DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus January 6th Fallout part 7

High school student who sat in Pence’s chair during Capitol riot is sentenced to 1 year in prison

WASHINGTON (AP) — A high school student who stormed the U.S. Capitol, assaulted a police officer and sat in a Senate floor chair reserved for the vice president was sentenced on Wednesday to one year in prison.

Georgia resident Bruno Joseph Cua was 18 when he attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, making him one of the youngest people charged in the riot.

Before learning his sentence, Cua apologized for his actions and told U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss that he is ashamed of his role in a mob’s “attack on democracy.”

“Everything that day was just one terrible decision after another,” said Cua, now 21.

Moss sentenced Cua to a prison term of one year and one day followed by three years of supervised release. The judge convicted Cua of felony charges after a trial earlier this year.

Moss told Cua that he was prepared to give him a longer prison sentence before he heard his statement in court on Wednesday. The judge said he believes Cua is truly remorseful.

“It’s a tragic case for the country. It’s a tragic case for you and your family,” the judge told him. “There are no winners in any of this.”

More than 1,000 people have been charged with Jan. 6-related crimes. Cua is one of at least six Capitol riot defendants born in 2002, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia.

Cua’s attorneys cited his youth as grounds for leniency. His actions on Jan. 6 “reflect his immaturity at the time and the effects that the crowd had on such a young person,” defense attorneys wrote in a court filing.

Around the time of the riot, Cua was finishing online coursework to graduate from high school. Prosecutors said Cua’s age is “only slightly” a mitigating factor in his favor.

“Americans who reach the age of 18 are entrusted with several important responsibilities and duties including voting, joining the military, signing a contract, and serving on a jury. In this way, the law recognizes that an 18-year-old is capable of making mature decisions,” they wrote in a court filing.

Justice Department prosecutor Kaitlin Klamann said at least five Capitol riot defendants were younger than Cua on Jan. 6. Two of the five have resolved their cases and avoided prison terms. Both pleaded guilty to misdemeanor offenses and were sentenced to probation.

Cua planned his attack weeks in advance, brought weapons to the Capitol, tried to terrorize congressional staffers and was repeatedly aggressive toward police, prosecutors said.

They added, “Cua played a unique and prominent role on January 6, opening the Senate Chamber to the rioters, escalating confrontations, and leading other rioters into and through the Capitol.”

Prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of four years and nine months for Cua. His lawyers asked the judge to sentence him to time served: the 40 days he spent in jail after his February 2021 arrest.

Cua said he was “scarred to my core” by his jail time. Another inmate assaulted Cua while he was jailed in Oklahoma, according to one of his lawyers.

“I did something stupid to land myself there, but it was traumatizing,” Cua said.

Other young rioters have received prison terms. In March, for example, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton sentenced Aiden Bilyard to three years and four months of incarceration. Bilyard, of Cary, North Carolina, also was 18 when he stormed the Capitol, pepper sprayed a line of police officers and used a bat to break into a Capitol conference room.

Cua and his parents drove from their home in Milton, Georgia, to Washington D.C., arriving a day before then-President Donald Trump spoke at his “Stop the Steal” rally. The Trump supporters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 disrupted the joint session of Congress for certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.

Cua was armed with pepper spray and a metal baton — weapons given to him by his father — when rioters breached police lines on the west side of the Capitol, according to prosecutors. After climbing scaffolding, Cua entered the building through the Upper West Terrace doors and and walked down a hallway toward the Senate.

“As Cua walked down the hallway, he tried to open every single office door he passed by pulling on doorknobs, pounding on the doors with his fist, and kicking the doors,” prosecutors wrote.

They said Cua intended to intimidate staffers who were behind the doors as he yelled, “Hey! Where are the swamp rats hiding?”

Cua went to the third floor, where he shoved a Capitol police officer who was trying to lock doors to the Senate gallery. After the officer retreated, Cua entered the gallery, shouting “This is our house! This is our country!” Jumping onto the Senate floor, he sat in the chair for then-Vice President Mike Pence, leaned back and propped his feet up on a desk.

Then he opened a door, allowing dozens of other rioters onto the Senate floor. Before leaving, Cua rifled through desks belonging to Senators Charles Grassley, John Thune and Dianne Feinstein.

Moss decided the case against Cua without a jury in February, convicting him of obstructing the Jan. 6 congressional proceeding and assaulting a federal officer. The judge handed down the verdict after a “stipulated bench trial,” a proceeding in which Cua didn’t contest the facts supporting his convictions. He waived his right to a jury trial.

