Proud Boys Rejected Deals For Half Their Sentences

The Daily Beast reports:

Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio declined a plea deal before going to trial, and the gamble failed miserably when the 39-year-old was sentenced on Wednesday to twice the prison time he would have received under the agreement. Four other members of the far-right gang turned down similarly sweet deals: Ethan Nordean got 18 years rather than the six to eight years he was offered; Joe Biggs got 17 years as opposed to six to eight; Zachary Rehl was sentenced to 15 years instead of six to seven; and Dominic Pezzola got a full decade behind bars when he could have been out in four to five.

Read the full article. And this is why the vast majority of federal criminal cases do not go to trial.

Before trial, USA offered Proud Boys plea deals, revealed yesterday. They passed. Result:
Offer | Sentence after trial
Tarrio 9-11 yrs| 22 yrs
Nordean 6-8 yrs | 18 yrs
Biggs 6-8 yrs | 17 yrs
Rehl 6-7 yrs | 15 yrs
Pezzola 4-5 yrs | 10 yrs
/1 pic.twitter.com/OGf0CdRipr

— Roger Parloff (@rparloff) September 7, 2023

The plea offers were made public yesterday by Biggs/Rehl atty @PattisNorm , who plans to argue on appeal that the disparities are an unconstitutional “tax” on exercising right to trial. Full plea offer here: https://t.co/3ZfZLNMLvx
But …
/2

— Roger Parloff (@rparloff) September 7, 2023

… at least some of disparity is built into sentencing guidelines, which give credit for acceptance of responsibility & saving govt resources—in this case, a 4-mo trial. Also, def Rehl took stand &, in judge’s view, lied. Full result chart by @TylerMcBrien & me below.
/3 pic.twitter.com/8HDrFWspLT

— Roger Parloff (@rparloff) September 7, 2023