WASHINGTON – Federal prosecutors are seeking more than 11 years in federal prison for a defendant convicted Jan. 6. Brent Bozell IVSon and grandson of two men who shaped the American conservative movement in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Bozell, also known as “Zeeker”, broke the windows of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 and has been convicted A number of charges, including five felonies, were filed in September. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 17. Federal prosecutors, in a sentencing memo filed late Thursdaysearched for strengthening the punishment for terrorism For Bozell, he said that his actions were aimed at influencing the behavior of the government and that he was preparing for January 6 because he “believed that the presidential election was ‘stolen’ and therefore planned to respond with violence.”
Bozell’s father, Brent Bozell III, founded the Media Research Center, NewsBusters, CNSNews and the Parents Television and Media Council. Bozell III once he wrote Former President Donald Trump “may be the biggest charlatan of them all,” but has focused on defending Trump since his 2016 election victory. Brent Bozell Jr., grandfather of convicted rioter a speech writer For Joe McCarthy, Barry Goldwater was the author of The Conscience of a Conservative and a friend of National Review founder William F. Buckley. Bozell Jr. was like this”fan boyAccording to Politico, he moved to Spain during the reign of fascist dictator Francisco Franco, which he blames for organizing “the first violent anti-abortion protest” in Washington in 1970, when he was accused of assaulting a police officer. with a five-foot wooden cross” according to his 1997 obituary.
The Jan. 6 rioters “engaged in multiple major violations” like Brent Bozell IV during the Jan. 6 attack, according to federal prosecutors. Bozell IV, they say, is not in the same position as any other defendant given his relentless and sustained attacks on law enforcement at multiple locations inside and outside the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“Leo Brent Bozell IV led the charge in a violent attack on the United States Capitol. … Bozell participated in and often led several critical disruptions on January 6: the police line under the pier (2:00 p.m.) at the landing of the Northwest Stairs police line (last police line at the top of the Northwest Stairs (14:11) at the Senate Doors; police line near the Carriage door at 12:00 (East Rotunda Doors (14:38) and Senate floor (14:49)); “, – the government wrote.
Bozell, court evidence showed, was among the first rioters to enter the Capitol, and he joined the crowd as it chased them. U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman Go up the stairs near the Senate floor. Bozell soon entered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and “left with an unknown object in her hand,” prosecutors said, before joining other rioters in the East Rotunda by breaking down the doors, allowing more protesters to pour inside.
“After January 6, Bozell expressed disappointment that the election results were ultimately certified despite the crowd’s efforts, calling Mike Pence a ‘traitor’ for his role in certifying the election results. Bozell also attempted to minimize and justify his behavior,” federal prosecutors wrote. . “For example, he made fantastical claims about how he got into the building and told friends and family that he was ‘morally justified’ in the siege of the Capitol.”
Like many conservatives, Bozell tried it blame “antifa”. Although he himself broke the windows to let the crowd into the building, the text read, “Antifa is in charge.” He then made the implausible claim that “Antifa coordinated with Congress, the DC mayor, and the police to gain unfettered access.” He also sent a message to his brother to persuade his father, Bozell III, to withdraw the violence from public condemnation.
In themselves memo, Bozell’s defense attorneys wrote that he regretted the decisions he made that day and had no “premeditated plan.” They wrote that Bozell believed the election was “rigged” at the time, but now accepts that Joe Biden is president.
Bozell is “part of a family that has long been ‘intune’ with politics in Washington and is very personally and emotionally ‘invested’ in the final outcome of the 2020 election,” his lawyers said.
They added that Bozell was “ashamed of breaking the windows of the US Capitol.”
Brent Bozell III, president of the Media Research Center, suggested in a letter of support for his son that he was a “man of peace” and that politics may have played a role. (The Justice Department is seeking a similar sentence for another rioter, Zach Alam, who smashed windows at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and is taking his case to court.)
“I have remained silent for the past 3 1/2 years because I did not want to sink the apple cart of justice. But given what I have seen in court and more importantly, what I have learned about this development of terrorism, I can no longer. I believe there is more to it,” Bozell III wrote in the letter. “I don’t claim that my son is innocent, I just ask that his punishment be consistent with the crime. I ask the court to take into account the sterling character of my son and that he be protected by everyone around him.”
Bozell III wrote that he believed everyone in the Bozell family voted for Trump, but “were not unanimous in their analysis of the election results.”
“We are a political family and have been for generations,” wrote Bozell III. “So there was a great deal of discussion around the topic, whether it was over the phone, email, text, or dinner conversation. Were you passionate? Unless, of course, you were robbed of your greatest gift as an American — your right to vote. But never, ever time violent behavior was discussed—planned, proposed, considered, raised, or even mentioned.”
In the 40 months since the attack on the Capitol, prosecutors have indicted more than 1,424 defendants, and 1,019 have gone to trial. Of the 884 defendants sentenced, 541 were held in federal prison for anything from a few days to 22 years.