The government claims that a Proud Boys leader who was found guilty of seditious conspiracy “served as an instigator and leader” during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6 could receive decades in federal prison when he is sentenced on Thursday.
Who is Joe Biggs?
Joe Biggs, an Army veteran who worked as a correspondent for the Infowars website after suffering a head injury in Iraq, is expected to spend 33 years in federal prison, according to the authorities. The harshest sentence handed down in a Jan. 6 case to far was 18 years for Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was also found guilty of seditious conspiracy. Federal prosecutors had requested a 25-year jail term.
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Federal prosecutors say Biggs was a “vocal leader and influential proponent of the group’s shift toward political violence” and used his “outsized public profile” and his military experience as he “led a revolt against the government in an effort to stop the peaceful transfer of power.”
Biggs was found guilty in May of seditious conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to use force, threats, or coercion to impede the performance of official duties by U.S. officers, interfering with law enforcement during a civil disturbance, and destruction of government property.
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Along with Zachary Rehl, Dominic Pezzola, Enrique Tarrio, and Ethan Nordean, Biggs appeared in court. Except for Pezzola, all five of the accused were found guilty of felony and seditious conspiracy. In the upcoming days, the sentences for the other Proud Boys will also be handed down: Rehl on Thursday afternoon, Pezzola and Nordean on Friday, and Tarrio on Tuesday.
On January 6, 2021, Biggs claimed in a selfie video he took in front of the Capitol, “January 6th will be a day in infamy.”
Norm Pattis, an attorney for Biggs, said in closing arguments at trial that the Proud Boys’ “commander-in-chief” — former President Donald Trump — “sold them a lie,” referring to the lies about the 2020 presidential election.
