Conservative Family Scion Sentenced to Nearly 4 Years for Jan. 6 Attack

For most of his life, Leo Brent Bozell IV has been known as the devout, but somewhat troubled, scion of a famous conservative family — the son of L. Brent Bozell III, a culture warrior and longtime critic of the media, and the grandson of L. Brent Bozell Jr., a fierce anti-Communist and one of the early architects of the anti-abortion movement.

But on Friday, with some of his family sitting near him in the courtroom, Mr. Bozell was sentenced to just under four years in prison for having played a central role in the attack by Trump supporters on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The 45-month sentence imposed by Judge John D. Bates at a hearing in Federal District Court in Washington was only about a third of the 140 months that the government had initially requested. Judge Bates dismissed the government’s request as “untethered to the circumstances of this case.”

As part of his ruling, Judge Bates determined that Mr. Bozell’s conduct on Jan. 6 technically fit the description needed to apply a so-called terrorism enhancement to his sentence. But the judge decided not to use that enhancement in coming up with the final penalty, saying that branding Mr. Bozell a domestic terrorist was excessively harsh.

“I’m not sure that label is an appropriate label for the defendant to have to carry with him,” he said.

Prosecutors say that few of the rioters participated in as many pivotal breaches of the Capitol building and its grounds as did Mr. Bozell. He was convicted by Judge Bates at a bench trial in September of 10 charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding, civil disorder and assault.