Proud Boy Joe Biggs sentenced to 17 years, Zachary Rehl gets 15
I will have a full report to come later for emptywheel but at the E. Barrett Prettyman courthouse in Washington, D.C. this afternoon, U.S. District Judge Tim Kelly sentenced Proud Boy and former InfoWars contributor convicted of seditious conspiracy, Joseph Biggs, to 17 years in prison.
Prosecutors called for 33 years for Biggs, so Kelly’s decision came considerably under that total but Kelly did find that Biggs’ tearing down of a metal fence with co-defendant Ethan Nordean that was meant to keep the mob at bay, constituted a terrorism enhancement. It was this deliberate effort, Kelly found, that allowed the Proud Boys to achieve their objective: to stop the certification of the 2020 election by force.
Proud Boy Zachary Rehl’s sentencing hearing began at 2:15 p.m ET. Prosecutors sought 30 years and on Thursday, the court found that because he committed perjury on the stand the guidelines would shift to 30 years to life.
But in the end, Judge Kelly sentenced Rehl to 15 years in prison. Rehl is pictured below pepper-spraying police.
If you want to read through the live-thread I’ve put together for emptywheel, check out the link here.
NOTE: Emptywheel is again supporting Brandi Buchman’s coverage of the Proud Boys hearings live from the courthouse. Please consider making a donation to emptywheel as she continues her reporting through the final Proud Boys sentencing hearing for Henry “Enrique” Tarrio scheduled for Sept. 5.