Joseph Randall Biggs | |
|---|---|
 Biggs' 2021 mug shot | |
| Born | 1983/1984 (age 41–42) Charlotte, North Carolina, United States |
| Occupations |
|
| Employers | |
| Organization | Proud Boys |
| Known for | January 6 Capitol attack |
| Criminal charges | |
| Criminal penalty | 17-year prison sentence commuted to 1.39 years |
| Criminal status | Released from prison on January 20, 2025 |
| Military career | |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Awards | Purple Heart |
Joseph Randall Biggs (born 1983/1984) is an American veteran, media personality, organizer of theProud Boys, and convictedseditionist who participated in theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack.
After serving in theUnited States Army and suffering atraumatic brain injury, Biggs began working for various conservative media organizations, includingInfowars andCensored.TV. As a leader for thefar-right Proud Boys group, he organized and promoted theEnd Domestic Terrorism rally; was found jointly culpable for an over-$1 million judgment for trespass and vandalism at theMetropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church; and helped lead the organization's destructive efforts in the attack on theUnited States Capitol.
For the last of these, in 2023, he was found guilty on six criminal counts (includingseditious conspiracy), and sentenced to 17 years in federal prison. He served 1.39 years before his sentence wascommuted by President Trump on January 20, 2025.
Joseph Randall Biggs[1] was born inCharlotte, North Carolina, in 1983 or 1984.[2] As of March 2021[update], he lived inOrmond Beach, Florida,[3] and upon his 2023 trial, had at least one daughter.[4]
In the 2010s, Biggs was arrested inAustin, Texas, for assaulting apeace officer while drunk, but agrand jury did not return an indictment.[5] Onsocial media, Biggs has repeatedly postedhomophobic andmisogynistic content since at least spring 2012;[6] hisTwitter andFacebook accounts were suspended for posting threatening messages.[7]
Biggs is acombat veteran of theUnited States Army.[8] He suffered atraumatic brain injury during adeployment to Iraq, for which he received aPurple Heart.[9] As reported bySalon,Michael Hastings' bookThe Operators corroborates Biggs' service in Afghanistan as well as thesergeant's involvement "in a gruesome suicide-bombing incident". In 2007, he was stationed atFort Bragg when arrested fordomestic violence. Biggs claimed hisseparation from the Army was a medicalretirement[5] after eight years enlisted.[10]
He also worked as acorrespondent forInfowars, where he covered theOath Keepers' actions at the 2015Ferguson unrest, the 2016occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge,[11] conspiracy theories about the2015 San Bernardino attack, and thePizzagate conspiracy theory.[6]
In January 2017, Biggs posted online that he had been hired byRight Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN; "the unofficial version ofTrump TV") to make a program focusing on theSecond Amendment to the United States Constitution;[6] RSBN refuted that in April, saying they were merely speaking with Biggs and "are anything but racist or sexist here."[12]
In August 2017, Biggs was a speaker at theBoston Free Speech Rally;[2] by 2019, he was the host of aright-wingtalk radio show.[13] In September 2020, Biggs was employed byCensored.TV,[14] though his show had been removed by late January 2021.[15]
By 2019,[7] Joseph Biggs was an organizer of theProud Boys, aneofascist[16] "far-right,[17][11][18] all-male group of self-described 'Western chauvinists'"[17] which theSouthern Poverty Law Center has classified as ahate group.[19]
Biggs was an organizer[7] and the main promoter of August 2019'sEnd Domestic Terrorism rally inPortland, Oregon.[19] In the wake of that event, in response to Biggs' threat to return with the Proud Boys on a monthly basis,Portland MayorTed Wheeler chastized Biggs "for frightening Portlanders with the prospect of violence in the streets", and told the Floridian he was not welcome in Portland.[13]
Biggs' lawyer—J. Daniel Hull—alleged that in late July 2020, theFederal Bureau of Investigation approached his client and enlisted his assistance collecting on-the-ground intelligence aboutantifa activists.[3]
At theSeptember 29, 2020 presidential debate betweenDonald Trump andJoe Biden, when pressured to condemn the Proud Boys as awhite supremacy group, the president said, "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by". The next day, Biggs filed apolice report with theVolusia County sheriff's office, alleging receipt of threatening phone calls and social-media messages, and requesting police protection. His identity in connection with the report was obfuscated underMarsy's Law.[15]
