Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of Proud Boys, was sentenced on Tuesday to 22 years in prison – the longest prison sentence handed down for any individual charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol. Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 33 years in prison, despite the fact that Tarrio wasn’t present in Washington on the day of the attack.
Henry “Enrique” Tarrio has been in jail since his 2022 arrest and was convicted earlier this year by a Washington, D.C. jury on multiple charges including seditious conspiracy. Tarrio’s co-defendant Ethan Nordean was sentenced last week to 18 years, while others received terms of between 10 and 17 years. Prosecutors described Tarrio as the “primary organizer” of the conspiracy for which he and his co-defendants were convicted, who used his influence “to condone and promote violence” in others, adding, “He was a general rather than a soldier.”
After the 2020 presidential election, according to evidence presented at trial, Tarrio began posting on social media and in message groups about a “civil war,” later threatening, “No Trump…No peace. No Quarter.” And as Jan. 6 approached, he posted about “revolt.” His co-defendants — Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola — gathered with other Proud Boys members on the day of the riot and marched toward the Capitol, interfering with police and ultimately forcing entry into the building where Congress was attempting to certify President Biden’s victory. The Proud Boys defendants and the group they led to the Capitol that day were a “tidal wave of force” at the start of the attack and played a “pivotal” role in the violence on Jan. 6, according to prosecutors.
Tarrio asked for leniency during Tuesday’s hearing. apologizing for the events of Jan. 6 and to law enforcement and Washington, D.C., residents. Said Tarrio: “The citizens of D.C. deserve better. What happened on Jan. 6 was a national embarrassment … To the men and women of law enforcement who answered the call that day, I am sorry. I am not a political zealot. Inflicting harm or changing the results of the election was not my goal. Please show me mercy.”
Editorial credit: Robert P. Alvarez / Shutterstock.com
