Zachary Johnson, a 34-year-old Tampa-area Proud Boy nicknamed #GogglesMan on social media, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon to greater than three years in jail and one other three years of supervised launch for his position within the rebellion. In August, Johnson pleaded responsible to assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers after prosecutors claimed that he helped coordinate pushes in opposition to police and handed a sledgehammer and pepper spray to different rioters whereas working with fellow Proud Boys.
Feds looking for greater than 4 years in federal jail for Jan. 6 defendant and fourth-degree Proud Boy Zachary Johnson, who was within the Tampa chapter. pic.twitter.com/qRIyEBu0Fp
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) November 22, 2023
On January 6, 2021, Johnson traveled from his residence in Florida to Washington, D.C., to protest Congress’ certification of the Electoral College vote for the election of President Joe Biden, based on court docket paperwork.
Sporting a ballistic plate service and a pair of grey goggles, Johnson met up with a bunch of roughly 100 different members within the morning on the base of the Washington Monument per Proud Boy leaders’ instruction, based on federal prosecutors.
At round 10:30 a.m., leaders of the far-right group organized the lads, together with Johnson, into formation and marched them towards the Capitol. Johnson marched alongside Proud Boy members to the Capitol grounds, the place they ultimately charged by way of the barricades and have been among the many first to breach the restricted perimeter, prosecutors alleged.
According to court docket paperwork, Johnson superior with 4 members of the Tampa Proud Boys chapter into the world often called the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, the positioning of among the most violent assaults in opposition to police that day. He then joined different rioters in a collective push in opposition to the established police strains, during which they chanted “Heave, ho!” as they bashed their manner into the Capitol.
Once pushed outdoors the tunnel by police, Johnson helped cross a sledgehammer and a big canister of pepper spray as much as different rioters nearer to the doorway.
“As Johnson supposed, these rioters then sprayed the officers with the agent, additional assaulting the officers defending the Capitol,” based on prosecutors.
Johnson is certainly one of quite a few Proud Boys indicted for breaching the Capitol through the certification of Electoral College votes.
Miami native Enrique Tarrio, the Proud Boys chairman on the time, was sentenced in September to 22 years in jail for his position in orchestrating the Capitol assault, though he wasn’t current on the riot, having been arrested two days earlier on fees associated to the burning of a stolen Black Lives Matter flag. Four distinguished members of the Proud Boys — Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola — have been tried alongside Tarrio and obtained felony convictions for storming the Capitol.
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