On December 12, 2020, Proud Boys trespassed theMetropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church inWashington, D.C., destroyed church property, and then celebrated the same. The church filed alawsuit forcompensatory damages against the Proud Boys'limited liability corporation, and specifically named Biggs,Jeremy Bertino,Enrique Tarrio, andJohn Turano. On June 30, 2023, JudgeNeal E. Kravitz of theSuperior Court of the District of Columbia issued adefault judgment against the defendants for over one million dollars.[20]
In 2021, prior to theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack that delayedthe certification ofJoe Biden's presidential-election win, Biggs exhorted for Proud Boys to "turn out in record numbers [...] We will be blending in as one of you ... We are going to smell like you, move like you, and look like you. The only thing we'll do that's us is think like us!"[18] On January 5, via encrypted social media channels, he communicated with other members: "trying to get our numbers. So we can plan accordingly for tonight and go over tomorrow's plan. [...] info should be coming out [...] we have a plan".[21]
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Outside theCapitol Building, Biggs spoke privately withRyan Samsel, who immediately thereafter was the first person to breach the security perimeter.[10] Biggs was one of the first to breach the building itself at about 2:13 p.m., 20 seconds behindDominic Pezzola, who smashed a Senate window with ariot shield;[18] he was identified by the FBI via photos and videos taken there.[17] Biggs and other Proud Boys were wearingwalkie-talkies to allow real-time communication,[18] and Biggs was recorded on video saying of the breach, "This is awesome!"[17] He later left the building, but returned 30 minutes later alongside someOath Keepers, pushing their way past alaw enforcement officer.[21]
U.S. Capitol Police OfficerCaroline Edwards testified during theJan. 6 Committee hearings in 2022 that it was Biggs who started "turning the tables" on a handful of police officers and as they faced off with a crowd of Proud Boys and others on Jan. 6, 2021. She said Biggs, using a megaphone, led the rioters in the face off with police at a bike rack at thePeace Circle.
On January 18, Biggs admitted to the FBI that he entered the building, but claimed he neither forced his way in, nor knew about the plan to do so.[17] On the morning of January 20, 2021, he was arrested in Florida,[11] charged with knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority;obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding; and willfully and knowingly engaging in disorderly conduct to impede a session of Congress.[17] InOrlando court, Biggs did not enter a plea;magistrate judge Embry Kidd released him tohome detention[18] with an unsecured bond ofUS$25,000 (equivalent to about $29,000 in 2024),[23] pending his trial inWashington, D.C.[17]
Biggs and three other Proud Boys leaders (Charles Donohoe,Ethan Nordean, and Zachary Rehl)[24] wereindicted (United States of America v. Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Charles Donohoe) on March 10, 2021, charged with planning and executing the Capitol attack.[3] On March 20, and based on these new charges, federal prosecutors requested Biggs return topre-trial detention.[21] Hull attempted to leverage Biggs' alleged prior cooperation with the FBI to keep his client out on bail.[3] JudgeTimothy J. Kelly revoked his bail that April, saying, "The defendants stand charged with seeking to steal one of the crown jewels of our country, in a sense, by interfering with the peaceful transfer of power. [...] It's no exaggeration to say the rule of law and ... in the end, the existence of our constitutional republic is threatened by it."[25] In July 2021, Hull complained to Kelly that Biggs' time in theSeminole County, Florida jail was subjecting his Proud Boys client to threats of violence, exacerbating his medical problems, and complicating their defense prep due to a lack of technology.[26]