Prosecutors asked Moss to impose a $23,485 fine, which equals the amount of money raised by an online fundraising campaign called “Bruno Cua: An American’s Future at Stake.” The website said the funds will be used for Cua’s “many expenses in his pursuit of his freedom.”

https://apnews.com/article/bruno-cu...8x3Jxzd_S42YO-J4w_OiI95v74f6QJ0Ko5ri4cfE

Former GOP gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley pleads guilty to Jan. 6 crime

Kelley ran for governor in Michigan last year but lost in the Republican primary.

WASHINGTON — Former Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley pleaded guilty to a federal crime on Thursday in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Kelley pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of entering and remaining on restricted grounds, admitting that he "rushed past U.S. Capitol police officers and started climbing the northwest scaffolding" and then "climbed onto an architectural feature next to the North West stairs and began gesturing to the crowd below by waving his hand towards the stairs leading up to the U.S. Capitol building." He also "used his hands to support another rioter who was pulling a metal bike rack onto the scaffolding," a plea agreement document said.

Kelley ran for governor in Michigan in 2022 as a Republican, He was arrested last June, before the Republican primary, and was, for a time, leading in the polls. Kelley ultimately lost the primary to Republican Tudor Dixon, who lost the general election to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat.

Judge Christopher R. Cooper accepted Kelley's plea deal and set his sentencing for Oct. 17 at 2 p.m.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ju...S7tLRwG229-R-vwpxkYexFH5u9WlU3sWShzM2JFY

FBI arrests vet who used cane to break into Capitol after arriving on mobility scooter

William Bierbrodt allegedly smashed a window open with his cane and helped let the pro-Trump mob inside. His brother, a fellow military veteran, is accused of assaulting an officer.

WASHINGTON — Two brothers, both military veterans, were arrested by the FBI this week and charged with federal felonies after online sleuths identified them as rioters who had broken into the Capitol and squared off with police during the Jan. 6 attack.

The Justice Department alleges that one of the brothers, William Bierbrodt, is the man who had been dubbed #CrowbarBeardGuy because he used what looked like a crowbar to smash a window and break open a door near the Senate parliamentarian's office. Online investigators later realized he had used a cane.

Video from Jan. 6, 2021, appears to show Bierbrodt missing part of his right foot and using a knee scooter to ascend a ramp at the Capitol before he smashes the window with a cane and goes inside, at times using the wall for support as he confronts police. Court documents said Bierbrodt had a foot injury and "a scooter to assist in mobility."

Joseph Bierbrodt followed his brother and shoved a man who appeared to be a security officer up against a wall before he confronted officers farther inside the building, other video from that day appears to show. Video also appears to show both men were pepper-sprayed and soon went outside the building to recover but remained at the Capitol for hours and confronted officers on the other side of the building as night fell.

William “Marty” Bierbrodt and Joseph “Eric” Bierbrodt were identified by members of a community known as “Sedition Hunters,” who have aided in the arrests of hundreds of Capitol rioters who have been charged and have identified hundreds more who have not yet been arrested.

Online sleuths shared their information about the Bierbrodts with NBC News on the condition that it not be used until the two brothers were arrested. Online court records showed Joseph was arrested in Illinois and William in Florida.

William Bierbrodt faces charges of obstruction of a law enforcement officer during civil disorder, along with a number of misdemeanors. Joseph Bierbrodt, who appears to push a man resembling a Capitol security officer against the wall, faces charges of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and assault on a federal officer.



oseph Bierbrodt, as a member of the Illinois Army National Guard, received an award for “leadership, patriotism and selfless devotion” in 2018 after he escorted the daughter of an Army sergeant who died in training the previous year to a father-daughter dance. News of the escort got national media attention at the time, including from NBC’s "TODAY" show.

A Parler account under William Bierbrodt’s name and featuring his image posted violent rhetoric in the lead-up to Jan. 6, including a comment that said that “all the Obama cronies should be taken tied to a stack and shot in the head.”

Public defenders for the two brothers did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

About 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, and hundreds more have been identified to the FBI but not yet arrested.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ju...ile8XJHTYyZ8FAtZ1M5patPPFZ-KsDh3APXSj0JM

He probably lost his disability check too.

People are getting arrested still, and most are getting convicted. At the same time, idiots/liars like DeSantis and some of the other MAGA's out there are trying to tell us, hey, it wasn't an insurrection. Just a protest gone a little wrong.


