How Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio’s 22-year sentence compares to other Jan. 6 punishments
Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to 22 years in prison for his role in planning the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said Tarrio was “the ultimate leader” of the conspiracy to keep former President Donald Trump in office through violence fueled by “revolutionary zeal,” adding, “That conspiracy ended up with about 200 men amped up for battle encircling the Capitol.”
Tarrio, 39, was convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes in May, along with other members of his far-right group. His 22-year sentence was the “most severe penalty handed down so far to any of the more than 1,100 people charged in connection with the Capitol attack,” The New York Times reported, and it’s “likely to remain that way, given that no other defendants currently face accusations as serious as the ones he did.”
The sprawling federal Jan. 6 investigation has led to charges against 1,132 people, 786 of whom have been convicted, 626 sentenced, and one acquitted, The Associated Press reported. Nearly 400 of the sentences involved prison time.
Kelly, a Trump appointee, sentenced Tarrio’s Proud Boys codefendants on Sept. 1. Jan. 6 on-the-ground leader Ethan Nordean was handed 18 years in prison, previously tied for the longest sentence, while Joseph Biggs got 17 years. Zachary Rehl was sentenced to 15 years, and Dominic Pezzola got 10 years.
Federal prosecutors had asked for 33 years for Tarrio and at least 20 years for the other Proud Boys.
Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, also convicted of seditious conspiracy, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in May for his far-right militia’s role in the Capitol siege. His lieutenant Kelly Meggs was sentenced to 12 years. Other sizable Jan. 6 sentences included 14 years for Peter Schwartz, 12 years for Daniel Rodriguez, and 10 years for Thomas Webster, all of whom violently assaulted police officers defending the Capitol.
A large majority of the other Jan. 6 prison sentences were for six months or less, though dozens of rioters were sentenced to between one and seven years.