WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday sentenced members of the far-right Proud Boys who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a failed attempt by supporters of then-President Donald Trump to prevent Congress from confirming Joe Biden’s election victory, to 10 years prison.
Dominic Pezzola did not play a leadership role in the group and was the only defendant of the five to be acquitted of the seditious conspiracy. He was convicted of other crimes, including obstructing official proceedings and assaulting the police.
“You personally played a significant role in the events of that day,” said US District Judge Timothy Kelly. “It’s a national disgrace, what happened.”
Kelly noted that Pezzola was a new member of the group and had been cleared of conspiracy to seditiously, but also took note of Pezzola’s actions.
A second sentencing hearing for defendant Ethan Nordean, a leader of the group who was convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes, will take place on Friday.
Kelly on Thursday ordered two other former Proud Boys leaders, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl, to serve 17 years and 15 years in prison, respectively.
Thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol following a speech in which the Republican falsely claimed that his defeat in the November 2020 election was the result of widespread fraud. Trump continues to make the false claims even as he leads the Republican race for the 2024 nomination to challenge Democratic President Biden.
Five people including a police officer died during or shortly after the riot and more than 140 police officers were injured. The Capitol suffered millions of dollars in damage.
The government has sought a 20-year prison sentence for Pezzola and 27 years for Nordean.
Although Pezzola was found not guilty of sedition, prosecutors said his attack on former Capitol Police Officer Mark Ode, in which he stole Ode’s riot shield and used it to break a window in the Capitol, helped to justify a long prison sentence.
“He was an enthusiastic foot soldier in the conspiracy,” Erik Kenerson, a prosecutor, told the judge on Friday.
Pezzola’s attorneys had asked for their client to be sentenced to about five years in prison, and in their sentencing memo they stated that he had served about three years in prison pending trial. Steven Metcalf, one of Pezzola’s attorneys, told the judge that Pezzola was caught in the “heat of the moment.”
“I stand before you with a heart full of remorse,” Pezzola said in an emotional speech before the judge, in which he apologized to Ode and directed somber comments to his wife and two daughters. “I shouldn’t have crossed the barrier at the Capitol that day.”
Nordean’s lawyer, Nick Smith, plans to ask for a lesser sentence in the range of 15-21 months.
“Nordean walks in and out of the Capitol like hundreds of Class B misdemeanors,” Smith wrote. “When the government distinguishes Nordean’s actions from those of any other January 6 defendant, it rests on characterization, not fact.”
More than 1,100 people have been arrested on charges related to the Capitol attack. Of those, more than 630 have pleaded guilty and at least 110 have been convicted at trial.
Former Proud Boys Chairman Enrique Tarrio will be sentenced on Sept. 5. The government asked for a 33-year prison sentence.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
