Joseph Randall Biggs | |
---|---|
Born | 1983/1984(age 40–41) Charlotte, North Carolina, United States |
Occupations |
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Employers | |
Organization | Proud Boys |
Known for | January 6 Capitol attack |
Criminal charges | |
Criminal penalty | 17 years imprisonment |
Criminal status | Imprisoned at FCI Talladega Talladega, Alabama, US |
Military career | |
Branch | United States Army |
Rank | Sergeant |
Awards | Purple Heart |
Joseph Randall Biggs (born 1983/1984) is an American veteran, media personality, organizer of the Proud Boys, and convicted felon for his participation in the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
After serving in the United States Army and suffering a traumatic brain injury, Biggs began working for various conservative media organizations, including InfoWars and Censored.TV . As a leader for the far-right Proud Boys group, he organized and promoted the End Domestic Terrorism rally; was found jointly culpable for an over-$1 million judgment for trespass and vandalism at the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church; and helped lead the organization's destructive efforts in the attack on the United States Capitol.
For the last of these, in 2023, he was found guilty on six criminal counts (including seditious conspiracy), and sentenced to 17 years in federal prison.
Joseph Randall Biggs [1] was born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1983or1984. [2] As of March 2021 [update] , he lived in Ormond Beach, Florida, [3] and upon his 2023 trial, had at least one daughter. [4]
In the 2010s, Biggs was arrested in Austin, Texas for assaulting a peace officer while drunk, but a grand jury did not return an indictment. [5] On social media, Biggs has repeatedly posted homophobic and misogynistic content since at least spring 2012; [6] his Twitter and Facebook accounts were suspended for posting threatening messages. [7]
Biggs is a United States Army combat veteran. [8] He suffered a traumatic brain injury during a deployment to Iraq, for which he received a Purple Heart. [9] As reported by Salon, Michael Hastings' book The Operators corroborates Biggs' service in Afghanistan as well as the sergeant's involvement "in a gruesome suicide-bombing incident". In 2007, he was stationed at Fort Bragg when arrested for domestic violence. Biggs claimed his separation from the Army was a medical retirement [5] after eight years enlisted. [10]
He also worked as a correspondent for InfoWars , where he covered the Oath Keepers' actions at the 2015 Ferguson unrest, the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, [11] conspiracy theories about the 2015 San Bernardino attack, and the Pizzagate conspiracy theory. [6]
In January 2017, Biggs posted online that he had been hired by Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN; "the unofficial version of Trump TV") to make a program focusing on the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution; [6] RSBN refuted that in April, saying they were merely speaking with Biggs and "are anything but racist or sexist here." [12]
In August 2017, Biggs was a speaker at the Boston Free Speech Rally, [2] and by 2019, was the host of a right-wing talk radio show. [13] In September 2020, Biggs was employed by Censored.TV , [14] though his show had been removed by late January 2021. [15]
By 2019, [7] Joseph Biggs was an organizer of the Proud Boys, a neofascist [16] "far-right, [17] [11] [18] all-male group of self-described 'Western chauvinists'" [17] which the Southern Poverty Law Center has classified as a hate group. [19]
Biggs was an organizer [7] and the main promoter of August 2019's End Domestic Terrorism rally in Portland, Oregon. [19] In the wake of that event, in response to Biggs' threat to return with the Proud Boys on a monthly basis, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler chastized Biggs "for frightening Portlanders with the prospect of violence in the streets", and told the Floridian he was not welcome in Portland. [13]
Biggs' lawyer—J. Daniel Hull—alleged that in late July 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation approached his client and enlisted his assistance collecting on-the-ground intelligence about antifa activists. [3]
At the September 29, 2020 presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, when pressured to condemn the Proud Boys as a white supremacy group, the president said, "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by". The next day, Biggs filed a police report with the Volusia County sheriff's office, alleging receipt of threatening phone calls and social-media messages, and requesting police protection. His identity in connection with the report was obfuscated under Marsy's Law. [15]
On December 12, 2020, Proud Boys trespassed the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., destroyed church property, and then celebrated the same. The church filed a lawsuit for compensatory damages against the Proud Boys' limited liability corporation, and specifically named Biggs, Jeremy Bertino, Enrique Tarrio, and John Turano. On June 30, 2023, Judge Neal E. Kravitz of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia issued a default judgment against the defendants for over one million dollars. [20]
In 2021, prior to the January 6 United States Capitol attack that delayed the certification of Joe Biden's presidential-election win, Biggs exhorted for Proud Boys to "turn out in record numbers [...] We will be blending in as one of you ... We are going to smell like you, move like you, and look like you. The only thing we'll do that's us is think like us!" [18] On January 5, via encrypted social media channels, he communicated with other members: "trying to get our numbers. So we can plan accordingly for tonight and go over tomorrow's plan. [...] info should be coming out [...] we have a plan". [21]
