FL Proud Boys Leader Sentenced In Jan. 6 Seditious Conspiracy Case

WASHINGTON, DC — A Florida Proud Boys leader convicted of seditious conspiracy will spend 17 years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, a judge ruled Thursday, according to multiple reports.

Joseph Biggs of Ormond Beach served as an "instigator and leader" in the attack, federal prosecutors said before a judge handed him one of the longest sentences imposed so far in a case connected to the Capitol riot, according to an NBC News report. The longest was an 18-year prison sentence for Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes.

Federal prosecutors had recommended a 33-year prison sentence for Biggs, an Army veteran and Infowars correspondent, who helped lead dozens of Proud Boys members and associates in marching to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Biggs and other Proud Boys joined the mob that broke through police lines and forced lawmakers to flee, disrupting the joint session of Congress for certifying the electoral victory by President Joe Biden.

"I know that I messed up that day," Biggs told the judge just before being sentenced, "but I'm not a terrorist."

The judge who sentenced Biggs will also separately sentence four other Proud Boys convicted by a jury in May after a four-month trial in Washington, D.C. Among them is Proud Boys founder Enrique Tarrio of Miami, who also was found guilty of seditious conspiracy.

Co-defendants Ethan Nordean and Zachary Rehl were found guilty of seditious conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, according to the Department of Justice. A fifth defendant, Dominic Pezzola, was cleared on seditious conspiracy charges, according to authorities.

According to court documents, Tarrio created a special chapter of the Proud Boys known as the "Ministry of Self-Defense." Through the group, authorities said Tarrio, Nordean, Biggs, Rehl, and Pezzola conspired to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.

All five men were accused of mobilizing and leading members of the Proud Boys in attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Biggs and his co-defendants claimed credit for what happened on social media and in an encrypted chat room during and after the attack, authorities said.

Prosecutors told jurors the group viewed itself as "Trump's army" and was prepared for "all-out war" to stop Biden from becoming president.

"That day broke our tradition of peaceful transfer of power," U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly said as he sentenced Biggs, according to The Washington Post. "We don't have it anymore."

Kelly is scheduled to sentence Rehl later Thursday and Nordean on Friday, according to the Post. Tarrio was scheduled for sentencing Wednesday, but that hearing was moved to next week, the Post reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.