Former Proud Boys leader and Purple Heart recipient Joseph Biggs sobbed while receiving 17 years in prison over his involvement in the January 6 Capitol Hill protests.
During his court hearing, he begged Judge Timothy Kelly for a more lenient sentencing, saying he wanted to take his daughter to school and be there for his cancer-stricken mother.
“I know that I have to be punished, and I understand,” Biggs said, according to CNN. “Please give me the chance, I beg you, to take my daughter to school and pick her up.”
Biggs’ lawyers argued that he did not assault anyone, adding that he was not violent but was “seduced by the crowd.”
“I wanted to see what would happen... My curiosity got the best of me,” Biggs pleaded. “I’m not a terrorist… I’m one of the nicest people in the world.”
However, the judge took no sympathy for the decorated veteran.
“You did play a role in riling up the crowd,” Kelly said. “If you don’t like how an election is being conducted, you can speak out, call, write, or meet with election officials. You can engage in peaceful protest. File a lawsuit.”
According to the judge, Biggs qualified for a terrorism sentencing enhancement because he tore down a fence between police officers and protestors in front of the Capitol building.
Suzanne Monk, a supporter of the January 6 defendants who has also been reporting on the Proud Boys trial for AMP News, argued that Biggs’ sentencing was an attack on constitutional principles of the U.S.
She expressed her love for Biggs, calling him a hero who did not deserve the unfair, politically motivated sentence the judge gave him.
Kelly’s decision will “lead to far more violence and division in our nation,” Monk added.
Biggs was sentenced to 204 months in prison for being inside the Capitol building for only about 20 minutes during the Capitol Hill protests that Democrats won't ever let go. Court orders initially sought a 33-year sentence for Biggs, but Kelly deemed that recommendation “egregious.”
Biggs’ sentencing is one of the harshest handed out in cases related to January 6— Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes received 18 years in prison.