Outside the Capitol Building, Biggs spoke privately with Ryan Samsel, who immediately thereafter was the first person to breach the security perimeter. [10] Biggs was one of the first to breach the building itself at about 2:13 p.m., 20 seconds behind Dominic Pezzola, who smashed a Senate window with a riot shield; [18] he was identified by the FBI via photos and videos taken there. [17] Biggs and other Proud Boys were wearing walkie-talkies to allow real-time communication, [18] and Biggs was recorded on video saying of the breach, "This is awesome!" [17] He later left the building, but returned 30 minutes later alongside some Oath Keepers, pushing their way past a law enforcement officer. [21]
On January 18, Biggs admitted to the FBI that he entered the building, but claimed he neither forced his way in, nor knew about the plan to do so. [17] On the morning of January 20, 2021, he was arrested in Florida, [11] charged with knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority; obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding; and willfully and knowingly engaging in disorderly conduct to impede a session of Congress. [17] In Orlando court, Biggs did not enter a plea; magistrate judge Embry Kidd released him to home detention [18] with an unsecured bond of US$25,000(equivalent to about $28,000 in 2023), [22] pending his trial in Washington, D.C. [17]
Biggs and three other Proud Boys leaders (Charles Donohoe, Ethan Nordean, and Zachary Rehl) [23] were indicted (United States of America v. Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Charles Donohoe) on March 10, 2021, charged with planning and executing the Capitol attack. [3] On March 20, and based on these new charges, federal prosecutors requested Biggs return to pre-trial detention. [21] Hull attempted to leverage Biggs' alleged prior cooperation with the FBI to keep his client out on bail. [3] Judge Timothy J. Kelly revoked his bail that April, saying, "The defendants stand charged with seeking to steal one of the crown jewels of our country, in a sense, by interfering with the peaceful transfer of power. [...] It's no exaggeration to say the rule of law and ... in the end, the existence of our constitutional republic is threatened by it." [24] In July 2021, Hull complained to Kelly that Biggs' time in the Seminole County, Florida jail was subjecting his Proud Boys client to threats of violence, exacerbating his medical problems, and complicating their defense prep due to a lack of technology. [25]
On June 6, 2022, a superseding grand jury indictment (United States of America v. Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Enrique Tarrio, and Dominic Pezzola) was issued by the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, Matthew M. Graves. [26] In addition to Hull, at the D.C. jury trial, Biggs was also represented by the Connecticut-based Norm Pattis, who was briefly removed from the case when his law license was suspended due to mishandling confidential documents in Alex Jones' trial for defamation. [27]
On May 4, 2023, after the three-month trial in D.C., [28] Biggs was found guilty of seditious conspiracy; obstructing an official proceeding and criminal conspiracy thereto; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties; interference with law enforcement during civil disorder; and destruction of government property. Judge Kelly ruled that Biggs' destruction of a fence separating rioters and police qualified the defendant for "a terrorism sentencing enhancement sought by prosecutors", who asked for a 33-year sentence. Prior to sentencing, Biggs apologized to the court, blaming his actions on personal and familial difficulties, [4] and conceded that "I know that I have to be punished and I understand". [29] On August 31, Kelly sentenced Biggs to 17 years of federal imprisonment. [4] As of October 2024, [update] Biggs was prisoner number 26257-509, imprisoned at the Federal Correctional Institution, Talladega with a release date of January 6, 2036 (11 years' time). [30]
Two days later, Biggs told Alex Jones that his veteran's pension had been revoked, and that if Donald Trump was successful in the 2024 presidential election, "I know he'll pardon me. I believe that with all my heart". On CNN Republican Town Hall with Donald Trump , the former president said that he—if elected—would look into pardoning a "'large portion' of the Capitol riot defendants." [31] In the run up to Ohio's Republican primary for the 2024 US Senate election, incumbent senator JD Vance was trying to redefine the extent of the Capitol attack, saying that Biggs and the other men who "tore down barricades and fencing, led people into the building, and fought through officers trying to defend the building" were sentenced too harshly in comparison to other criminals. [32]
Oath Keepers is an American far-right anti-government militia whose leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the government of the United States, including the transfer of presidential power as prescribed by the United States constitution. It was incorporated in 2009 by founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes, a lawyer and former paratrooper. In 2023, Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, and another Oath Keepers leader, Kelly Meggs, was sentenced to 12 years for the same crime. Three other members have pleaded guilty to this crime, and four other members have been convicted of it.
