Ex-Proud Boys leader jailed for 22 years

Former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison Tuesday for his role in the Jan 6 attack on the US Capitol aimed at stopping the transfer of power after Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.

Tarrio, 39, from Miami, received the longest prison sentence of 1,100 riot cases connected to the attack in 2021 after he was found guilty of seditious conspiracy charges in May. Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 33 years.

Tarrio's lawyers said his absence from Washington on Jan 6, the result of another judge's earlier order, meant he had no "direct influence" on the riot.

But in imposing the sentence, the judge said: "Mr Tarrio was the ultimate leader of that conspiracy. Mr Tarrio was the ultimate leader, the ultimate person who organized, who was motivated by revolutionary zeal."

Prosecutors said Tarrio had remained in touch with the Proud Boys, a far-right group, and monitored their actions.

"He was on a tier of his own," Assistant US Attorney Conor Mulroe said, adding that Tarrio was a uniquely influential figure among the Proud Boys.

Defense attorney Nayib Hassan told reporters after the hearing that they will appeal.

Orchestrating Jan 6 riot

Tarrio was widely seen as the ringleader who orchestrated the violent attack aimed at stopping Congress' certification of President Joe Biden's electoral victory over Trump.

On the day of the attack, Tarrio wasn't in Washington. He had been arrested two days earlier on charges that he defaced a Black Lives Matter banner during another rally in Washington.

But prosecutors argued that he had instructed rioters on what to do.

Tarrio was the last of five Proud Boys to be sentenced. Last week, three other leaders of the group were sentenced on seditious conspiracy charges in Washington to prison terms of between 15 years and 18 years.

The Proud Boys were among some of the first to attack the Capitol. The mob broke windows to allow others into the historic building. They helped to overwhelm police officers.

More than 1,100 people have been arrested on charges related to the Capitol assault, Reuters reported. At least 630 have pleaded guilty and at least 110 have been convicted.

Five people, including a police officer, died during or shortly after the riot, and more than 140 police officers were injured. Damage to the Capitol amounted to millions of dollars.

Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was tapped to investigate broader efforts to overturn the 2020 election, has charged Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, with trying to keep himself in power.

Agencies contributed to this story.