Reading The Tea Leaves

A political group:

According to a report from Newsweek, Joe Biggs, who sobbed in court on Thursday when he was sentenced to almost two decades in prison for seditious conspiracy, complained about being sent to jail, telling Jones, "They want to send a message to Americans that if you go to these events, if you are part of a political group, they're going to throw you in prison for a long time. They want you scared." 

Continuing in that vein he added, "They don't want you to go out and vote, they want people scared before it's time to vote and that's why all this heat's happening right now. You know, this is ridiculous. We went there that day with no plan, with nothing. We were there like every other American but it's because we're a political group."

That eschews politics in favor of violence:

ANDY CAMPBELL: Right. Well, you know, these are, as you said, two lieutenants who have been with the gang for a long time, pushing the same rhetoric that made January 6 happen. Both of them sobbed in court, saying they regret their actions, that, you know, this was — January 6 was a slip-up of the mind. But we know, from evidence in both their cases and throughout their violent history, you know, four days after the news networks called the election for Joe Biden, Joe Biggs, the gang’s top propagandist, I would say, published a blog titled “The Second Civil War Is Closer Than You Might Think. Buy Ammo. Clean Your Guns. Things Are Going to Get a Lot Worse Before They Get Better.” These guys, alongside Donald Trump, immediately after Trump lost, saw January 6 as their last stand for Trump. So, they were — there was an air, through their sobs right before their sentencing, of, you know, they were claiming that this was a slip-up during the day, that they followed Donald Trump erroneously. But we know for a fact that these guys were ready and willing to bring violence to the situation for Trump, just as they always have. 

Now, the sentences that each of these lieutenants got show that the Justice Department and now the judge overseeing the case, Tim Kelly, see the Proud Boys as the — one of, if not the top organizers, planners and executors of the riots on January 6. I mean, these are, with the terrorism enhancement, very serious charges. Seditious conspiracy is a rare charge, historically brought against terrorists working on American soil. This is very serious. Now, will the sentences have any sort of tamping-down effect on our overall extremist crisis? I don’t think so. But certainly, the 15- and 17-year sentences for two top lieutenants of the Proud Boys doesn’t bode well for our last three defendants, especially the chairman, Enrique Tarrio, who, the government argued successfully, oversaw the entire thing from start to finish on January 6.

John Lauro can read the tea leaves. There’s a reason he wants Trump’s trial postponed for two years, and why he antagonized the judge when he couldn’t get it (and he knew he wouldn’t).