It's like they want us to think our eyes and ears lied to us. Gees

Jan. 6 defendant who stole beaten police officer's badge and radio sentenced to more than 4 years in prison

A Buffalo man who admitted forcibly removing the badge and radio of a beaten Washington, D.C., police officer during the U.S. Capitol siege on Jan. 6, 2021, has been sentenced to 50 months in prison.

A federal judge said Thomas Sibick stripped D.C. Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone of "everything that badge represented" during the Capitol riot. Judge Amy Berman Jackson called the badge a "symbol of (Fanone's) service to the city and his country."

Fanone spoke at Sibick's sentencing hearing Friday, urging Jackson to sentence Sibick to a prison term.

"Ignore Mr. Sibick's pleas for remorse. On Jan. 6, … he gave me none," Fanone said. "He's a coward and a liar."

Fanone, who retired 11 months after the assault on the Capitol, was dragged, beaten and electroshocked by rioters on Jan. 6. He also talked about the police radio that Sibick had taken from him.

"My radio is my lifeline. It was all I had in those moments to call for help," Fanone told Jackson. "It was taken to be used as a trophy."

Sibick had asked for leniency, citing the impact of a prescription drug he was taking on the day of the Capitol riot. His defense attorney told Jackson that Sibick had argued that he was trying to help Fanone when he approached the injured officer amid the attack.

But Judge Jackson criticized Sibick's claim "of helping" and said Sibick wasn't "simply swept up or "caught up" in the crowd on Jan. 6. Sibick, she said, had "bought in 100%" while he was part of the mob.

In his guilty plea, Sibick acknowledged burying the police badge in his backyard. The $5,500 police radio was never recovered, according to plea agreement filings.

While he spoke to the judge and asked for leniency, Sibick turned to face Fanone four times.

"Please forgive me. Please," he said, addressing Fanone. And he praised Fanone's efforts and service on Jan. 6.

"That's bravery. That's duty," Sibick said. "That's the man I aspire to be."

Fanone left the courtroom before the the sentencing hearing ended.

Sibick served seven months in pretrial detention in the Washington, D.C., jail with other Jan. 6 defendants. He told the judge the Jan. 6 wing had an aura of "authoritarianism."

"I was criticized and belittled for seeming weak," he said. "And for not subscribing to ideologies." Sibick told Jackson that others in the Jan. 6 wing of the jail were seeking "fame, fortune and notoriety."

Sibick pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting and impeding a police officer in March. Jackson said the removal of Fanone's radio by Sibick was "forcible" and said Sibick's participation in the Capitol attack "was a choice."

According to a Justice Department report, nearly 600 of the more than 1,000 US Capitol riot defendants have pleaded guilty.

The Justice Department had sought a sentence of nearly six years in prison for Sibick.

In addition to the 50-month prison sentence, Jackson ordered Sibick to pay $2,000 to help pay for the damage to the Capitol complex.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jan-6-...entenced-to-more-than-4-years-in-prison/

Number of people charged in Jan. 6 rioting surpasses 1,100

The number of people charged for their connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the Capitol surpassed 1,100 earlier this week, the Justice Department (DOJ) announced.

The DOJ announced that as of Aug. 6, more than 1,106 defendants were charged in nearly all 50 states and Washington, D.C., for actions they took during insurrection.

The announcement noted that 372 people were charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers and employees, including 112 people who were charged with using a dangerous or deadly weapon or causing serious injury to an officer.

Around 140 officers were assaulted that day, according to the DOJ. Eleven individuals were also arrested in connection with assaulting a member of the media or destroying their equipment.

In addition, about 967 individuals were charged with entering or remaining in a restricted area on federal property, including 104 who entered with a dangerous weapon. The DOJ said that about 64 people were charged with destruction of government property, and 51 with stealing it.

More than 310 individuals were also charged with “corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding, or attempting to do so.” Forty-two defendants were charged with either conspiracy to disrupt a congressional proceeding, obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder or to injure an officer.

About 632 individuals have pleaded guilty in connection with their actions, while 110 have been found guilty at contested trials, the data shows.

https://thehill.com/policy/national...AGXEU_l9hEDfdWo_GjYwBuHfnKdjGrycjYTrtR3I

Man bro, I’m mad the Qanon shaman didn’t keep the same energy from the time he was arrested til the time he got out.

Accepting plea deals, then get out and claim you shouldn’t had accepted it is weak stuff.

Imma need these right wingers to show some follow through.

They lie and say whatever they need to say to a judge in court to lessen their sentence. Then afterwords they start telling the truth again. At least their version of the truth.

