A federal judge on Thursday 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 U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to overturn Donald Trump's 2020 election defeat, APA reports citing Reuters.
The prison terms handed down by U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly for Biggs and Rehl, the first Proud Boys convicted of seditious conspiracy to be sentenced for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, were below U.S. sentencing guidelines and far lower than the 33-year and 30-year terms sought by federal prosecutors.
Kelly said on Thursday he was not "trying to minimize the violence" that occurred on Jan. 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 apologized 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.”
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