Marjorie Taylor Greene appears to defend Proud Boys leader in social media post

by Nick Robertson - 08/19/23 8:36 AM ET

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) appeared to defend the leader of the Proud Boys militia group after the Justice Department (DOJ) announced it is seeking a 33-year sentence for his role in planning the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Enrique Tarrio was found guilty of seditious conspiracy in May, the most serious charge brought against anyone related to the riots. A 33-year sentence is the longest requested and would be the longest handed down in the Capitol riot cases, if accepted by a judge.

“You know who the Justice Department is not seeking 33 years in prison for?” Greene said on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday. “Antifa/BLM violent rioters who burned, looted, destroyed $2 billion in property in George Floyd riots. And Hunter Biden and Joe Biden for taking criminal bribes selling political influence and favors.”

Tarrio and three others were convicted of plotting to halt the count of electoral votes and potentially overturn the results of the 2020 election. A fifth member of the group was acquitted on seditious conspiracy charges but convicted on other felonies.

During the trial, prosecutors said Proud Boys saw themselves as “Donald Trump’s army” and significantly contributed to breaches of the Capitol Building throughout the day.

“The defendants understood the stakes, and they embraced their role in bringing about a ‘revolution,’” prosecutors wrote in court filings. “They unleashed a force on the Capitol that was calculated to exert their political will on elected officials by force and to undo the results of a democratic election.”

“The foot soldiers of the right aimed to keep their leader in power,” the prosecutors continued. “They failed.”

Greene has previously claimed that the Justice Department is “weaponized for political purposes,” in relation to the special counsel prosecution of former President Trump. She and other Republicans have criticized the Department for perceived bias in its prosecutions.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a special counsel last week to investigate Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son. The younger Biden has been under investigation for nearly five years by Delaware prosecutors and was accused of tax and firearms crimes.