Two Proud Boys members and one of its leaders have been sentenced to prison over their alleged involvement in the unprecedented Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riot.
One of the leaders of the far-right extremist group, Ethan Nordean, was sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment after officials found him guilty of seditious conspiracy. The nearly two-decade sentence ties for the longest sentence so far in the Jan. 6 prosecutions, given to Oath Keepers' Stewart Rhodes.
Proud Boys Members, Leaders Sentenced to Prison
In a statement during sentencing, US District Judge Timothy Kelly told the defendant that it was a tragedy how the latter "got from A to B." In a release, the Justice Department said that Nordean and a Proud Boys member, Dominic Pezzola, participated in every consequential breach at the Capitol.
The two were allegedly among those who led a group of Proud Boys onto the Capitol grounds, which resulted in the dismantling of barricades, breaching of the Capitol building, assaulting of police officers, and destruction of property, as per CBS News.
On Friday, while in court, Nordean apologized for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, noting that "people were seriously hurt and some people lost their lives." However, he also maintained that he had the safety of other people in mind during the insurrection.
Nordean added that he had to face the sobering truth of the matter, which was that he became a leader at the time of the riot. He said he came to keep people out of trouble and other people safe.
Additionally, the defendant's wife and sister were both in court during the hearing and cried. Jordan's wife, Cory Dryden, said they all miss him, and his daughter misses him the most.
Seditious Conspiracy Charges
Two others were sentenced to more than a decade in prison, former Proud Boys Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl leaders. The length of the sentences were 17 years and 15 years, respectively, and are considered the second and third longest handed down amid the crackdown on Jan. 6 rioters, according to the Associated Press.
Biggs and Rehl were the first Proud Boys to be sentenced by Judge Kelly. The far-right extremist group's national chairman and top leader, Enrique Tarrio, is set to be sentenced on Tuesday, which comes after a delay because the judge was sick.
While Tarrio was not in Washington on the day of the Capitol Hill riot, he was arrested two days prior on charges that he defaced a Black Lives Matter banner at a rally in the capital. After his arrest, he also complied with a judge's order to leave the city.
Prosecutors said that 38-year-old US Army veteran Biggs was an instigator of the storming of Congress. He pleaded in court for leniency and expressed remorse for his actions. On the other hand, Rehl, who is a former U.S. Marine and leader of the Philadelphia branch of the group, was seen spraying a chemical irritant at police officers outside of the Capitol during the riot, said BBC.
