Ex-Proud Boys leaders get 17 and 15-year terms for US Capitol rampage

A federal judge has sentenced former far-right Proud Boys leaders Joseph Biggs to 17 years in prison and his co-defendant Zachary Rehl to 15 years, after a jury convicted them of seditious conspiracy for storming the US Capitol in a failed bid to overturn Donald Trump's 2020 election defeat.

The prison terms handed down on Thursday by US District Judge Timothy Kelly for Biggs and Rehl, the first Proud Boys convicted of seditious conspiracy to be sentenced for their roles in the January 6, 2021, attack, were below US sentencing guidelines and far lower than the 33-year and 30-year terms sought by federal prosecutors.

Kelly said he was not "trying to minimise the violence" that occurred on January 6, but he noted that the event was still not on par with a mass casualty event and imposing a stricter sentence could create disparities.

Ahead of his sentencing, Biggs apologised for his actions as he faced Kelly, choking up as he spoke about his daughter whom he said was a sexual assault victim who needs him while he has been locked up.

"I was seduced by the crowd, and I just moved forward. My curiosity got the better of me," said Biggs. "I'm not a terrorist. I don't have hate in my heart."

Rehl, meanwhile, broke down crying as he read a statement, as his lawyer stood next to him with his hand on Rehl's back.

"I regret involving myself with any of it," he said. He added that he let politics consume his life and he "lost track of who and what matters."

He also apologised for letting his family down and asked if Kelly could send him to a federal prison close to his home.

Prosecutors calculated their sentencing recommendation for Rehl, in part, based on evidence he committed perjury when he took the stand in his own defence during the trial and lied about assaulting police with a chemical spray.

"You did spray that officer and you lied about it," Kelly told him, adding these were "bad facts."

'Very serious crimes'

The January 6 attack at the Capitol was meant to stop Congress from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden's election, which Trump claims was the result of widespread fraud.

"These are very serious crimes," federal prosecutor Jason McCullough said on Thursday. “There is a reason why we will hold our collective breaths as we approach future elections. ... They pushed this to the edge of a constitutional crisis."

Trump has a wide lead in the race for the Republican nomination to challenge Biden in 2024.

Two other Proud Boys — Ethan Nordean and Dominic Pezzola — will face sentencing before Kelly on Friday, while the group's former chairman Enrique Tarrio will be sentenced on September 5.

Prosecutors are seeking a 33-year prison term for Tarrio and a 27-year term for Nordean, both of whom were also convicted of seditious conspiracy.

They are requesting a 20-year term for Pezzola, who was acquitted of seditious conspiracy, but convicted of other serious felonies.