Far-right Proud Boys leader sentenced to 22 years in Capitol attack case

District Judge Timothy Kelly ultimately applied a terrorism charge to Tarrio’s sentencing guidelines

WASHINGTON – The former national leader of the right-wing Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, was sentenced Tuesday to 22 years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Tarrio was convicted in May of seditious conspiracy and other serious crimes.

He was not at the Capitol on Jan. 6, but he was responsible for inciting members against police and motivating them to prevent the certification of the election.

Prosecutors had sought 33 years in prison for Tarrio, whom they portrayed as the driving force behind a plot to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from former President Trump to then-President-elect Biden.

Tarrio’s attorneys recommended a sentence of no more than 15 years in prison and opposed the use of a terrorism surcharge in deciding his sentence.

Tarrio’s sister, fiancée and mother also made statements in court asking for leniency and addressing him by his real name, Henry.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ultimately applied a terrorism charge to Tarrio’s sentencing guidelines.

Tarrio’s sentencing is the latest in a series of historic seditious conspiracy cases brought by the Justice Department after the attack on the Capitol.

In all, more than 1,100 rioters nationwide have been charged for their involvement that day.

The sentence against Tarrio is the highest handed down in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

The judge’s decision to add terrorism to Tarrio’s sentence is significant because it is a sign that the Justice Department is taking the Jan. 6 attack seriously.

The January 6 attack was a serious assault on American democracy, and the Justice Department’s prosecution of those involved is a necessary step to prevent future attacks.