After his wife testified, “He’s a fucking idiot,” Dominic Pezzola, an upstate New York man who joined the Proud Boys in the summer of 2020 as he became more radicalized by the group’s far-right nationalistic message and Donald Trump’s promotion of anti-government paranoia, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the January 6th Republican-led domestic terrorist attack on Congress.
Pezzola is probably best known for taking a police shield he obtained after charging onto Capitol grounds and using it to smash a window, allowing insurrectionists to get into the building. Pezzola said in the days leading up to the attack and on January 6th that he would kill Nancy Pelosi and Mike Pence if he got his hands on them.
Saying, “I never should have crossed the barrier at the Capitol that day,” Pezzola apologized to the police officer he is accused of assaulting during the attack. He also apologized to his family, saying he’s sorry he missed his crimes caused him to miss his daughter’s high school graduation. His wife also testified that since January 6th, the family has been harassed because of Pezzola’s action, although she admitted that that was not a reason to go easy on Pezzola.
UPDATE: 1:14 p.m. ET: Despite claiming that he was giving up on politics during the hearing, Pezzola shouted “Trump won!” after the judge had left the courtroom, an outburst that may lead to a new probe into his sincerity in the sentencing hearing.
!! Walking out of courtroom after sentencing, Proud Boy Domenic Pezzola lifts his fist and yells "TRUMP WON"
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) September 1, 2023