Enrique Tarrio, former chairman of the militant far-right group Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Tuesday after previously being convicted of seditious conspiracy in the January 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol.

The sentence was passed down by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly, following an extensive hearing that included final statements from prosecutors and pleas for leniency from Tarrio's family. The 22-year sentence was notably less than the 33 years sought by the government, but still longer than prison terms given to Tarrio's co-conspirators from his seditious conspiracy trial. Tarrio's sentence is also the harshest given to any defendant in the Capitol riot.

Tarrio served in his leadership position with the Proud Boys from 2018 to 2021, seeing the group through a period of time in which, amid the tenure of former President Donald Trump, it rose to greater national prominence. Numerous members of the group were eventually arrested, accused of participating in the Capitol riot, which triggered strife among its ranks. Revelations that Tarrio had acted as an informant for law enforcement in 2012 and 2014 caused further divides in the group. He later stepped down as national chairman of the Proud Boys, but claimed that these divisions were not the reason.