Washington, DC (EFE). –
The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday sentenced a member of the far-right group Proud Boys, Dominic Pezzola, to 10 years in prison for the attack on the Capitol in January 2021.
Pezzola is known for using a stolen police shield to smash the windows of the Capitol to let other protesters in.
Prosecutors sought a 20-year sentence for him.
On Thursday, two former leaders of the organization, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl, were also sentenced to 17 and 15 years in prison, respectively.
On Friday, another prominent member of the Proud Boys, Ethan Nordean, will be sentenced.
On Tuesday, it will be the turn of their leader, Enrique Tarrio.
Rehl, Biggs, Nordean and Tarrio were found guilty of conspiracy to riot in May.
Pezzola escaped that charge, but was found guilty of assault, resisting an officer, and theft of government property.
The Justice Department recalled in a statement Thursday that on Jan. 6, 2021, when Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory over Republican Donald Trump was being certified, a group and the men under Trump’s orders participated in the attack.
The attack began at 10 a.m. when Biggs, Rehl and others convinced about 200 people to walk from the Ellipse, the park south of the White House, to the Capitol, bypassing multiple security barriers.
Pezzola’s actions “proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to influence or affect the conduct of the government by intimidation or coercion, or to retaliate against the government’s conduct,” prosecutors said in recommending a 20-year sentence. EFE
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