FBI arrests Jan. 6 rioter who confessed to assaulting an officer in front of courthouse

Ronald Alfred Bryan, 70, was one of the first individuals who charged the police line on the steps of the Capitol on Jan. 6, authorities said.

WASHINGTON — The FBI has arrested a Jan. 6 defendant who said he assaulted an officer on video while standing in front of a Washington courthouse on the day of the riot.

Ronald Alfred Bryan, 70, was arrested on Wednesday and he made his initial court appearance in Louisiana, according to the Justice Department. He had been No. 418 on the FBI's Capitol Violence website, wanted for assault on a federal officer.

Bryan faces several charges, including obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, theft of government property and assault on a federal officer.

On Jan. 6, 2021, while standing in front of the E. Barrett Prettyman federal courthouse — the same building where he was charged — Bryan "showed bruises on his body and continued to brag about his theft of the police shield and assaults on [U.S. Capitol Police] officers," a FBI special agent wrote in an affidavit.

“I was one of the first ones up," Bryan said in a video. "I run through the front line, got a shield on the way through. When they got me down and started beating on me, I got a baton. It took about a half dozen of them to get the stuff away from me.”

Authorities said that Bryan used a wooden pallet as he charged up the stairs, then placed it near the feet of Christopher Alberts, another Jan. 6 rioter who was armed with a concealed gun and was sentenced last month to seven years in federal prison.

Bryan then "forcibly took" a plastic shield "and then charged forward, toward the officers, using the shield offensively in an attempt to breach the police line," the FBI said.

While wearing a sweatshirt that read "Bring Enough Gun" and a baseball bat emblazoned with the words "Vietnam Veteran," Bryan later bragged about his assault on USCP officers and theft of the police shield, on the grounds of the Capitol and in front of the courthouse, according to footage that was shared on the internet and cited by the FBI.

"We ganged up, on the left side of the steps where the white tarps were. I started cutting the tarps off," he said in one video. “I stole a baton. I stole a shield. [I] knocked two of them to the ground, took six of them to get me off of them... y’all go get you some!”

About 1,100 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack, with more than 300 having been sentenced to periods of incarceration. Earlier this week, authorities arrested a Connecticut man who is the Republican nominee for mayor in his hometown of Derby.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ju...eoXczo6GbaKWcfsdLxzEWXcGC8zko-5_S05Pv0IE

Man who attacked officers with flagpole on Jan. 6 sentenced to 4 years in prison

A Florida man who attacked police officers with a flagpole during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol has been sentenced to four years in prison, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday.

Michael Perkins, 40, in March was found guilty of assaulting a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon, civil disorder and lesser charges.

According to the federal prosecutors, Perkins attended the “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the riots and joined a group of people who rushed the Capitol. While attempting to break a police line, he hit multiple U.S. Capitol Police officers in the head with a flagpole, prosecutors say.

Perkins was sentenced alongside a co-defendant, Joshua Doolin. Doolin was convicted of civil disorder, trespassing and theft of government property. He received a 1 1/2 year sentence.

Doolin stole a Capitol Police riot shield and used it to break into the Capitol, prosecutors said.

The pair was charged with two other Capitol riot defendants. Perkins and Doolin were arrested in an FBI raid with one of them, while the fourth — Jonathan Pollock — remains at large. A private investigator tracking Pollock said he has cut off contact with family and acquaintances and is on the run from police.

Doolin plans to appeal his sentencing, an attorney told The Associated Press. Perkins did not respond to an AP request for comment.

More than 1,100 people have been arrested for crimes related to the breach of the Capitol, the DOJ said. More than 350 people have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

https://thehill.com/regulation/cour...wYr5hR2g-L2ZvGo-e5Ucx31kIa0QSWTfPNhtMiKk

A Jan. 6 defendant scheduled to be sentenced on Friday is now missing

An arrest warrant has been issued for Christopher Worrell, a Florida Proud Boy convicted on seven counts stemming from his actions during the Jan. 6 riot.

WASHINGTON — Christopher Worrell, a Florida Proud Boy convicted on seven counts stemming from his actions during the Jan. 6 riot, was scheduled to be sentenced today in Washington, D.C, federal court but is now missing, according to a spokeswoman from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

“We are interested in any information the public may have about his whereabouts,” spokeswoman Patricia Hartman told NBC News.

A lawyer for Worrell declined to comment.

Court records show that Worrell’s sentencing hearing, originally scheduled for Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET, has been indefinitely postponed. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth issued an order making public the existence of an arrest warrant for Worrell. That order was not publicly docketed until Friday.

