A high-profile individual from the Proud Boys, a far-right group, just got smacked with an 18-year prison sentence. His charges? Coping a major role in that crazy attack on the U.S. Capitol back on January 6, 2021. You know, the one where folks tried to flip the results of Donald Trump’s election loss. This is the longest sentence served in this case to date. Yet another group member bagged a 10-year term and bellowed “Trump won” on his way out of court.
Meet Ethan Nordean, a top member in the Proud Boys. He just got tagged with an 18-year stretch for seditious conspiracy. It’s a bit of a ‘good news’ considering prosecutors initially pushed for 27 years. Ethan finds himself in the same boat as Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who got hit with a sentence of similar duration earlier this year. U.S District Judge Timothy Kelly stressed how crucial it is for power to transition peacefully here in the States.
As for Ethan, he’s sorry about how things went down on Jan. 6. He claims he only wanted to keep the peace. His family begged the court to go easy on him.
Lawyer Nick Smith, representing Nordean, pitched for a sentence between 15 to 21 months. Dominic Pezzola, who is part of Proud Boys, found guilty of organizing and violently interfering in an official procedure, even though he didn’t hold a leadership position. The Proud Boys member got a decade-long jail term and shouted, “Trump won!” as he left the courtroom.
Pezzola had attacked former Capitol Police Officer Mark Ode, stolen a riot shield, and smashed a Capitol window with it, contributing to his high sentence, as informed by the legal authorities.
After Donald Trump, the then President, made incorrect accusations about fraudulent activities in the 2020 election—an argument he’s still making while topping the 2024 Republican nomination race—his followers raided the Capitol.
This attack led to the death of five people, one of whom was a police officer, plus over 140 cops were injured. The Capitol building also witnessed significant damage. In the aftermath, over 1,100 people got arrested in relation to the Capitol raid. Of these, more than 630 people accepted their guilt and at least 110 got proven guilty at trial.
[sourcelink link=”https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-judge-sentence-two-more-proud-boys-jan-6-attack-capitol-2023-09-01/”]
