95.1 The Bee

Two former Proud Boys leaders were sentenced on Thursday for their actions during the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly handed down sentences for Joseph Biggs, the former leader of the group’s Florida chapter, and  Zachary Rehl, the former leader of the Proud Boys’ Philadelphia chapter, who both had convicted of seditious conspiracy.  Biggs was sentenced to 17 years in prison (one of the longest sentences yet for someone charged in the Jan. 6 attacks), and Rehl was sentenced to 15 years in prison . Biggs, a U.S. army veteran, was a close ally of the former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio.  He was convicted in May alongside two other Proud Boys leaders following a more than four-month-long trial.

Judge Kelly accepted the government’s recommendation to apply an enhancement that effectively labeled Biggs’ crimes as acts of terrorism in seeking to influence the actions of government through threats and use of force. Biggs’ sentence is the second longest for any defendant charged in connection with the Capitol attack; Rehl’s sentence is the third longest. Tarrio is set to be sentenced next Tuesday.

During the assault on the Capitol, prosecutors said Biggs played a role in four separate breaches of law enforcement lines, and after entering the building made his way to the Senate chamber. Biggs’ attorney Norm Pattis argued for leniency, claiming that much of the statements pointed to by the government should be protected under his rights to free speech and, despite his guilt as determined by the jury, “we think that the crimes are overstated in this case and that the case was overproven.”

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Former president Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of illegally trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia, and also sought to sever his case from other defendants.

Trump surrendered last week on charges filed by Fulton County Distict Attorney Fani Willis in which he is accused of illegally scheming to overturn the 2020 election result in Georgia. Filed under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, (RICO), the case charges Trump with 13 counts including soliciting a public officer to violate their oath, conspiring to impersonate a public officer, conspiring to commit forgery in the first degree and conspiring to file false documents. Other defendants in the case include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, as well as former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Trump’s filing means he won’t have to show up for an arraignment hearing that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee had set for Sept. 6. Several of the other people charged in the indictment had already waived arraignment in filings with the court, as well. Also on Thursday, Trump’s attorneys also asked Judge McAfee to separate his case from those of defendants (lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell) who have asked for an expedited trial, scheduled to start on Oct. 23. Attorney Steve Sadow said in a court filing that it gives Trump less than two months to prepare a defense, and would “violate President Trump’s federal and state constitutional rights to a fair trial and due process of law.” 

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On Wednesday, a federal judge awarded a default judgment to two Georgia election workers as part of their civil defamation suit against former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.  U.S. Judge Beryl Howell found Giuliani liable for his defamatory remarks, leveling harsh sanctions against him (including the default judgment), and ordering a trial to determine the complete scope of damages.

The election workers, mother-daughter Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, sued the former New York City mayor for defamation over erroneous remarks he made accusing the pair of fraudulently manipulating ballots on Election Day 2020 in Georgia. Freeman and Moss became the subjects of a Trump-backed conspiracy theory that was later found to be “false and unsubstantiated,” according to an investigation by the Georgia Elections Board. In an appearance before a committee of the Georgia state legislature, Giuliani told lawmakers that a video circulating online showed “Ruby Freeman and Shaye Freeman Moss … quite obviously surreptitiously passing around USB ports, as if they’re vials of heroin or cocaine.”

U.S. Judge Beryl Howell said in a 57-page opinion in the case: “The bottom line is that Giuliani has refused to comply with his discovery obligations and thwarted plaintiffs Ruby Freeman and Wandrea’ ArShaye Moss’ procedural rights to obtain any meaningful discovery in this case … Rather than simply play by the rules designed to promote a discovery process necessary to reach a fair decision on the merits of plaintiffs’ claims, Giuliani has bemoaned plaintiffs’ efforts to secure his compliance as ‘punishment by process’ … Donning a cloak of victimization may play well on a public stage to certain audiences, but in a court of law, this performance has served only to subvert the normal process of discovery in a straightforward defamation case.”

In a statement, Freeman and Moss lauded the ruling: “Rudy Giuliani helped unleash a wave of hatred and threats we never could have imagined. It cost us our sense of security and our freedom to go about our lives. Nothing can restore all we lost, but today’s ruling is yet another neutral finding that has confirmed what we have known all along: that there was never any truth to any of the accusations about us and that we did nothing wrong. We were smeared for purely political reasons, and the people responsible can and should be held accountable.”

Judge Howell wrote that a trial to determine the full scope of damages will take place later this year or early next, adding that “the jury will be instructed that they must, when determining an appropriate sum of punitive damages, infer that Giuliani is intentionally trying to hide relevant discovery about his financial assets for the purpose of artificially deflating his net worth.”

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to freeze again during an exchange with reporters on Wednesday during an event in his home state of Kentucky.

Video footage showed McConnell, 81, trailing off and remaining silent after he was asked if he would seek re-election in 2026. While the Republican leader acknowledged the question, he froze and began to stare ahead; after roughly 10 seconds, an aide stepped in and asked whether he heard the question. McConnell replied, “yes,” but continued to look off into the distance, prompting the aide to say, “we’re going to need a minute.” The aide then asked for assistance from what appeared to be a member of McConnell’s security detail. The senator appeared to regain his composure after roughly 30 seconds of silence, clearing his throat and stating, “OK.” McConnell answered two more questions from reporters, though his aide relayed the topics to him. He then left the gathering.

A spokesperson for McConnell said he felt “momentarily lightheaded and paused” during the press conference, adding that while he said he feels fine, “as a prudential measure, the leader will be consulting a physician prior to his next event.” President Biden told reporters after delivering remarks on the federal response to Hurricane Idalia and the wildfires on Maui that McConnell is a “good friend,” and said he is going to try to get in contact with him.

The incident marked the second time McConnell appeared to have a medical episode at a public event. The first instance of McConnell freezing occurred during a press conference in the U.S. Capitol on July 26, when he stopped speaking mid-sentence while delivering opening comments and appeared unable to continue with his remarks for roughly 15 seconds. An aide to McConnell later said he “felt lightheaded and stepped away for a moment.”

The freezing incidents come after McConnell tripped at a dinner event in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Washington in March, suffering a concussion. He was hospitalized for several days and received additional treatment at an inpatient rehabilitation facility. McConnell returned to the Senate more than a month after the fall.

McConnell has served as the top Senate Republican since 2007, and he became the longest-serving Senate leader in history when the new Congress began in January. The lawmaker is among the oldest politicians in office and is the 13th longest-serving senator in history with 38 years in office.

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