WASHINGTON: The leader of the Proud Boys militia, who called for “war” to keep Donald Trump as president, was sentenced Thursday to 17 years in prison, one of the longest sentences for the 2021 attack on the Capitol.
Prosecutors said Joe Biggs was a key figure in an “outrageous plot” to violently overturn Joe Biden’s election victory, leading Trump supporters to launch a military-style attack on January 6.
His sentence was one year shorter than the longest of the hundreds sentenced for the Capitol attack, an 18-year sentence given to Stewart Rhodes, the founder of another far-right militia.
But it was only half of the 33 years, prosecutors had urged because Judge Timothy Kelly said it was not a mass-casualty incident and that Biggs did not intend to kill anyone in the riot. Still, Kelly said, “Deterrence is needed.”
The attack “violated our tradition of the peaceful transfer of power, which is one of the most precious things we have as Americans,” the judge said.
Before sentencing, a tearful Biggs expressed remorse and said he would have nothing to do with the Proud Boys again and would focus on the welfare of his wife and daughter.
Biggs regrets Capitol attack
“I am very sorry,” he told the court. “I know I ruined the day, but I’m not a terrorist,” he said.
Prosecutor Jason McCullough said what Biggs and his fellow rioters did that day in shutting down Congress was “no different than the act of spectacularly bombing the building.”
“They were meant to intimidate and frighten elected officials,” he said, likening the Jan. 6 attack to terrorism.
Biggs was the first of five Proud Boys, including national chairman Enrique Tarria, who was sentenced this week.
Four were convicted on May 4 of seditious conspiracy, while a fifth was found guilty of lesser charges.
All were also convicted of obstruction of Congress, obstruction of law enforcement and destruction of government property.
Biggs, the leader of the Florida chapter of the Proud Boys, worked closely with Tarrie to organize the group to attack the US Capitol.
The Justice Department has indicted more than 1,100 people in the Capitol attack.
Trump, meanwhile, faces separate conspiracy charges for his role in the build-up to the attack on the Capitol, which included falsely claiming the election had been stolen from him.
