Proud Boys leader gets harshest Jan. 6 sentence yet, Tropical Storm Lee forms: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Proud Boys leader sentenced to harshest penalty yet for Jan. 6

USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Bart Jansen breaks down the harshest penalty yet for Jan. 6. Plus, a federal court strikes down Alabama congressional maps in a showdown over Black voting power, dozens have been indicted in Georgia on charges connected to the 'Stop Cop City' movement, Tropical Storm Lee could be the next major hurricane, and USA TODAY Money Reporter Medora Lee discusses the conversation on national rent control.

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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Wednesday, the 6th of September 2023. Today, the longest sentence yet has been given for January 6th. Plus, dozens of people have been indicted related to Stop Cop City protests in Georgia, and we look at whether rent control is the answer to soaring rents across the country.

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Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio yesterday was given the longest sentence yet related to the Capitol attack on January 6th, 2021. I spoke with USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Bart Jansen for the latest. Bart, thanks for hopping on.

Bart Jansen:

Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

What was Tarrio convicted of and what sentence did he ultimately receive yesterday?

Bart Jansen:

He was convicted of six charges, including the most serious of any of the cases, more than 1100 cases so far now, stemming from January 6th. He was convicted of seditious conspiracy along with five other charges, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding of Congress, obstruction of that proceeding, interference with law enforcement, and aiding the destruction of government property. He was one of the most serious cases to date, this leadership of the Proud Boys that he led and the leadership of the Oath Keepers, another group that brought a bunch of people to Washington to participate in what became that riot and a mob ransacking the Capitol on January 6th.

The judge, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, highlighted Tarrio's leadership role when sentencing him and gave him the longest sentence yet in any January 6th case, 22 years. That's four years longer than the Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes.

Taylor Wilson:

Bart, we had heard that Tarrio's actions could be punished as terrorism. Did that end up being a factor here?

Bart Jansen:

Kelly has considered whether to weigh the convictions as terrorism in each of these Proud Boys and Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy cases. And in this case, with Tarrio, he did rule that the actions should be considered under the terrorism enhancement, because he found that Tarrio was trying to influence the government through intimidation or coercion. That's what the statute says. But Kelly, the judge, also contrasted that by saying it wasn't at the level of trying to destroy buildings. Still a very serious charge and conviction for trying to influence the government through intimidation or coercion.

Taylor Wilson:

And what did Tarrio's lawyers argue in the buildup to his sentence?

Bart Jansen:

During the trial, Tarrio's lawyers suggested that he was being made a scapegoat in the attack after, then-President Donald Trump inflamed the mob with his speech near the White House and then directed his supporters to the Capitol. His lawyers said their client is no terrorist, he's a misguided patriot. They said his role was overblown. Tarrio was not at the Capitol on January 6th. He was in Baltimore after having been ordered out of the city because of a previous arrest that was unrelated to January 6th. And so he wasn't even there.

Some of his lieutenants in the Proud Boys stepped up and took over his leadership roles on January 6th, and they got lengthy sentences at the end of last week. So Tarrio, despite not being present at the Capitol, was found guilty of seditious conspiracy and has now been given the longest sentence for his leadership role in organizing 200 people to come to Washington and protest at the Capitol in what became a riot and seditious conspiracy.

Taylor Wilson:

Bart Jansen covers the Justice Department for USA TODAY. Thank you, Bart.

Bart Jansen:

Thanks for having me.

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Taylor Wilson:

A federal court in Alabama yesterday once again struck down the state's congressional map for not including a second majority Black district. The move sets up another Supreme Court showdown that could help decide the balance of power in Congress after the 2024 election. The federal judges ruled that Alabama's latest congressional map likely violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because only one of seven districts has a majority of Black voters. That's despite the fact that African-Americans make up 27% of the state's population. The landmark civil rights law banned discriminatory voting in the South during reconstruction. Yesterday's decision is technically limited to Alabama, but the legal battle will have major ramifications in other states, especially in the south, and could give Democrats an advantage in next year's election. The Alabama result will likely influence similar legal battles over maps in Texas, Florida, Georgia, and other states. You can read more with a link in today's show notes.