Judge Lamberth convicted Worrell on all seven charges he was facing following a five-day bench trial in May. Those charges included obstruction of an official proceeding, assaulting officers and engaging in violence on Capitol grounds.

“The evidence demonstrates that Mr. Worrell traveled to Washington, D.C., for the purpose of ensuring that the Electoral College Certification of President Biden failed,” Lamberth said in a written version of his ruling against Worrell.

“The evidence shows that he then furthered that goal, by both joining the mob and then by spraying the officers,” Lamberth continued, referring to Worrell’s use of a “pepper gel” spray against police during the riot.

Prosecutors are seeking a 14-year prison sentence for Worrell, citing his refusal to take responsibility, his lack of remorse and lies that he told while under oath. Worrell’s co-defendant Daniel Scott, another Florida Proud Boy, was sentenced to five years in prison last month.

Worrell had been initially detained pre-trial following his arrest in March 2021. However, Lamberth ordered Worrell released to home detention in November 2021 after finding that DC jail officials had failed to provide Worrell with adequate treatment for his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a broken hand that may have required surgery.

As part of his conditions of release, Worrell surrendered his passport and was subject to GPS monitoring.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ju...gk6cohdkudQyU9gaxbMD1vx0zFuUmSaOmn6f2nBY

When he’s eventually caught and sentenced, he’ll still only get a slap on the wrist compared to what he deserves.

It may be just me, but I think they all got a slap on the wrist. These folks all deserve a bunch more.

Especially the ex military folks that were there. They pledged an oath to serve and protect the constitution. They should all be charged with treason.

I guess hanging traitors is out of fashion.

Hanging traitorous MAGA Goper’s is out of fashion. Hanging peaceful protesters, liberals, and LBGTQ community is all the rage.

Not according to those that wanted to hang mike pence. They clearly believe that it's OK to hang a traitor. So why shouldn't we do the same?

Baltimore man who "pushed police line" at Jan. 6 riot sentenced

A Baltimore man who "pushed a police line" and grabbed a law enforcement officer's shield during the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced Tuesday to 15 months in prison, the Department of Justice announced.

Driving the news: Narayana Rheiner, 42, "pulled the riot shield out of the officer's hands, causing the officer to fall down several stairs onto the ground," per a DOJ statement.

Rheiner joined other rioters in the Capitol's Rotunda area, yelling at officers and attempting to gain access to a hallway that was blocked by officers before eventually leaving the Capitol building through a broken window at about 2:57 pm, according to a statement of facts.

"The police deployed chemical irritants against the rioters. The defendant yelled at the police, 'You know how many times I've been sprayed today? That s--t ain't nothing!' and 'Why don't you just go home!' While other rioters continued to yell at the police officers, the defendant stood in close proximity to the officers, and said 'We're not backing up!'"

— Excerpt from statement of facts

The big picture: Rheiner pleaded guilty in November to the felony charge of interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder.

The Maryland man must also serve 36 months of supervised release and pay $2,000 in restitution.

He's among over 1,100 people who've been arrested in connection with the insurrection — including more than 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

https://www.axios.com/2023/08/23/ba...CQNELGIiS8Ft3eWz3x-ML0cH8E0zzUPk9hMaOZK0

FBI arrests Jan. 6 rioter they say assaulted officers with a speaker, a shoe and a lamp

Curtis Logan Tate was first interviewed by the FBI just days after the attack, but insisted he disapproved of "destroying s---, breaking s---."

WASHINGTON — The FBI has arrested a Jan. 6 rioter who attacked police officers using a variety of items including a metal baton, a floor lamp and a shoe, according to court records.

Curtis Logan Tate, known to online "Sedition Hunters" as #ShinyCircleTattoo because of a distinct tattoo on his hand, was arrested in North Carolina on Thursday. He faces several charges, including a felony charge of assaulting federal officers while using a deadly or dangerous weapon and a felony count of assaulting law enforcement during a civil disorder. The other items he allegedly used in the attack were a speaker box and a broken table leg.

An affidavit details an interview FBI special agents conducted with Tate at his residence just days after the riot, on Jan. 13, 2021. The FBI said Tate insisted he had not committed any acts of violence, saying he did not agree with "destroying s---, breaking s---, [or] destroying our historic house."

In spite of his claims to the FBI, images of Tate were added to the FBI's Capitol Violence webpage, which the bureau has used to ask members of the public to identify individuals who assaulted police officers.