Seditious conspiracy is a crime in various jurisdictions of conspiring against the authority or legitimacy of the state. As a form of sedition, it has been described as a serious but lesser counterpart to treason, targeting activities that undermine the state without directly attacking it.
Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic church located at 1518 M Street, N.W., in downtown Washington, D.C. It affiliates with the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
The Proud Boys is a North American far-right, neo-fascist militant organization that promotes and engages in political violence. The group's leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the federal government of the United States, including its constitutionally prescribed transfer of presidential power. It has been called a street gang and was designated as a terrorist group in Canada and New Zealand. The Proud Boys are opposed to left-wing and progressive groups and support Donald Trump, the former president of the United States and current President-elect of the United States. While Proud Boys leadership has denied being a white supremacist organization, the group and some of its members have been connected to white supremacist events, ideologies, and other white-power groups throughout its existence.
Timothy James Kelly is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and former chief counsel for national security and senior crime counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Patriot Prayer is an American far-right group founded by Joey Gibson in 2016 and based in Vancouver, Washington, a suburban city in the Portland metropolitan area. Since 2016, the group has organized several dozen pro-gun, pro-Trump rallies held in cities in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California. Often met with large numbers of counter-protesters, attendees have repeatedly clashed with left-wing groups in the Portland area. Far-right groups, such as the Proud Boys, have attended the rallies organized by Patriot Prayer, as well as white nationalists, sparking controversy and violence.
Henry "Enrique" Tarrio is an American convicted seditionist and far-right activist. From 2018 to 2021, he was the chairman of the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States. Along with three other Proud Boys leaders, Tarrio was convicted in May 2023 of seditious conspiracy for his role in the 2021 United States Capitol attack. In September 2023, Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of, at the time, the 45th U.S. president Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup d'état, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep him in power by preventing a joint session of Congress from counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. The attack was ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the certification of the election results. According to the bipartisan House select committee that investigated the incident, the attack was the culmination of a seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the election. Within 36 hours, five people died: one was shot by Capitol Police, another died of a drug overdose, and three died of natural causes, including a police officer who died of natural causes a day after being assaulted by rioters. Many people were injured, including 174 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack died by suicide within seven months. Damage caused by attackers exceeded $2.7 million.
Ali Alexander is an American far-right activist, social media personality, and conspiracy theorist. Alexander is an organizer of Stop the Steal, a campaign to promote the conspiracy theory that widespread voter fraud led to Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election. He also helped to organize one of several rallies that preceded the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
Ethan Nordean, also known as Rufio Panman, is an American far-right political activist, convicted felon and a leader of the Proud Boys, an all-male neo-fascist organization that engages in political violence.
Dominic Pezzola is an American convicted felon and member of the Proud Boys who participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, a violent attack at the U.S. Capitol. He is best known for stealing a police riot shield and using it to break a Capitol window on January 6, 2021, making him the first rioter to breach the building. Indicted in 2021, on federal charges, he was tried in 2023 alongside Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and his key lieutenants, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rehl. In May 2023, following a five-month jury trial, Pezzola was convicted of obstructing a congressional proceeding, assaulting a police officer, and other crimes. He was acquitted of seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge. The jury deadlocked on other charges against Pezzola, including conspiring to obstruct the counting of the electoral votes.