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61 people have been indicted in Georgia on racketeering charges after a state investigation into protests against a proposed police and firefighter training facility its critics call Cop City. In the indictment, prosecutors allege that defendants are anarchists who have supported a violent movement. The so-called Stop Cop City effort traces back to 2021. Opponents of the Atlanta Area Training Center fear it'll lead to greater militarization of the police and that its construction will worsen environmental damage in a poor, mostly Black neighborhood. The majority of those indicted already face charges related to the movement, and more than three dozen people face domestic terrorism charges in relation to what prosecutors say were violent protests. Activists called the charges anti-democratic.

Protests against the training center escalated after a fatal January police shooting of 26-year-old protestor Manuel Esteban Paez Terán. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said state troopers fired in self-defense after Paez Terán shot at them. But they weren't wearing body cameras, and activists have questioned the official narrative. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and others say the $90 million training facility would replace inadequate ones and would help address difficulties in hiring and retaining police officers, a problem that got worse after nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice.

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Tropical Storm Lee formed in the Atlantic yesterday and is expected to become a major hurricane with winds over 140 miles an hour by the weekend. The storm is still far away, more than 1300 miles east of Caribbean islands, according to the National Hurricane Center. It could bring impacts to the Leeward Islands by the weekend, and the U.S. East Coast potentially early next week. But it's still too early to predict the storm's exact path. Still, hurricane expert Eric Blake forecast yesterday that Lee will become a category four hurricane by Saturday morning east of Puerto Rico. The latest major storm comes after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last month warned that this year's hurricane season would be above normal with six to 11 hurricanes expected this fall in the Atlantic.

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Rents in America are soaring. Is national rent control the answer? I spoke with USA TODAY Money and Personal Finance Reporter Medora Lee about some of the arguments on all sides. Hi, Medora.

Medora Lee:

Hi, how are you?

Taylor Wilson:

Good, thanks. Thanks for hopping back on the show. So starting here, just how steep have rents gotten in recent years?

Medora Lee:

Rents have soared. I think since about 2019, which was pre-pandemic, Rent.com says they've risen about 25%, or more than $400.

Taylor Wilson:

And more Americans are wondering if it's time for national rent control. Medora, what exactly does rent control mean in this context and why do supporters say this is necessary?

Medora Lee:

Because rents are near record highs, people like the idea of rent control, which means that there are laws that put in a cap as to how much landlords can raise the rent each year. Some of them will say they can raise it by X percentage or only by inflation. And so people, they're under a lot of pressure because inflation was so high the past couple of years and now rents are so high. And so this sounds like a very attractive solution to their problems is to just put in a blanket rent control law. But some people are skeptical if this is really going to work or not.

Taylor Wilson:

Yeah. Who are the opponents to this idea of national rent control and what's their argument?

Medora Lee:

So there are a lot of ... obviously landlords are against this, and a lot of housing people are against this because they think that by putting in this rent control, first of all, it's going to make it so that mom and pop landlords, which is a lot of the affordable housing in the country, are going to get squeezed because they also have expenses like property taxes and maintenance costs. So if you're going to say that they can only raise the rent so much, they can't really pass on those costs, they can't make any money off of that. A lot of these mom and pop landlords are not only small individual landlords, but some of them are seniors who bought these properties to rent out to supplement their income in retirement.

Taylor Wilson:

Medora, what solutions are there to help Americans suffering from surging rents beyond rent control?

Medora Lee:

A lot of housing experts will say that instead of rent control... Because they say a lot of studies over the years have shown that rent control really doesn't help and it just takes properties off the market and makes housing supply even smaller. They say that the White House should maybe focus on increasing supply and increasing transit structure. So investing in those things, as well as targeted tax credits that will help people with rental assistance.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Medora Lee, thanks for your insight, as always.

Medora Lee:

Thanks so much for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

And today is National Read a Book Day. So whether or not it's part of your daily routine, it might be a good idea to turn off the noise and cuddle up with your favorite paperback.

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. If you like the show, please subscribe and leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. And if you have any comments, you can reach us at [email protected]. I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.