Proud Boys member Dominic Pezzola gets 10 years for smashing Senate window with police shield in Jan. 6 attack

WASHINGTON – A Proud Boys member, Dominic Pezzola, who the judge called the "tip of the spear" for being the first to breach Capitol during the attack Jan. 6, 2021 was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison.

Prosecutors proposed a 20-year sentence for Pezzola of Rochester, New York. He was acquitted of seditious conspiracy but convicted of other serious charges in the attack.

Pezzola's lawyers proposed a five-year sentence, arguing he is important to supporting his family, he hadn't previously been convicted of crimes and he served in the military honorably for six years.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly called Pezzola the "tip of the spear" in the attack, for smashing a Senate window with a police shield, allowing other rioters to enter. Pezzola later spent 20 minutes in the building.

“The reality is you smashed that window in and let people begin to stream into the Capitol building and threaten the lives of our lawmakers,” Kelly told Pezzola. “It’s not something that I ever dreamed I would have seen in our country.”

As he left the courtroom, Pezzola raised a fist and said, “Trump won!”

Kelly also sentenced Proud Boys member Ethan Nordean to 18 years in prison on Friday, which ties for the longest sentence related to Jan. 6. Nordean was accused of leading hundreds of the group's members after national leader Enrique Tarrio was arrested on unrelated charges and left the city.

The other longest sentence of 18 years went to Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes.

Pezzola and Nordean were among five Proud Boys members scheduled to be sentenced this week, after their convictions at trial in April. Tarrio, Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl were each convicted of seditious conspiracy and other charges.

On Thursday, Kelly handed down the second- and third-longest sentences in the Jan. 6 attack with 17 years for Biggs and 15 years for Rehl. Tarrio's sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Trump was indicted Aug. 1 on conspiracy charges related to obstructing Congress, but not inciting the Capitol attack or seditious conspiracy. He pleaded not guilty and has a trial scheduled March 4.

What did Pezzola do at Capitol?

Pezzola was convicted of seven charges: obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress, conspiracy to use force or threats to intimidate U.S. officers from performing their duties, interference with law enforcement, two counts of destruction of government property, assaulting or impeding police and robbery of personal property.

"While sparring with police who were trying to quell the mob's advance, Pezzola robbed an officer of his riot shield," prosecutors said in a sentencing memo.

Pezzola yelled at police officers with obscenities and said they should be scared. He admitted while testifying that he broke the window with the shield because he thought it was a way to get government to listen to him. Pezzola walked around the Capitol for about 20 minutes and recorded a video in the crypt proclaiming his pride in taking the building over, prosecutors said.

“He was an enthusiastic foot soldier,” prosecutor Erik Kenerson said.

Pezzola's lawyers Steven Metcalf and Roger Roots highlighted that he took responsibility for his actions while testifying at trial. Pezzola wants to support his wife and two children, his lawyers said.

"I got caught up in all the craziness," Pezzola testified at his trial, describing elderly protesters with "their heads split open" and blood on the ground. "During the scuffle with the whole shield incident, I did grab onto the police officer's shield, and I pulled it out of fear for my own life, because deadly force was being used against us by the police. And then I made my way up the scaffolding, not really thinking straight."

His daughter, Angelina Pezzola, 19, asked for mercy at his sentencing. She said he "spent his life working like a dog" in flooring so she could attend college, but he missed her high school graduation and three birthdays while jailed on the charges.

What did Nordean do at the Capitol?

Nordean was convicted of six charges: seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding of Congress, obstruction of the proceeding, conspiracy to impede a federal officer, civil disorder, destruction of government property.

Nordean led a group of 200 men to the Capitol, led the throng to tear down a fence that allowed other rioters onto the grounds and defied police officers who told him to leave, prosecutors said in a sentencing memo. Nordean embraced his leadership role after Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio's arrest on unrelated charges Jan. 4.

"Nordean's prominence in the group was the result of his large stature and reputation for doling out physical violence," prosecutors wrote in their sentencing recommendation. "Nordean embraced that reputation."

Nordean's radicalization didn't occur overnight, according to prosecutors. He voiced frustration with traditional party labels and advocated a "Rebels of America Party," prosecutors said. When someone agreed to join if politicians "are lynched on your inauguration day and all bureaucrats are summarily shot on sight," Nordean replied Nov. 11, 2020: "Deal."

As Jan. 6 approached, Nordean advocated for use of force against the government, prosecutors said. In a podcast Dec. 28, 2020, Nordean said "the only thing left is force." He said he did not want to use force against the government because of unknown repercussions, but he said he was ready to "assemble an army that will literally replace you just like that," according to the prosecution memo.

His posturing continued after the the attack. "I might get arrested when I land, but I regret nothing," Nordean posted a private, encrypted message Jan. 11, 2021, according to the prosecution memo.

Nordean's lawyers: severe punishment 'unfair and wrong'

Nordean's lawyers proposed a sentence of less than two years − from 15 to 21 months − by arguing that he couldn't have known the severity of charges that would be pursued for marching on the Capitol. Nordean walked in and out of the building like hundreds of people convicted of misdemeanors, his lawyers said. But the government relied on abstract words rather than concrete actions to seek a harsh sentence, his lawyers argued.

"It does rely on one concrete fact: Nordean belongs to a political organization targeted by the government," his lawyers wrote.

"The government's disproportionate argument would turn thousands of domestic political protesters, many of whom wish to 'influence' government, into legal 'terrorists,'" his lawyers wrote.

"Legal jargon aside, severely punishing people for actions they could not have known were the grave crimes for which they are charges strikes many people as unfair and wrong," his lawyers wrote. "For decades if not longer, many protesters have done exactly what Nordean did at the Capitol. They were not punished as the government proposes. It is not close."

Nordean "deeply regrets his decision to enter the restricted area and the Capitol building and to disobey orders from law enforcement to turn around," his lawyers wrote.

What happened Jan. 6?

Members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers were convicted of being leaders of the insurrection, when thousands of rioters fought police outside the Capitol and then rampaged through building, with some chanting for Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

One rioter was shot to death by police outside the House chamber, a Capitol Police officer died the next day of natural causes after being sprayed with chemicals and a handful of other officers died by suicide in the weeks after.

More than 1,100 people have been charged so far with federal crimes related to Jan. 6 and more than 600 have been sentenced.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Proud Boys member first to breach Capitol Jan. 6 gets 10 years