Proud Boys leader breaks down and denounces January 6 attack during sentencing
Washington DC - Zach Rehl, president of the Philadelphia chapter of the extreme right Proud Boys, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison Thursday for his role in fomenting the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
The punishment – handed down at the conclusion of a two-hour hearing in Washington – fell just shy of the longest prison term imposed against any of the hundreds of people sentenced in connection with the riot so far.
It is exceeded only by the 17-year sentence US District Judge Timothy Kelly gave to Rehl's co-defendant – Joseph Biggs, a Proud Boy leader from Florida – who was sentenced earlier in the day and the 18 years given to Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes in May.
Still, the sentence Rehl ultimately received was half the three-decade prison term prosecutors sought for what they described as "an effort to change the course of American history" and impose their will on the government by force.
Rehl, choking back tears, described January 6 as a "despicable day," apologized to his family and disavowed any involvement in politics in the future.
"I'm done with all of it," he told the judge. "I'm done with politics. I'm done peddling lies for other people who don't care about me."
Former Proud Boys leader to be sentenced next week
Thursday’s hearings for Rehl and Biggs came three months after a federal jury convicted them and two other leaders of the Proud Boys on seditious conspiracy charges for trying to disrupt the peaceful transition of presidential power by riling up the mob that disrupted Congress' certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.
The Proud Boys former national chairman Enrique Tarrio is scheduled to face sentencing Tuesday.
Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / ZUMA Press