Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrios' sentencing is abruptly canceled
WASHINGTON, DC: The sentencing of Enrique Tarrio had to be cancelled after the district judge Timothy Kelly fell ill.
The former leader of the far-right group Proud Boys was supposed to be sentenced on Wednesday, August 30, for his role in the 2021 Capitol riot.
Tarrio, 39, from Miami, was convicted of seditious conspiracy, a serious charge that accuses him of plotting to overthrow the US government or destroy it by force. He faces up to 33 years in prison.
How did Enrique Tarrio orchestrate the Capitol riot?
He was not present in Washington at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, because he had been arrested two days earlier in a separate case.
But prosecutors said he orchestrated the violence and encouraged others to join the attack.
He became the top target of what became the largest Justice Department investigation in American history, the Daily Mail noted.
Tarrio led the neo-fascist group - known for street fights with left-wing activists when former President Donald Trump infamously told the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by" during his first debate with Joe Biden.
During the month-long trial, prosecutors argued that the Proud Boys viewed themselves as foot soldiers fighting for Trump as the Republicans spread lies that Democrats stole the election from him.
Who were Enrique Tarrio’s co-defendants in the seditious conspiracy case?
He was tried alongside four other Proud Boys members: Ethan Nordean, 32, of Auburn, Washington; Joseph Biggs, 39, of Ormond Beach, Florida; Zachary Rehl, 37, of Philadelphia; and Dominic Pezzola, 45, of Rochester, New York.
They were also found guilty of seditious conspiracy and other charges such as obstruction of an official proceeding, civil disorder, and destruction of government property.
Pezzola was additionally convicted of assaulting officers and robbery.
The jury verdict came after a month-long trial that showed how the Proud Boys viewed themselves as foot soldiers for Trump.
They believed his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him by Democrats.
"The group were prepared to go to war to keep their preferred leader in power," attorneys had argued.
"They unleashed a force on the Capitol that was calculated to exert their political will on elected officials by force and to undo the results of a democratic election," prosecutors had reportedly written in the filing.
When will Enrique Tarrio and his co-defendants be sentenced?
Timothy Kelly could not preside over the hearing after falling sick on Wednesday which was the scheduled date of sentencing for Enrique and his codefendants.
The case has been postponed until September 5.