A Florida man identified by federal authorities as involved with the far-right group the Proud Boys and an adult film actor was sentenced this week to two years in prison following criminal allegations over joining the violence at the U.S. Capitol of January 6, 2021.
Defendant Steven Miles was among the Proud Boys adherents who helped kick off confrontations with police around the Capitol complex, entering the Capitol building itself hours later. He used a wooden plank to help the crowd with breaking through glass blocking their passage into the building. “At 2:13 p.m., Miles used a wooden plank to help smash a window of the Senate Wing Door, opening up another breach point for the rioters to invade the building,” per the U.S. Attorney’s office for Washington, D.C.
Earlier, he’d physically engaged with police officers. “Miles shoved and attempted to punch an officer,” authorities said. He was evidently forced from the Capitol mere minutes after entering the building and later pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding police, among the more serious criminal allegations doled out against participants in the day’s far-reaching chaos.
A substantial number of individuals involved with the Proud Boys have faced criminal charges in connection to the Capitol riot. The group also came up already in the criminal case that Donald Trump is facing for his post-2020 election attempts at staying in power despite losing. Prosecutors characterized Trump’s infamous remarks in a debate before the 2020 presidential election that Proud Boys members should “stand back and stand by” as meaningfully reflective of his broader ambitions around what became allegedly criminal attempts at retaining power. Trump has also spoken critically of criminal consequences faced by a former leader of the group — Enrique Tarrio, who got a prison sentence of 22 years on upheld allegations including seditious conspiracy.
