Proud Boys leader Joseph Biggs said he believed “with all his heart” that Donald Trump would pardon him in an online interview in which he complained about prison food.
The U.S. Army veteran was sentenced to 17 years in prison earlier this week for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. During the sentencing, Biggs praised former President Trump.
He and Proud Boys leader Zachary Rael are the first people associated with the group to be sentenced for the deadly insurrection in Washington, D.C. Their ally Enrique Tarrio will be sentenced next week .
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The Proud Boys are a hate group founded in 2016 by VICE Media co-founder Gavin McInnes, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
when speaking alex jones show Biggs explained via Skype from prison that he hopes the former president will pardon him if he wins the 2024 presidential election.
“They want to send the message to Americans that if you go to these events, if you’re part of a certain political group, they’re going to put you in jail for a long time,” he said. “They want to scare you. .”
“They don’t want you to go out and vote, they want people to be scared before they vote, that’s why there’s such a drastic thing going on now. You know, it’s ridiculous. We didn’t have any plans, nothing to go out there that day … we Be there like any other American, but it’s because we’re a political group.”
He later added: “The food (in prison) is terrible. You can’t eat the food here. It’s not edible anyway.”
When Jones asked if he wanted Trump to pardon him, Biggs said: “Oh, I know he will. I believe that with all my heart.”
Trump has previously pardoned his supporters and associates, including Roger Stone and George Papadopoulos.
As of Aug. 6, more than 1,106 people had been charged in connection with the Capitol riot, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The jailing of rioters at the Capitol drew criticism from Republicans who called the sentences harsh.
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Green likened Biggs’ sentencing to the legal consequences of a child molester.
She also said that all those charged for the Jan. 6 actions should be granted a pardon because “enough persecution has been done to them”. Green previously questioned how many Black Lives Matter “rioters” were incarcerated as a result of the 2020 protests sparked by the death of George Floyd.
Weekly newspaper Trump’s team has been emailed for comment.
