(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Former Proud Boy Zachary Rehl, whose defense team was infiltrated by an FBI informant during his trial, was sentenced on Thursday to 15 years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill protest-turned-riot.
Charged with seditious conspiracy, Rehl was seen on video spraying a chemical irritant at law enforcement officers outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Prosecutors had recommended a 30-year prison sentence for Rehl, who helped lead dozens of Proud Boys members and associates in marching to the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Rehl and three other Proud Boys who were convicted by a jury in May after a four-month trial in Washington. A fifth Proud Boys member, Dominic Pezzola, was acquitted of seditious conspiracy but convicted of other serious charges.
The trial looked to be slanted against the defendants from the beginning.
The deck was particularly stacked against Rehl, who learned in March that a person he planned on using as a defense witness had, in fact, been working as an FBI informant from at least April 2021 to January 2023.
“During this period of time, the [informant] has been in contact via telephone, text messaging and other electronic means, with one or more of the counsel for the defense and at least one defendant … The [informant] also participated in prayer meetings with members of one or more of the defendants’ families,” Rehl said in a motion he filed in March.
“The [informant] also engaged in discussions with one of the defendant’s family members about replacing one of the defense counsels.”
However, the presiding judge ruled that the presense of a spy close to Rehl’s defense team didn’t affect his ability to receive a fair trial. About two months later, he was found guilty.
The judge who sentenced Rehl also on Thursday also sentenced Proud Boys organizer Joseph Biggs to 17 years in prison.
Enrique Tarrio, a Miami resident who was the Proud Boys’ national chairman and top leader, is scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday. His sentencing was moved from Wednesday to next week because U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly was sick.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
