to a Washington church and carrying a high-capacity rifle, which led a judge to force him to leave the federal capital.
His punishment follows the 18-year sentence imposed in May on Stewart Rhodes, head of the fascist Oath Keepers militia, Tarrio is the fifth Proud Boys to receive a harsh sentence. On Friday, Ethan Nordean was sentenced to 18 years and Dominic Pezzola was sentenced to 10 years, the only one of the five not convicted of sedition. Previously, Joe Biggs, Tarrio's lieutenant, received a 17-year sentence, while Zachary Rehl, the gang's former Philadelphia boss, received 15 years.
The assault on the Capitol left five dead, including a police officer who suffered a heart attack hours after the event, and 140 agents were attacked. In addition, four police officers subsequently committed suicide. More than 1,100 people have faced charges related to the riots and 600 have already been sentenced. Donald Trump is charged in Washington for trying to subvert the 2020 electoral result: the trial will be in March, in full primaries for the presidential elections next year.
