Former Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio Gets 22 Years for Plotting Jan. 6

Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right militia group the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Tuesday after being convicted of seditious conspiracy for plotting and leading the violent insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and disrupting the peaceful transfer of power in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.

Tarrios sentence is the most severe issued among the some 1,100 criminal cases stemming from the attack. The FBIs sprawling investigation into the origins of the Jan. 6 riot, where supporters of former President Donald Trump fought their way into the Capitol by smashing windows and doors, using bear spray, flag poles and other weapons to break through barricades and overcome law enforcement officers, ultimately charged more than 20 members of the militant group in total from state chapters all across the country.

"Mr. Tarrio was the ultimate leader, the ultimate person who organized, who was motivated by revolutionary zeal, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said prior to announcing the sentence. That conspiracy ended up with about 200 men amped up for battle encircling the Capitol.