After Tate's interview, the affidavit said, the bureau "obtained additional evidence, including additional online tips, facial recognition analysis, videos and images from open-source queries, as well as interviews of officer victims, which collectively demonstrate that TATE assaulted several law enforcement officers, destroyed property, and interfered with federal law enforcement officers during a civil disorder on January 6."

Federal authorities also cited a USA Today story from March featuring an interview with Tate, in which he was identified as one of more than 100 people on the FBI's website who had been identified but not yet arrested. "I've never, ever once hurt, or put my hands on an officer," Tate claimed, while acknowledging that he was the person featured on the FBI's website.

About 1,100 people have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and online sleuths have identified hundreds of additional rioters who have not yet been arrested.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ju...fAmcLuD4lfcGXlUCznz-ADmEUvvvjHCssZ6oq0Tw

I don't have his prisoner number yet.

Proud Boy Joe Biggs receives 17 years in Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy case

The former Infowars correspondent, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy, “served as an instigator and leader" during the Capitol attack, federal prosecutors said.

WASHINGTON — Joe Biggs, a Proud Boys leader convicted of seditious conspiracy who the government says "served as an instigator and leader" during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison on Thursday.

It is among the longest sentences in Capitol riot cases. The record is the 18-year sentence given to Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, also convicted of seditious conspiracy, after prosecutors sought 25 years in federal prison in his case.

The government sought 33 years for Biggs, an Army veteran who sustained a head injury in Iraq and then served as a correspondent for the conspiracy website Infowars. Prosecutors argued that he was a “vocal leader and influential proponent of the group’s shift toward political violence” and used his “outsized public profile” and his military experience as he “led a revolt against the government in an effort to stop the peaceful transfer of power.”

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly handed down Biggs' sentence. He ruled earlier in Thursday's hearing that Biggs’ tearing down of a fence that stood between police and rioters qualified him for a terrorism sentencing enhancement sought by prosecutors. Destroying the fence was a “deliberate, meaningful step” that contributed to the disruption of the electoral vote count occurring in the Capitol, Kelly said.

Biggs was convicted in May of seditious conspiracy; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of an official proceeding; conspiracy to use force, intimidation or threats to prevent officers of the U.S. from discharging their duties; interference with law enforcement during civil disorder; and destruction of government property.

Biggs went to trial alongside Enrique Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola. All five were convicted of felonies, and all but Pezzola were convicted of seditious conspiracy. The other Proud Boys will also be sentenced in the coming days: Rehl on Thursday afternoon, Pezzola and Nordean on Friday and Tarrio on Tuesday.

“January 6th will be a day in infamy,” Biggs said in a selfie video he recorded outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Norm Pattis, an attorney for Biggs, said in closing arguments at trial that the Proud Boys' "commander-in-chief" — former President Donald Trump — "sold them a lie," referring to the lies about the 2020 presidential election.

Before his sentence was handed down Thursday said he was sorry and that he knew he "messed up" on Jan. 6.

“I apologize for my rhetoric,” Biggs said, adding he used it as a way to deal with what was going on with his family after his daughter was molested by a member of their family. “I’m so sorry. ... I’m not a terrorist, I don’t have hate in my heart.”

Biggs grew emotional as he talked about his daughter, swearing on her life that he intended Jan. 6 to be his last event with the Proud Boys.

“I’m done with it. I’m sick and tired of left versus right,” Biggs said. The only group he wants to be affiliated with, he said, is his daughter’s PTA.

During the government’s presentation earlier in the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason McCullough stressed the seriousness of the Proud Boys’ actions on Jan. 6, calling them “among the most serious crimes that this court will consider.”

“There’s a reason why we will hold our collective breath as we approach future elections,” McCullough said. “We never gave it a second thought before Jan. 6.”

After Jan. 6 Americans will think twice about bringing children to polling places or attending events like an inauguration, which was what the Proud Boys intended, McCullough said.

Biggs’ lawyer, Norm Pattis, conceded that his client had committed some crimes on Jan. 6 but said those crimes had been “overstated.”

The actions of the Proud Boys on Jan. 6 were “quintessential pollical behavior” up until the riot turned violent, Pattis said, arguing that prosecutors had used his client’s political speech as evidence of criminal intent.

“We have to be careful to count speech for what it is and not what it might do,” he said.

“To treat these men as terrorists would be, in my view, the functional equivalent as the destruction of Waco,” Pattis said.

Despite applying the terrorism enhancement to Biggs, Kelly agreed that enhancement “overstates” Biggs’ conduct.

