Who has received the longest prison sentences for the Jan. 6 insurrection?
Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the far-right extremist group the Proud Boys, received a 22-year-long prison sentence Tuesday — the longest prison sentence handed down in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection so far.
Since Jan. 6, 2021, over 1,106 individuals have been arrested in relation to the U.S. Capitol riot. More than 350 of those individuals were charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
Below is a list of the longest prison sentences received in connection to the Jan. 6 insurrection:
Enrique Tarrio — 22 years
Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, former leader of the Proud Boys, was arrested a few days before the Capitol riot, but prosecutors say he directed and rallied other members of the extremist organization from afar, telling them to stay in the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Tarrio also took credit for the riot on behalf of the Proud Boys, Axios reported.
Sentenced: Sept. 5, 2023.
Charges: Tarrio was found guilty of: Seditious conspiracy; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties; civil disorder; destruction of government property (fence).
Ethan Nordean — 18 years
Ethan Nordean, a U.S. veteran who led the Seattle chapter of the Proud Boys, led 200 Proud Boys to the Capitol and “helped facilitate the breach of police lines,” Politico reported.
According to court documents, Nordean was “among those who entered the Capitol building after rioters forced entry and pushed past officers.”
Sentenced: Sept. 1, 2023.
Charges: Nordean was found guilty of: Seditious conspiracy; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties; civil disorder; destruction of government property (fence).
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Stewart Rhodes — 18 years
Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, the founder of the far-right militia group Oath Keepers, masterminded a weekslong plan to “oppose by force the lawful transfer of presidential power,” court documents show.
Rhodes, a veteran, “led the Oath Keepers in illegally bringing small arms to the D.C. area,” Vox reported.
Sentenced: May 25, 2023.
Charges: Rhodes was found guilty of: Seditious conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, and tampering with documents or proceedings.
Joseph Biggs — 17 years
Joseph Biggs, an Army veteran and former Proud Boys leader, was found guilty of seditious conspiracy in May 2023.
Biggs was a “driving force behind the violence on Jan. 6 by facilitating breaches at police lines and helping crowds advance into the Capitol,” Politico reported.
Sentenced: Aug. 31, 2023.
Charges: Biggs was found guilty of: Seditious conspiracy; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties; civil disorder; destruction of government property (fence).
Zachary Rehl — 15 years
Zachary Rehl, former Marine and president of the Proud Boys’ Philadelphia chapter, was seen on video “spraying a chemical irritant at law enforcement officers outside the Capitol,” on Jan. 6, The Associated Press reported.
Court documents say Rehl guided 100 followers through Washington, D.C., to the Capitol, and conspired with other Proud Boys leaders to “incite a riot and storm the Capitol,” per NPR.
Sentenced: Aug. 31, 2023.
Charges: Rehl was found guilty of: Seditious conspiracy; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties; civil disorder; destruction of government property (fence).
Peter Schwartz — 14 years
Peter Schwartz was sentenced to 170 months in prison for 10 charges, including four felony charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers while using a dangerous weapon.
A jury convicted Schwartz for throwing a chair at officers and spraying them with pepper spray, Axios reported.
Sentenced: May 5, 2023.
Charges: Schwartz was found guilty of: Assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon (three counts); assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon and aiding and abetting; civil disorder; obstruction of an official proceeding; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; disorderly conduct in the capitol grounds or buildings; act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.
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Daniel “D.J.” Rodriguez — 121⁄2 years
Daniel “D.J.” Rodriguez was charged with assaulting a federal officer for repeatedly using a stun gun on an officer during the Capitol riot.
Rodriguez also used a flagpole as a weapon and broke a window of the Capitol building.
Sentenced: June 21, 2023.
Charges: Rodriguez pleaded guilty to: Conspiracy; obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; tampering with documents or proceedings; inflicting bodily injury on certain officers.
Kelly Meggs — 12 years
Kelly Meggs, a former Florida chapter leader of the Oath Keepers, was found guilty of seditious conspiracy, alongside multiple other charges, in November 2022.
Prosecutors say Meggs conspired with Stewart Rhodes, to “recruit people to come to D.C. and prepare for a potentially violent confrontation with gas masks, batons, and armor, storing more weapons at a hotel outside D.C.,” per Vox.
Sentenced: May 25, 2023.
Charges: Meggs was found guilty of: Seditious conspiracy; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of an official proceeding; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties; tampering with documents or proceedings.
Dominic Pezzola — 10 years
Dominic Pezzola, a member of the Proud Boys, used a stolen police riot shield to smash a window of the Capitol building, allowing a stream of rioters to breach the Capitol.
Pezzola also filmed himself inside the Capitol building during the riot, Politico reported.
Sentenced: Sept. 1, 2023.
Charges: Pezzola was found guilty of: Obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties; civil disorder; destruction of government property (two counts); assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers (one count); robbery of personal property of the United States.
Thomas Webster — 10 years
Thomas Webster, a Marine Corps veteran and a retired New York City Police Department officer, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for assaulting a D.C. officer.
Police body camera footage shows Webster using a metal flag pole to attack an officer on the front lines of the lines of the riot.
Sentenced: Sept. 1, 2022.
Charges: Webster was found guilty of: Assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon; civil disorder; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; act of physical violence within the Capitol grounds or buildings.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, NPR.
