Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio has officially asked President-elect Donald Trump to pardon him for his seditious conspiracy crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
According to Politico, Tarrio is asking Trump to pardon him, claiming that the Biden administration targeted him for his political views rather than for his alleged involvement in planning the Capitol attack.
In May 2023, Tarrio, along with three other members of the organization, were convicted of a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 after Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. After three months and dozens of witness testimonies, Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl were all found guilty of seditious conspiracy. The four men were also convicted of obstructing Congress’ certification of Biden’s electoral victory and obstructing law enforcement as well as two other conspiracy charges. Tarrio has been a top target of the Justice Department since the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. capitol and has been behind bars since March 2022.
In September 2023, Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years behind bars—by far the longest prison sentence given to anyone connected to the Jan. 6 MAGA Moron Rebellion. District Judge Timothy Kelly gave Tarrio his lengthy sentence for “seditious conspiracy and leading a failed plot to prevent the transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden,” according to CNN.
“It is kind of hard to put into words how important the peaceful transfer of power is,” Kelly said. “Our country was founded as an experiment in self-government by the people, but it cannot long endure if the way we elect our leaders is threatened with force and violence.”
“Mr. Tarrio was the ultimate leader, the ultimate person who organized, who was motivated by revolutionary zeal,” the judge continued, adding that Tarrio has shown “no remorse.”
Even more interesting is that Tarrio wasn’t even at the Jan. 6 attack. He had been banned from D.C. for committing the hate crime against the poor, defenseless BLM banner.
Before his March 2022 arrest on conspiracy charges, Tarrio was given a five-month sentence for lynching a Black Lives Matter banner that was taken from a Black church in Washington, D.C.
Although Tarrio wasn’t present for the attacks, Judge Kelly still deemed him accountable.
But, Kelly said that while Tarrio may not have been present at the Capitol during the attack, the Proud Boys leader “had an outsized impact on the events of the day. “
While the 22-year sentence is the longest for any January 6 defendant, the Justice Department had sought 33 years in prison for Tarrio.
Kelly had consistently gone far below previous Justice Department sentencing requests for Proud Boys members convicted in this case.
Kelly sentenced Ethan Nordean and Joseph Biggs, two of the far-right organization’s top lieutenants, to 18- and 17-year prison sentences, respectively. Zachary Rehl, a local Proud Boys chapter leader, was sentenced to 15 years behind bars, while Dominic Pezzola, a low-level member and the only defendant acquitted of the seditious conspiracy charge, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
SEE ALSO:
Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio’s History Of Ls
Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio ‘Is Practically Tekashi 69’ After FBI Snitching Revealed
