US Capitol attack: Right wing leader gets 18 years in prison

In connection with the attack on the US Capitol, a leader of the far-right Proud Boys was given the harshest term to date—18 years—while another member, who received a 10-year sentence, shouted “Trump won” as he left court.

The two were the most recent members of far-right organisations to get prison time for their roles in the assault on Congress on January 6, 2021, which was intended to reverse Donald Trump’s election loss.

The Proud Boys leader Ethan Nordean was found guilty of seditious conspiracy and received an 18-year sentence instead of the 27 years the prosecution had requested. This sentence tied the one given to Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes in May.

“If we don’t have a peaceful transfer of power in this country, we don’t have anything,” said US District Judge Timothy Kelly.

Nordean described the events of January 6 as a “complete and utter tragedy” in a statement to the judge, adding that he had come to the Capitol to serve as a leader and keep people out of trouble. His sister and wife begged for forgiveness.

Nick Smith, Nordean’s counsel, had pushed for a sentence of 15 to 21 months.

Dominic Pezzola, a Proud Boys member who didn’t hold any leadership positions, was found guilty of crimes like impeding an official investigation and assaulting police. As he left the courtroom after receiving a 10-year prison sentence, he shouted, “Trump won!”

According to the prosecution, Pezzola assaulted former Capitol Police Officer Mark Ode and stole his riot shield before using it to break a window.

Pezzola’s attorneys had asked for their client to be sentenced to around five years in prison. Steven Metcalf, one of Pezzola’s attorneys, told the judge that Pezzola was caught in the “heat of the moment.”

“I stand before you with a heart full of regret,” Pezzola said in an emotional speech to the court before his outburst. “I never should’ve crossed the barrier at the Capitol that day.”

Prosecutors had sought a 20-year prison term for Pezzola.

Following a speech in which the Republican then-president erroneously claimed that his defeat in the November 2020 election was the result of massive fraud, thousands of Trump supporters invaded the Capitol. Even though he is leading the Republican primary for the nomination to take on Democratic President Joe Biden in 2024, Trump has continued to make these bogus assertions.

Over 140 police officers were hurt, and five people, including a police officer, died during or immediately after the violence. The damage to the Capitol cost millions of dollars.

Over 1,100 people have been detained on suspicion of crimes related to the Capitol attack. Of those, over 630 have entered guilty pleas, and at least 110 have been found guilty after a jury trial.

(With agency inputs)