“It’s not my job to label you a terrorist and my sentence today won’t do that, no matter what it is,” he told Biggs before delivering the sentence.

“What happened on Jan. 6 harmed an important American custom that helps support the rule of law and the Constitution,” he said. “That day broke our tradition of peacefully transferring power which is among the most precious things that we had as Americans. Notice I said had. We don’t have it anymore."

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ju...jan-6-seditious-conspiracy-ca-rcna102597

Another slap on the wrist. I guarantee if this was BLM or a left wing conspirator. He’d be charged with a capitol crime and get a death sentence conviction.

And another guarantee….As long as these judges fail to callout these traitorous villains and throw the book at a few of them, it’s going to happen again.

I'm sure you do see it that way.

I’m sure many of us do. Why is it the party of law and order only convicts the opposition?

So are you saying that Republican judges and Republican prosecutors only try and convict Democrats? Dear Lord man. In many states the maximum penalty for second degree murder is 25 years. When you sound no different than the other side in wishing to exact your pound of flesh I think it shows that the mentality isn't all that different between the two extremes.

My statement was a bit in jest. I’m not going back and forth with you. I’m just not good with giving known domestic terrorists a slap on the wrist. Are you? Im just betting if the shoe was on the other foot it would be slammed down hard.

And they both cried in court after sentencing. Too bad so sad

Proud Boys leaders sentenced to a combined 32 years for Jan. 6 riot
Updated August 31, 20234:35 PM ET
By

Jaclyn Diaz


Proud Boys members including Zachary Rehl, left, Ethan Nordean, center, and Joseph Biggs, walk toward the U.S. Capitol in Washington, in support of President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Two former leaders of the Proud Boys, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl, were sentenced to 17 years and 15 years respectively in prison for seditious conspiracy and other crimes committed during the riot more than two years ago.

Biggs is a former military service member who helped lead efforts by the Proud Boys to take over the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Rehl, also a former military service member, was a leader of the Philadelphia chapter of the Proud Boys.

Judge Timothy J. Kelly also sentenced Biggs to three years of supervised release and a ban on any interactions with organizations that advocate violence against the government.

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In his sentencing of Rehl, Kelly said he, Biggs and others participated in "a national disgrace" that contributed to the ruin of America's tradition of a peaceful transfer of power.

The sentence is far below the 33 year sentence for Biggs and the 30 years for Rehl sought by prosecutors.

Both penalties are also below the most severe sentence of 18 years given to Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes in his separate seditious conspiracy conviction for his actions during Jan. 6.

Back in May, Biggs and Rehl were convicted alongside former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio and other fellow Proud Boys member Ethan Nordean. A fourth defendant, Dominic Pezzola, was acquitted of seditious conspiracy but found guilty of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and robbery involving government property.

Prosecutors wanted to apply a "terrorism enhancement," which leads to longer prison terms.

Judge Kelly chose to apply that enhancement to one of Biggs' and Rehl's charges regarding their role in the destruction of a fence surrounding the U.S. Capitol building which, once gone, no longer kept the mob back from law enforcement protecting the building.

But Kelly said he believed Biggs and Rehl had no intention of killing anyone and had no motivation to incite mass casualties.

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Kelly said in both hearings that he was "not trying to minimize the violence" that happened that day, but that he had to compare the sentences of other Jan. 6 defendants in other cases to avoid large disparities.

"There was a great deal of violence that day, no doubt," Kelly said. "It is a miracle there wasn't a greater loss of life."

As the first of the five co-defendants in the Proud Boys' Jan. 6 case to be sentenced, Biggs' and Rehl's punishments indicate what penalties the other three members they were convicted with could be facing.

Pezzolla will be sentenced Friday.

The sentencing hearings for Tarrio and Nordean, originally scheduled for Wednesday, were delayed after Kelly fell ill.

Nordean's hearing is rescheduled also for Friday with Pezzola and Tarrio's for Tuesday, Sept. 5.

Jury convicts Enrique Tarrio of the Proud Boys on seditious conspiracy charge
LAW
Jury convicts Enrique Tarrio of the Proud Boys on seditious conspiracy charge
Biggs says he was 'seduced' by mob on Jan. 6
Before being sentenced, Biggs begged for forgiveness and leniency. He downplayed his role in the Jan. 6 riots and said that day was set to be the last event he planned to do with the Proud Boys as he had plans to step back from the organization.

"I was seduced by the crowd," Biggs said of the mob in front of the U.S. Capitol. "Curiosity got the better of me and I will regret that for the rest of my life."