On January 6, 2021, supporters of Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol building, disrupting the joint session of Congress assembled to count electoral votes to formalize Biden's victory in the 2020 United States presidential election.
Since its foundation in 2016, members of the Proud Boys, a far-right, neo-fascist, and exclusively male organization, have been involved in a number controversial and violent events. This list contains a number of those events, some of which have resulted in criminal charges being filed against participants.
Corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding is a felony under U.S. federal law. It was enacted as part of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 in reaction to the Enron scandal, and closed a legal loophole on who could be charged with evidence tampering by defining the new crime very broadly.
1776 Returns is the title of a document that outlined strategic plans for the takeover of US government buildings on January 6, 2021. It was circulated among the Proud Boys organization. The nine-page document was sent to Enrique Tarrio, chairman of the Proud Boys, one week before the January 6 United States Capitol attack, by a Miami-based cryptocurrency promoter named Eryka Gemma Flores, who was romantically linked to Tarrio.
Kelly Meggs is an American convicted felon who previously led the Oath Keepers' Florida chapter. He was found guilty of seditious conspiracy following his forced entry into the United States Capitol during the January 6 United States Capitol attack. Meggs was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Jeremy Bertino is an American former member of the Proud Boys who testified against Enrique Tarrio during his trial for seditious conspiracy for his role in the 2021 United States Capitol attack. Bertino was the first Proud Boys member to plead guilty to the same charge.
After Donald Trump lost the 2020 United States presidential election, multiple individuals plotted to use force to stop the peaceful transition of power; this was one aspect of what eventually led to the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol.
Ryan Stephen Samsel is an American convicted criminal who participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack. He was charged with several crimes, including forcibly assaulting federal officers; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; carrying out an act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds; and obstruction of an official proceeding—the United States Congress’s efforts to certify the election results. Samsel has been in custody since his arrest; his bench trial began in October 2023. In February 2024, he was found guilty.
Norm Pattis is an American defense lawyer and former columnist who runs a law firm in New Haven, Connecticut. He is known for defending controversial clientele, including radio show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, January 6 rioters Joe Biggs and Zachary Rehl, and the murderer of Jennifer Dulos, Fotis Dulos. In 2023, Pattis' law license was suspended for six months in Connecticut in relation to a violation of a court order in the Alex Jones case, but the suspension was overturned in 2024.
The agents who met with Joseph Biggs wanted to know what he was 'seeing on the ground,' his lawyer said, adding, 'They spoke often.'
Biggs 'served as an instigator and leader' during the Capitol attack, prosecutors said. Zachary Rehl, another Proud Boy convicted of seditious conspiracy, was sentenced to 15 years.
Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs once dined with Lindsey Graham at Trump's D.C. hotel. Now he's under arrest
Former Infowars Reporter Joe Biggs Also Threatened to Release Revenge Porn and Commented Positively About Sexual Violence and Punching Women
Biggs was one of five Proud Boys scheduled for sentencing and one of four convicted of seditious conspiracy.
The penalty for Joseph Biggs is the second longest in more than 1,100 criminal cases stemming from the Capitol attack. Another Proud Boys leader was sentenced to 15 years.
Ted Wheeler chastised Joe Biggs and other right-wing marchers for frightening Portlanders with the prospect of violence in the streets.
The charges say he was one of the first to enter the building, through a door that was opened by a small group that got in by breaking a window.
Police arrested 13 people as far-right groups rallying in the north-western US city of Portland, Oregon, skirmished with left-wing counter-protesters.
Ethan Nordean of Washington state and Joseph Biggs of Florida are charged with conspiring to stop the certification of the 2020 election.
The group is the second whose members face the federal rare charge in the Capitol attack
Joe Biggs made jailhouse phone call to complain about prison food and ask for donations to support his family
Police complicity and politicians' inaction have allowed groups like the Proud Boys to stage violent spectacles again and again.
All four are considered regional leaders of the Proud Boys organization, with close ties to the group's national leader Enrique Tarrio.