A former leader of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group was sentenced on Tuesday to more than three years behind bars for joining a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol nearly three years ago.

Charles Donohoe was the second Proud Boy to plead guilty to conspiring with other group members to obstruct the Jan. 6, 2021, joint session of Congress for certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. His sentence could be a bellwether for other Proud Boys conspirators who agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors.

Donohoe, 35, of Kernersville, North Carolina, apologized to his family, the law-enforcement officers who guarded the Capitol on Jan. 6 and “America as a whole” for his actions on Jan. 6.

“I knew what I was doing was illegal from the very moment those barricades got knocked down,” he said.

  • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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    11 months ago

    I’m generally against large prison sentences, but he deserves life. He was attempting to deprive all Americans from having a say in our democracy. It’s not like he was just hurting himself, or even just a few people.

    • thecrotch
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      11 months ago

      Per the article, he got a deal because he cooperated. I’m guessing that means he gave them intel on other people they could go after. Considering how light of a sentence he got, I’m guessing it was someone valuable. If we throw the book at everyone who cooperates nobody will cooperate.

      • squiblet@kbin.social
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        11 months ago

        I guess but it seems like only 3-4 of them have gotten sentences higher than what you’d get for having a joint in Mississippi.

        • breakfastmtn@lemmy.ca
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          11 months ago

          His cooperation contributed to those 4 convictions for seditious conspiracy.

          In this case, the prosecution recommended 35-43 months. He got 40.

          Edit: by 4 convictions, I mean Enrique Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rehl.

      • Lem453@lemmy.ca
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        11 months ago

        We’ve been hearing this since 2021. Who are the big names that have been charged with insurrection as a result of all these lenient sentences?

        • breakfastmtn@lemmy.ca
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          11 months ago

          His cooperation seems to have led to serious convictions:

          Tarrio - 22 years

          Nordean - 18 years

          Biggs - 17 years

          Rehl - 15 years

          • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
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            11 months ago

            I love seeing people ask questions that easily tell us that they’re not paying attention.

            “When will someone be punished?!?”

            These dudes got decades in prison.

      • mindbleach
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        11 months ago

        Wouldn’t have to go after many people if they weren’t politely directed to the exits so they could go home. They were all right fuckin’ there, in one building. That was kinda the problem.

        • thecrotch
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          11 months ago

          You’re right, law enforcement could have done a lot more to round people up instead of spending months combing through social media after the face. But not everyone who was responsible for this was in the building that day, in fact the ones we really want probably weren’t.