2020 and is the longest sentence ever handed down in a capital attack case.
Enrique Dario, the former leader of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years in prison on January 6, 2020 for his participation in the attack on the Capitol, a conspiracy and an attempt to keep Donald Trump in power after his defeat in the presidential election in the United States.
Prosecutors asked for a 33-year sentence. Judge Timothy Kelly disagreed, but handed down the longest sentence ever in a case involving 2020 and the attack on the Capitol in Washington. The longest prison sentences previously handed down in these cases were 18 years for Ethan Nordien, a member of the Proud Boys, and Stewart Rhodes, a founder of the Oath Keepers militia. Another leader of the movement, Joseph Biggs, was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Dario and three other leaders of the Capitol invasion were convicted in May of charges including treasonous conspiracy, a civil war-era crime. Speaking in court in Washington, Enrique Dario said he regretted the events of January 6 and praised the bravery of the police who resisted the attack. “What happened on Jan. 6 was a national disgrace,” Dario said, adding that he now knows Trump lost the election to Joe Biden and blames himself for the actions that led to his loss of freedom.
The judge, Timothy Kelly, highlighted the damage: “That day broke our tradition of peaceful transitions of power”, he said. “That tradition that wasn’t broken before is now broken, and it will take time and effort to fix it.”
Before handing down the sentence, the judge said he saw no sign that Dario had repented of what he had been convicted of, adding that there was a strong need to send a signal to others. “It won’t happen again,” Kelly said.
The Proud Boys are a far-right group known as “Western chauvinists”, often involved in street fights with left-wing activists. Dario was involved in the preparations for the January 6 uprising, but did not take part in the violence. Dario was arrested and forced to flee Washington before members of the Proud Boys joined thousands of people to storm the Capitol as delegates gathered to certify Biden’s victory. But prosecutors proved he orchestrated and directed it from afar. “Using his powerful platform, Dario repeatedly publicly indicated that he was not sorry for helping to happen on January 6,” the indictment states.
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”