As Five Proud Boys Are Convicted of January 6th Felonies, Another Prominent Member Faces 60 Years in Prison for Different Crimes

     The verdict earlier this month against five members of the Proud Boys was a historic victory for the rule of law, personal accountability, and American democracy. Florida Proud Boys Leader Joseph Biggs, Former Proud Boys Chair Enrique Tarrio, Philadelphia Proud Boys President Zachary Rehl, top Proud Boys lieutenant Ethan Nordean, and New York Proud Boys member Dominic Pezzola were convicted of 31 of the 46 combined felonies they faced. The first four were convicted of seditious conspiracy and five other felonies each, while Pezzola was acquitted of seditious conspiracy but convicted of seven other serious felonies. The next day, the DOJ requested sentences of 10 to 25 years in prison for the Oath Keepers defendants convicted at trial as they prepare to face sentencing in late May and early June, giving the seditionists a good idea of the fate they will face later this summer. 

     While the Oath Keepers, their stack formation, and their Quick Reaction Force have captured much of the public imagination and attention when it comes to the DOJ's sedition cases, the Proud Boys were arguably responsible for most of the violence and property damage that occurred that day: Proud Boys leaders or members were involved in initiating something like 22 of the 25 breaches that occurred that day, allowing the mob of thousands to pour into the Capitol and instigating the sort of brawling that they ordinarily reserve for city streets at the cradle of global democracy. That is on top of their "1776 Returns," which laid out a plan to occupy key buildings in Washington, D.C. Even with all of this, it is hardly the only way Proud Boys are facing accountability for their actions, standing back and standing by to await their prison terms.

     The Proud Boys are a serious threat, but much of their behavior resembles that of petulant children. They cultivate images aimed at instilling fear, images that also make them easier to keep an eye on. In 2021, I highlighted the case of Alan Swinney, a Proud Boy who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for wounding three Black Lives Matter protestors with a paintball gun. In a very similar manner, Portland prosecutors are on the verge of delivering justice against an even more high-profile member of the organization, the notorious Tusitala "Tiny" Toese. This Proud Boy, also affiliated with the far-right group Patriot Prayer, became a familiar face at Portland rallies in 2017, being charged twice that year for punching and striking anti-fascist protestors. He wore a shirt at the 2018 Women's March calling the marchers "parasites of the patriarchy" while shouting slurs at women as well as shirts in 2019 saying Argentinian dictator Pinochet "was right" and calling for Alex Jones to be reinstated on social media. Over the course of these events, he has racked up 18 charges and citations for assault and disorderly conduct: Tiny is a giant menace to society.

     His trouble started getting more serious in October 2019, when he was charged with felony assault for giving a protestor a concussion and requiring him to get stitches. He pleaded down to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to two years of probation with the condition that he be barred from attending protests during this time. That didn't stop him from engaging in a fight near Seattle's CHOP zone in 2020 and earning a sentence of six months in prison for violating his probation. In August 2021, Toese was captured in the above photo shooting paintballs at anti-fascist demonstrators during an event in which mace was also deployed and several vehicles were flipped over and destroyed; in September 2021, he was shot in the ankle during an anti-COVID safety demonstration, and just a week later he appeared at a similar event targeting a high school in Washington. 

     His first serious legal trouble came in December 2021, when he was arrested and extradited back to Oregon to face 11 felony charges for that aforementioned August act of violence. After violating the terms of his release and trying to avoid facing the music by chilling in his home in American Samoa, this March he was convicted of 10 of those 11 felonies and could get a combined total sentence of 60 years in prison. If the Swinney case is any indicator, he faces a more likely sentence of around 15 years in prison; his mandatory minimum is 70 months (five yuears and 10 months) based on Oregon state law. Even if he is sentenced to a prison term similar to that Alan Swinney got, it would still be a major victory for public safety and in the fight against the far-right.

     Tiny Toese, like Alan Swinney, like the five Proud Boys awaiting sentencing for their actions on January 6th, and like every other person in America Donald Trump told to, "Stand back and stand by," is a dangerous individual. He believes dozens of acts of violence year after year is the only way to impose his archaic views on social issues as it relates to women, the LGBT2SQIA+, and others. People like him need to be condemned, not consoled; imprisoned, not embraced; and deterred, not normalized. Tiny Toese is facing a maximum of 60 years in prison. Let's hope he gets as much of it as possible.