Biggs cried as he begged Kelly to allow him an opportunity to be present for his young daughter who he said was molested by a family member and is now in the care of his mother.

"I am not a terrorist," he said. "I know I have to be punished, but at least give me the opportunity to take my daughter to school one day."

Rehl in an emotional speech says he is 'done peddling lies'

Proud Boys member Zachary Rehl walks toward the U.S. Capitol in Washington, in support of President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
During his trial, Rehl painted himself as a family man. He has repeatedly denied assaulting officers, even as he was confronted with video of him spraying law enforcement officers with chemicals.


When he addressed the court, Rehl was emotional throughout his speech.

Rehl said he lost military benefits and professional licenses he's worked for.

And he promised he was done with politics.

"I'm done with all of it," he said. "I'm done with peddling lies for other people that don't care about me."

He continued, "I'm sorry for everything that happened. January 6 was a despicable day. I did things I regret. I made my family suffer because of it."

I don't know on what planet 17 years is a slap on the wrist.

Policemen were killed on this planet that day. 17 years is a slap on the wrist for a leader of an attempted coup. These violent traitors will be out of their cells soon to do the same flipping thing all over again. They need to prosecute them in an extreme manner to deter future attempts to overthrow our democracy. It’s called making an example out of them. Their sentence was less than half what prosecutors were asking. Slap on the wrist.

Read my sig line.

Then find and try the people who are responsible for killing those police officers. That is not what these people were charged or convicted of.

And I do find something odd. Those who believe in responsible gun laws make it plain that the forefathers couldn't see into the future of what guns would become. The constitution has been revised 27 times because of flaws that were found not to be right. I'm not saying they weren't smart men in their times. But I'm not one who is going to point out the many contradictions to help my arguments on one hand and then used flawed logic to support something which is flawed on the other hand.

There has not been a criminal execution in Washington D.C. since 1957 and the death penalty has been abolished in Washington D.C since 1981.

What you are proposing is a crime while quoting the words of a slave owner.

Not for what they did, but because they got caught. These people are the weakest of our species. Basically mutants.

I respectfully disagree with you on this one. We’ve literally seen the slapping of the wrists to all of these traitorous bastards. Including their leaders. May as well just pardon them all right now. Pfft.

So that's how you see a 17 year sentence. I try to use at least somewhat a measure of today's standards. As I said before, in many states the maximum sentence for second degree murder is 25 years. Now maybe you think that too is a slap on the wrist but I did know a man who passed away some years ago who served 18 years in prison. And let me tell you, he in no way considered that a slap on the wrist. He went in at 28 years old and got out at 46. He missed his daughter growing up, her graduation, her wedding. He missed the funeral of both his parents.

Maybe you should reach out to someone who has served such a sentence before you jump to such a conclusion.

Proud Boy who smashed Capitol window with police shield on Jan. 6 sentenced to 10 years

Proud Boy Dominic Pezzola, who smashed a Capitol window with a police shield during the Jan. 6 riot, was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison.

Pezzola was one of five members of the far-right extremist group to stand trial for seditious conspiracy over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The 46-year-old, who joined the Proud Boys shortly before the riot, was the only member acquitted on the seditious conspiracy charge.

However, Pezzola was convicted on several other serious charges, including assaulting, resisting or impeding a police officer, robbery of government property, and destruction of government property.

“The reality is you were the one who did it,” U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said during Pezzola’s sentencing hearing Friday, according to CNN. “You were the one who smashed that window in and let people begin to stream into the Capitol building and threaten the lives of our lawmakers.”

“You were really, in some ways, the tip of the spear,” the judge added.

Pezzola offered his apologies Friday to the police officer he assaulted at the Capitol, as well as his own family, and he sobbed as his youngest daughter urged the judge to “give him some mercy,” according to CNN.

However, as he left the courtroom, Pezzola also raised his fist and yelled, “Trump won.”

His co-defendants Joe Biggs and Zachary Rehl were sentenced Thursday to 17 years and 15 years in prison, respectively.

https://thehill.com/regulation/cour...eOrUMvRS8L9gFLMDpf1tE4q6CxQ9vAXh7KcSVHYQ

There were deaths.. That to me makes them on the low side.

Lock this loser up a few more years. He’s obviously learned nothing.

We used to hang traitors. All I’ll say.

So you think people that weren't charged with murder should pay for that crime?

People used to own slaves as well.

Another slap on the wrist. We’ll need to deal with these mutants again in the future. Mark it down.