US Capitol Hill riot case: Prosecutors seek 33 years jail for ex-Proud Boys chairperson Henry Tarrio

American prosecutors on Thursday (August 17) asked a federal judge to sentence former Proud Boys chairperson Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and leader Joe Biggs to 33 years in prison and other top members of the extremist group to 20-30 years in jail after four of them were convicted of seditious conspiracy in the Capitol Hill riot 2021. According to a report by The Washington Post on Friday, the request was the longest punishment sought by the government in the Capitol siege so far.

Assistant Attorneys Jason McCullough and Conor Mulroe said, “The scope of the defendants’ conspiracy is vast. The defendants organized and directed a force of nearly 200 to attack the heart of our democracy.”

McCullough and Mulroe added the Proud Boys members intentionally positioned themselves at the vanguard of political violence in the US. The prosecutors urged US District Judge Timothy J. Kelly to hand down stiff sentences to deter others who would mobilise such violence in the future.

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Proud Boys members guilty of plotting to unleash political violence

In May this year, Tarrio, Biggs, Ethan Nordean, and Zachary Rehl were found guilty of plotting to unleash political violence to prevent Congress’s certification of legitimate electoral results.

The report said that Dominic Pezzola, a fifth co-defendant, was acquitted of seditious conspiracy, but found guilty like the others of obstructing Congress’s joint session. All these were convicted offences punishable by up to 20 years in prison,and prosecutors asked the court to stack sentences to exceed this total for Tarrio and his deputies.

Meanwhile, Tarrio's defence asked for a sentence without the terrorism enhancement (or less than 14 years). The defence said the government seemed to want to punish the former Proud Boys chairperson for going to trial while not seeking the enhancement against violent rioters who pleaded guilty. The defence also said that there was no evidence that Tarrio ordered anyone to enter the Capitol or commit violence.

“Tarrio was not even present at the scene in Washington DC; he did not direct his fellow members of Proud Boys or anyone else to assault people on the day in question or to destroy any government property,” attorney Nayib Hassan said.

Hassan asked the court to weigh Tarrio’s community and charity work and earlier cooperation with law enforcement.

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