Proud Boys Member Dominic Pezzola, Who Broke Capitol Window With Riot Defend, Sentenced To 10 Years In Jail

Washington — Dominic Pezzola, a member of the far-right Proud Boys group who grew to become one of many extra recognizable faces of the Jan. 6 Capitol assault after video confirmed him smashing a Capitol window with a riot defend, was sentenced to 10 years in jail on Friday.

Pezzola was convicted of quite a few felony counts stemming from his involvement within the breach — together with obstruction of an official continuing and destruction of presidency property. Not like his co-defendants, together with Proud Boys chief Enrique Tarrio, Pezzola was acquitted by a jury of probably the most extreme cost of seditious conspiracy. 

Regardless of his acquittal on this cost, prosecutors requested federal Choose Timothy Kelly to condemn Pezzola to twenty years in jail, a request the decide denied throughout Friday’s listening to. 

Not like Pezzola’s Proud Boys co-defendants Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl and Joseph Biggs, whom prosecutors characterised in a sentencing submitting as leaders of the Jan. 6 mob,  Pezzola was “an enthusiastic foot soldier” and one of many “most violent members on January 6, 2021.” 

He gathered with greater than 100 members of the group together with Nordean, Rehl and Biggs on the Washington Monument forward of the Capitol assault and marched to the Capitol. In response to proof introduced at trial, Pezzola then attacked legislation enforcement, stole a riot defend and used the defend to interrupt a Capitol window earlier than getting into the constructing. 

In a selfie video he took from contained in the Capitol Crypt throughout the assault, Pezzola proclaimed, “I knew we could take this motherf***** over if we just tried hard enough.”

Pezzola — one among solely two of the 5 Proud Boys co-defendants to take the stand in his personal protection — urged the courtroom in his personal sentencing memorandum to ship him to jail for five years. 

“I’m taking the stand today to take responsibility for my actions on January 6,” he mentioned from the stand throughout the month-long trial, but in addition regarded responsible legislation enforcement for the violence that day. His attorneys argued throughout the trial that there had been no conspiracy among the many group of Proud Boys. 

Pezzola’s sentence comes only a day after Choose Kelly sentenced Biggs and Rehl to 17 and 15 years in jail respectively. Each males have been discovered responsible of seditious conspiracy. 

Tarrio faces his sentencing Tuesday.