Members of the Proud Boys, a far-right organization led by Enrique Tarrio, rallied in Washington on November 14, 2020, to support former President Donald Trump and protest against the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
However, sentencing hearings for Tarrio and another Proud Boys leader in the Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy case were unexpectedly postponed. The reason for the cancellation was initially attributed to an “emergency” by the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C. But it was later revealed that the presiding Judge Timothy Kelly was ill, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
The U.S. District Court in D.C. clarified that there was no security emergency at the courthouse, confirming that the delay was solely due to the judge’s sickness. Tarrio’s sentencing has been rescheduled for Tuesday, September 5, while Ethan Nordean, another Proud Boys chapter leader, will have his hearing on Friday.
Tarrio, 39, was convicted of playing a key role in a seditious conspiracy to disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election on January 6, 2021. The Justice Department is seeking a sentence of 33 years for Tarrio, which is twice as long as the current longest sentence handed down to any defendant related to the Capitol riot.
Announcing the guilty verdict in May, Attorney General Merrick Garland highlighted Tarrio and his co-defendants’ central role in the events of that day. Three of Tarrio’s co-defendants, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola, also have upcoming sentencing hearings.
The Justice Department is seeking a sentence of 27 years for Nordean, 33 years for Biggs, 30 years for Rehl, and 20 years for Pezzola. All five defendants were found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding, conspiring to impede Congress and federal authorities, civil disorder, and destruction of government property. Pezzola is the only one not found guilty of seditious conspiracy.
In a separate case involving the Proud Boys, Charles Donohoe pleaded guilty in April 2022 to conspiracy and assaulting officers. Another prominent figure, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, received the longest sentence at that time, with 18 years in prison. Rhodes was also convicted of seditious conspiracy.
The defendants appeared in court wearing orange jumpsuits on Tuesday for a lengthy hearing that included impact statements from victims of the Jan. 6 riot. The violent mob, fueled by Trump’s false claims of election fraud, breached police lines and stormed the U.S. Capitol, forcing lawmakers to evacuate and temporarily disrupting the peaceful transfer of power.
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