Joe Biggs, a Proud Boy Leader, received 17 years for his role in the 2021 assault on the US Capitol as a supporter of Donald Trump.
He was sentenced for seditious conspiracy, inciting the riot, and other charges and was given a sentence of 17 years in prison.
The sentence, handed down by US District Judge Timothy Kelly, is below both federal sentencing guidelines and the 33 years sought by prosecutors.
Another Proud Boys member, Zachary Rehl, was sentenced on Thursday to 15 years in prison on seditious conspiracy charges too.
He was a former US Marine and leader of the Philadelphia branch of the Proud Boys and was seen on video spraying a chemical irritant at officers outside the Capitol during the riot.
In a sentencing memo, prosecutors said that Biggs – a veteran of the war in Iraq and former correspondent for conspiracy website Infowars – “employed his military experience to direct and control large groups of men under his command” to lead a “revolt against the government”.
“Biggs viewed himself and his movement as a second American revolution where he and the other ‘patriots’ would retake the government by force,” the memo said.
In court, a weepy Biggs apologized for his actions and said he had been enticed by the crowd on the day of the riot.
“I just moved forward. My curiosity got the better of me,” he added. “I’m not a terrorist. I don’t have hate in my heart.”
“I know that I have to be punished, and I understand,” Biggs said.
