Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs sentenced to 17 years

Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs was handed down a sentence on Thursday relating to his involvement in the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Convicted in May of seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to use, intimidation or threats to prevent officials from discharging their duties and interference with law enforcement during civil disorder, he’s been ordered to spend 17 years behind bars — one of the longest sentences yet, just under Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who received a sentence of 18 years.

“Biggs viewed himself and his movement as a second American revolution where he and the other ‘patriots’ would retake the government by force,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memo. According to reporting from BBC, Biggs was tearful in court, issuing an apology for his actions and claiming to have been “seduced” by the crowd on the day of the riot.

“I just moved forward. My curiosity got the better of me,” he said. “I’m not a terrorist. I don’t have hate in my heart . . . I know that I have to be punished, and I understand.”