Proud Boys member Joseph Biggs gets 17 years for Jan. 6 attack, second-longest sentence yet

WASHINGTON – Proud Boys member Joseph Biggs was sentenced Thursday to 17 years in prison – the second-longest sentence yet related to the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021 − for his role in the seditious conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election and keep Donald Trump in the White House.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly sentenced another Proud Boys member, Zachary Rehl, to 15 years in prison on Thursday after he was also convicted of seditious conspiracy and other charges.

Prosecutors proposed a 33-year sentence for Biggs of Ormond Beach, Florida. Biggs helped lead Proud Boys at the Capitol, made it inside to the Senate chamber and posted on social media the riot was a "warning shot" to the government, according to a sentencing memo from prosecutors.

But Norman Pattis, a lawyer for Biggs and another Proud Boys defendant, Zachary Rehl, argued for a sentence "far below" the government's recommendation and said a decade behind bars would be "excessive."

Kelly enhanced Biggs' sentence based on a ruling that the crimes constituted terrorism because they were intended to influence the government. Kelly said he aimed for the sentence to deter future violence and protect the public from another attack like Jan. 6.

“That day broke our tradition of peacefully transferring power, which is among the most precious things that we had as Americans,” Kelly said.

Biggs acknowledged to the judge that he “messed up that day,” but he blamed being “seduced by the crowd” of Trump supporters outside the Capitol and said he’s not a violent person.

“I know that I messed up that day,” Biggs told the judge just before being sentenced, “but I’m not a terrorist.”

The longest sentence went to Stewart Rhodes, former leader of the Oath Keepers, who got 18 years for seditious conspiracy and other crimes. The Justice Department has appealed that sentence and asked for a longer term.

Trump was indicted Aug. 1 on conspiracy charges related to obstructing Congress, but not inciting the Capitol attack or seditious conspiracy. He pleaded not guilty and has a trial scheduled March 4.

Biggs and Rehl were among five Proud Boys members scheduled to be sentenced this week, after their convictions at trial in April. Enrique Tarrio and Ethan Nordean were also convicted of seditious conspiracy and other charges. Dominic Pezzola, a Marine Corps veteran, was acquitted of seditious conspiracy but convicted of other serious charges, including for being the first to breach the Capitol when he broke a window with a police shield.

Prosecutors recommended sentences of 33 years for Tarrio of Miami; 27 years for Nordean of Auburn, Washington; 30 years for Rehl of Philadelphia and 20 years for Pezzola of Rochester, New York. Tarrio's sentencing had been scheduled for Wednesday morning but was postponed because Kelly was sick.

What happened Jan. 6 at the Capitol?

Members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers were convicted of being leaders of the insurrection, when thousands of rioters fought police outside the Capitol and then rampaged through building, with some chanting for Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

One rioter was shot to death by police outside the House chamber, a Capitol Police officer died the next day of natural causes after being sprayed with chemicals and a handful of other officers died by suicide in the weeks following.

More than 1,100 people have been charged so far with federal crimes related to Jan. 6 and more than 600 have been sentenced.

What did Biggs do at the Capitol?

Biggs was convicted of six charges: seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding of Congress, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to use force or threats to prevent officers of the United States from discharging their duties, interference with law enforcement and destruction of government property.

Prosecutors argued Biggs and Nordean led Proud Boys at the Capitol in the absence of Tarrio, who had been arrested for an unrelated matter and then left the city. Biggs' outsize public profile and military experience helped him control large groups of men under his command, prosecutors said. Biggs had served eight years in the Army and received a Purple Heart for traumatic brain injury in Iraq.

Biggs tore down a fence, charged up scaffolding and was among the first rioters to breach the Capitol, prosecutors said. Biggs entered the building a second time and went to the Senate chamber, prosecutors said. He posted a recording calling Jan. 6 a "warning shot" to the government that showed "how weak they truly are."

Prosecutors said their lengthy prison recommendation was justified because Biggs and his fellow Proud Boys committed “among the most serious crimes that this court will consider,” pushing the U.S. government “to the edge of a constitutional crisis.”

“There is a reason why we will hold our collective breath as we approach future elections,” said Jason McCullough, assistant U.S. attorney. “We never gave it a second thought before Jan. 6.”

Pattis, the lawyer for Biggs and Rehl, argued that while Congress was delayed by several hours in counting Electoral College votes, federal institutions responded to the day's tumult.

“Draconian sentences in this case will deepen divisions in this country at a time when the need to build bridges is acute,” Pattis wrote in a court filing.

"Whatever excesses of zeal they demonstrated on Jan. 6, 2021, and no matter how grave the potential interference with the orderly transfer of power due to the events of that day, a decade or more behind bars is an excessive punishment," Pattis added.

What did Rehl do at the Capitol?

Rehl, who was sentenced Thursday afternoon, was convicted of the same six charges as Biggs. He served a key logistical role and communicated with other co-conspirators not in Washington, helping Biggs and Nordean lead a group of about 200 people from the Washington Monument to the Capitol, prosecutors said in a sentencing memo.

Rehl, a former Marine and the son and grandson of Philadelphia police officers, assaulted police officers at the Capitol with chemical spray, then lied about the attack under oath while testifying during the trial, prosecutors said.

Rehl encouraged others to "storm the Capitol," prosecutors said. When he reached the Upper West Terrace, he declared the "Civil war started," prosecutors said. Rehl led at least three men into a senator's office, prosecutors said.

Kelly ruled Rehl committed perjury while testifying, when he denied assaulting officers despite videotaped evidence.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Proud Boys member Joseph Biggs gets 17 years in Jan. 6 attack