Good riddance!

Proud Boys leader Dominic Pezzola begged the judge for mercy on Friday, and was sentenced to ten years in prison – a lighter sentence than some of his counterparts have received. Pezzola then shouted “Trump won” on his way out of the courtroom, seemingly under the impression that this was going to help his cause.

First of all, this is pathetic on its face. If you’re yelling “Trump won” on your way from a courtroom to your long term prison cell, and Trump is about to stand criminal trial four times himself, then neither you nor Trump won anything. You’re both losers.

But it’s also a very dangerous game to play. We don’t know what will happen, but the judge potentially could turn around and impose a longer sentence, on the premise that Pezzola clearly didn’t mean what he said about having learned his lesson. The DOJ could also file an appeal for a lengthier prison sentence for Pezzola, which it’s already done in some of the Oath Keepers cases.

Even if nothing comes of this, Pezzola – who is not exactly a young man – will still spend the next decade of his life in prison. Yelling “Trump won” didn’t do anything to help his cause. He’s still a loser for having joined a domestic terrorist group, a loser for having backed Trump, a loser for having tried to overthrow the government, and a loser in the eyes of the criminal justice system. We won’t be hearing from this guy again for a very long time, and good riddance.