Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs sentenced to 17 years in January 6 case
A leader of the Proud Boys who led the far-right organization’s infamous march to the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, was sentenced Wednesday to 17 years in prison – among the longest sentence handed down yet for a convicted rioter.
Joe Biggs was convicted by a Washington, DC jury of several charges including seditious conspiracy for attempting to forcibly prevent the peaceful transfer of power from then-President Donald Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 election.
The government wanted Biggs to serve 33 years in federal prison. That's 15 years longer than the longest sentence in a Jan. 6 case to date: the 18-year sentence that went to Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, also convicted of seditious conspiracy, after prosecutors sought 25 years in federal prison.
Why are they all getting basically a slap in the hand?
1.) First of all, fuck Joe Biggs, he's a traitor.
2.) Federal Sentencing Guidelines are a thing.
3.) 17 Years is not a slap on the wrist. He'll be losing his military benefits & retirement as well.
4.) The government may still appeal this sentencing, as they are for Steward Rhodes.
5.) He's subject to USMJ & has been found guilty of Sedition. They can still have a turn with him.
Americans and their life-sentence-lust. Wild.
Even if he serves all 17 years, it's unlikely he rehabilitates and incredibly like he goes right back to it.
People get 30 years for having a couple hundred dollars of weed.
We wouldn't be complaining about his sentence so much if the rest of our sentences were also lesser
Or if the US Prison System was focused on rehabilitation rather than mass incarceration. This guy will find and be welcomed by his own in prison, and his misguided and dangerous ideology will only be enforced, and not challenged.
Fanatical beliefs like the ones this man holds should be ostracized and mocked until they fade into obscurity and irrelevance. Instead, they live on through insidious means like indoctrination, cults/organized religions, and fascism.
And then we'll get on our unicorns and ride off to gum drop mountain
That's the problem, not a 17 year sentence being too light. What's he going to learn in year 18 he didn't learn in the previous 17?
He literally tried to overthrow the government and overturn the peaceful transition of power through a coup. People died that day defending goverment workers from people who were going around with flexicuffs and blindfolds while other people strung up nooses. They were planning on executing innocent people.
Officers defending them got beaten so badly, they died the next day.
He's a military vet that attacked his country, he's lucky he's not being executed.
Deadass, doing the same thing he did in almost any other place or time throughout human history would've led to an execution.
Imagine punishing someone for attacking democracy and attempted an armed insurrection. I don't believe in the death sentence on moral grounds, but life imprisonment is a suitable alternative for the most extreme crimes.
I'm curious how Europe, with its long history of revolution, torture and guillotines, would handle a coup attempt.
I guess we'll get to find out when and if Germany prosecutes theirs. Wiki.
BBC article
They didn't actually get as far as storming the capitol, but it seems like it was in the plans.
He tried to overthrow a democratic elected government. What do you think they would have done have they ran into Pelossi or Pence? They had nooses. It was pre-planned and we don’t even know who in the government helped them. I’m not American btw
The guy should’ve been executed, but the burden on the prosecution might’ve been a high bar to cross for that punishment. At least he’ll be serving in federal prison, which is far harder time than state prison. Federal prison sentences for example won’t allow him to commute his sentence or ask for parole as easily as state sentences. You often hear about people serving only a fraction of their sentence in state prison; this avenue is not possible with federal charges. The president (Trump or a sympathizer) could commute or pardon him, but I think that’s a bridge Trump wouldn’t cross based on his current track record of pardons. Trump’s pardons were largely political gains for him (self serving) and I don’t think a troublemaker would in the end help him very much.