On June 6, 2022, a supersedinggrand jury indictment (United States of America v. Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Enrique Tarrio, and Dominic Pezzola) was issued by theUnited States Attorney for the District of Columbia,Matthew M. Graves.[27] In addition to Hull, at the D.C.jury trial, Biggs was also represented by the Connecticut-basedNorm Pattis, who was briefly removed from the case when hislaw license was suspended due tomishandling confidential documents inAlex Jones' trial fordefamation.[28]
On May 4, 2023, after the three-month trial in D.C.,[29] Biggs was found guilty ofseditious conspiracy;obstructing an official proceeding andcriminal conspiracy thereto; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties; interference with law enforcement during civil disorder; anddestruction of government property. Judge Kelly ruled that Biggs' destruction of a fence separating rioters and police qualified the defendant for "a terrorism sentencing enhancement sought by prosecutors", who asked for a 33-year sentence. Prior to sentencing, Biggs apologized to the court, blaming his actions on personal and familial difficulties,[4] and conceded that "I know that I have to be punished and I understand".[30] On August 31, Kelly sentenced Biggs to 17 years offederalimprisonment.[4]
Two days later, Biggs told Alex Jones that hisveteran's pension had been revoked, and that if Donald Trump was successful in the2024 presidential election, "I know he'll pardon me. I believe that with all my heart". OnCNN Republican Town Hall with Donald Trump, the former president said that he—if elected—would look into pardoning a"'large portion' of the Capitol riot defendants."[31] In the run up toOhio's Republican primary for the 2024 US Senate election, incumbent senatorJD Vance was trying to redefine the extent of the Capitol attack, saying that Biggs and the other men who destroyed barricades, led the intruders, and attacked Capitol officers were sentenced too harshly in comparison to other criminals.[32] On January 20, 2025,President Trump instead commuted Biggs' sentence, effective immediately; he was released from federal prison that same day (having previously been scheduled for release on December 7, 2035).[22]
In the months after his release from prison, Biggs was living inOrmond-by-the-Sea, Florida. In an interview withUSA Today, Biggs "unequivocally" said that he would again commit the acts for which he was tried and convicted. He also told the paper that he wanted to pursueprison reform, by working to free "people unjustly imprisoned bythe federal justice system", with the help ofKim Kardashian.[33]
The agents who met with Joseph Biggs wanted to know what he was 'seeing on the ground,' his lawyer said, adding, 'They spoke often.'
Biggs 'served as an instigator and leader' during the Capitol attack, prosecutors said. Zachary Rehl, another Proud Boy convicted of seditious conspiracy, was sentenced to 15 years.
Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs once dined with Lindsey Graham at Trump's D.C. hotel. Now he's under arrest
Former Infowars Reporter Joe Biggs Also Threatened to Release Revenge Porn and Commented Positively About Sexual Violence and Punching Women
Biggs was one of five Proud Boys scheduled for sentencing and one of four convicted of seditious conspiracy.
The penalty for Joseph Biggs is the second longest in more than 1,100 criminal cases stemming from the Capitol attack. Another Proud Boys leader was sentenced to 15 years.
Ted Wheeler chastised Joe Biggs and other right-wing marchers for frightening Portlanders with the prospect of violence in the streets.
The charges say he was one of the first to enter the building, through a door that was opened by a small group that got in by breaking a window.
Police arrested 13 people as far-right groups rallying in the north-western US city of Portland, Oregon, skirmished with left-wing counter-protesters.
President Trump pardoned about 1,500 charged in the Capitol attack and commuted the sentences of 14, including Biggs.
Ethan Nordean of Washington state and Joseph Biggs of Florida are charged with conspiring to stop the certification of the 2020 election.
The group is the second whose members face the federal rare charge in the Capitol attack
Joe Biggs made jailhouse phone call to complain about prison food and ask for donations to support his family
Have ambitions to run for office, enact prison reform and more
Police complicity and politicians' inaction have allowed groups like the Proud Boys to stage violent spectacles again and again.
All four are considered regional leaders of the Proud Boys organization, with close ties to the group's national leader Enrique Tarrio.
Media related toJoe Biggs at Wikimedia Commons