By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A former leader of the far-right Proud Boys begged a federal judge to hand down a lesser prison sentence than the long one prosecutors are seeking, after a jury convicted him of seditious conspiracy for his role in storming the U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat.
“I was seduced by the crowd, and I just moved forward. My curiosity got the better of me,” said Joseph Biggs, who could face more than two decades in prison. “I’m not a terrorist. I don’t have hate in my heart.”
Federal prosecutors are seeking a 33-year sentence for Biggs and a 30-year term for Biggs’ co-defendant Zachary Rehl, who will be sentenced later on Thursday.
Together, Biggs and Rehl will become the first Proud Boys convicted of seditious conspiracy to be sentenced for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
The government’s sentencing recommendations exceed the longest sentence handed out so far over the assault by the former president’s supporters on the Capitol, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was sentenced in May to serve 18 years.
“These are very serious crimes,” federal prosecutor Jason McCullough said on Thursday. “There is a reason why we will hold our collective breaths as we approach future elections. … They pushed this to the edge of a constitutional crisis.”
Former Proud Boys Chair Enrique Tarrio and another former leader, Ethan Nordean, were scheduled for sentencing on Wednesday but their hearings were postponed after the judge called out sick.
The attack was meant to stop Congress from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden’s election, which Trump falsely claims was the result of widespread fraud.
Trump currently holds a wide lead in the race for the Republican nomination to challenge Biden in 2024.
TERRORISM ENHANCEMENT
Prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly to agree to a terrorism enhancement – a move that has the potential to add roughly 15 years to a prison term.
Kelly on Thursday agreed that the enhancement applied to Biggs, based on his criminal conviction for destroying a metal fence that separated the large crowd of Trump’s supporters from the Capitol.
The destruction of the black metal fence “is a federal crime of terrorism,” Kelly said.
More than 1,100 people have been arrested on charges related to the Capitol assault. Of those, more than 630 have pleaded guilty and at least 110 have been convicted at trial.
Five people including a police officer died during or shortly after the riot and more than 140 police officers were injured. The Capitol suffered millions of dollars in damage.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was tapped to investigate broader efforts to overturn the 2020 election, has since charged Trump for trying to keep himself in power.
Norm Pattis, an attorney for both Biggs and Rehl, asked Kelly to sentence his clients to a term that is below U.S. sentencing guidelines.
“Since the Jan. 6 prosecutions have taken place, there have been many media reports of people afraid to go to protests for fear that if they become violent, their incendiary speech will be used as evidence against them,” Pattis told the court.
In May, a jury convicted Biggs, Rehl, Tarrio and Nordean of seditious conspiracy, a Civil War-era law that makes it a crime to conspire to oppose the government by force, and other felonies.
Prosecutors are seeking a 33-year prison term for Tarrio and a 27-year term for Nordean.
Also facing sentencing, on Friday, is Dominic Pezzola. Pezzola was acquitted of seditious conspiracy but convicted of other serious felonies including obstructing an official proceeding. Prosecutors are requesting a 20-year sentence for him.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Scott Malone and Mark Porter)
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