Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys militia, was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Tuesday in Washington. 

Prosecutors had sought a 33-year prison term for the 39-year-old. Although the sentence fell short of this, it is still the stiffest penalty handed out so far for the 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

The judge rejected arguments from one of Tarrio's lawyers that a terrorism adjustment to his sentence should not apply. Tarrio's lawyer argued his client was a "misguided patriot" who "thought he was saving this country, saving this republic." 

Despite agreeing that Tarrio's actions did not fall under the most traditional definitions of "terrorism," US District Judge Timothy Kelly said the adjustment should apply, as prosecutors had wanted.

What was said in court

Tarrio was not in Washington on January 6 but was accused and convicted of directing the assault on the Capitol by members of the Proud Boys. 

He appealed to the judge for leniency, insisting he was not a political zealot. "Inflicting harm or changing the results of the election was not my goal," Tarrio said.

But prosecutors argued he acted as a "general rather than a soldier," and said: "The only reason Tarrio did not march alongside the others is because he was arrested on his arrival in Washington DC and placed under a court order to leave the district." 

Prosecutors argued that the "savvy propagandist" had done "far more harm than he could have as an individual rioter" and that "his sentence should reflect that." 

"We need to make sure the consequences are abundantly clear to anyone who might be unhappy with the results of 2024, 2028, 2032 or any future election for as long as this case is remembered," prosecutor Conor Mulroe had said. "This was a calculated act of terrorism."

Tarrio and three others were convicted of seditious conspiracy in May for their roles in the failed attempt to stop the congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 election victory over Republican Donald Trump. 

"That day broke our previously unbroken tradition of peacefully transferring power," Kelly said as he passed sentence on Tarrio.

The other three men received jail terms of between 10 and 18 years last week. Tarrio's sentencing was delayed as the judge was ill. 

The assault on Congress, in which some 140 police officers were injured, followed a speech by Trump to supporters in which he repeated his false claims that he won the election. 

Trump is to go on trial in Washington in March on charges of conspiring to overturn the election results. 

msh/rc (AFP, AP, Reuters)