AFPEnrique Tarrio (L) in 2021
NOS Nieuws•morgen, 00:11
Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the Washington Capitol storm. It is the highest sentence imposed so far in the cases surrounding the storming of the US House of Representatives in January 2021.
Justice had demanded a prison sentence of 33 years against Tarrio, who acted as national chairman of the far-right organization.
Tarrio was found guilty in May of so-called seditious conspiracy. Although Tarrio was not in Washington at the time of the storm because he was ordered by the judge to stay out of the city, prosecutors say he directed the storm from a distance.
Two days before the storming, Tarrio was arrested for setting fire to a church’s Black Lives Matters banner and illegal possession of ammunition. He was sentenced to five months in prison for this in August.
Tarrio is not the first prominent supporter of the far-right group to receive years in prison for the attack on the Capitol. Ethan Nordean, who led the march to parliament, has been jailed for 18 years. Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl were also previously convicted of seditious conspiracy, receiving prison sentences of 17 and 15 years respectively.
Trump in court
The Capitol was stormed two years ago by supporters of Donald Trump who disagreed with the election results. They hoped to prevent Congress from officially recording Joe Biden’s election victory. The storm killed five people and injured 140 police officers
More than 1,100 people were arrested in connection with the attack. More than six hundred of them have pleaded guilty. More than 100 people have been sentenced so far.
Trump must also appear in court because of the storming himself, in a case involving the investigation of special counsel Jack Smith. The trial is scheduled for early March 2024, in the middle of campaign time, and revolves around undermining the election results.
In addition, there is another lawsuit against Trump related to the presidential election, namely in the state of Georgia. There he and eighteen others are suspected of manipulating the election results.
The 18 co-defendants include Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, the former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and officials from the U.S. Justice Department and Georgia Republican Party. Last month, the former president had to formally report to prison in the city of Atlanta.
2023-09-05 22:11:05
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