Less than two months after he walked out of prison, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio is back in handcuffs, this time charged with conspiracy in relation to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
NBC 6 South Florida captured, Tarrio, 38, being arrested at a Miami home early Tuesday morning in nothing but his underwear. His arrest was first reported by The Washington Post and confirmed by the Department of Justice)" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/leader-proud-boys-indicted-federal-court-conspiracy-and-other-offenses-related-us-capitol__;!!LsXw!XhymRzSkVNNU7iBp587V4Fy1D4wlNaMKR0vg4aaVBJyoCgeLzyWsev7-A1upzf5tuCLFJpukwp3zM0yX1rsp_0YZCkvV6SbfHlB1ecM$">the Department of Justice.
His attorney, Lucas Dansie, told The Daily Beast, “Sorry, I have no comment at this time.”
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Tario didn’t attend the riot because he was arrested two days prior for burning a Black Lives Matter flag stolen from a D.C. church in Dec. 2020. But the indictment accuses him of still organizing and encouraging other members of the Proud Boys to take part in the chaos at the Capitol before and on the day of the insurrection. After the Capitol was breached, Tarrio then claimed credit for the Proud Boys’ actions, the feds allege.
The indictment names five co-defendants—Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Charles Donohoe, Ethan Nordean, and Dominic Pezzola—who are all accused Proud Boys members previously charged for taking part in the riot.
The 30-page indictment details a sprawling plot by the six men to attack the Capitol building should Joe Biden’s electoral win be certified by Congress.
The feds cited social media posts, private group messages, and a secret Jan. 5 meeting in a D.C. parking garage between Tarrio and other far-right figures—including Stewart Rhodes, leader of the Oath Keepers militia—as part of Tarrio’s quest to storm the building.
Rhodes has been charged in a separate conspiracy related to the Capitol attack. Reuters reported last month that the FBI was investigating the parking garage rendezvous.
The indictment includes some of the starkest evidence yet of a pre-planned Proud Boy plot to interfere with Congress's certification of Biden's win. On Dec. 30, for instance, one of Tarrio’s contacts allegedly sent him a document advocating that they occupy “crucial buildings” in D.C. on Jan. 6, including Congressional buildings around the Capitol. The person suggested they take the buildings with as “many people as possible” to “show our politicians We the people are in charge.” The person added that “the revolution is important than anything.”
Tarrio allegedly replied that “that’s what every waking moment consists of ... I’m not playing games.”
On Jan. 3, a member of the Proud Boys’ Jan. 6 planning chat allegedly said that “the main operating theatre should be out in front of the house of representatives. It should be out in front of the Capitol building. That’s where the vote is taking place and all of the objections. So, we can ignore the rest of these stages and all that shit and plan the operations based around the front entrance to the Capitol building.”
Tarrio allegedly responded to the message on Jan. 4, noting that “I didn't hear this voice note until now, you want to storm the Capitol.”
During the riot, Tarrio also repeatedly praised the Proud Boys storming the building, the feds said. “Make no mistake...” he wrote in one message on social media, later adding: “We did this...” and “Proud Of My Boys and my country.”
He is charged with one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and obstruction of an official proceeding, as well as two counts each of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers and destruction of government property.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani, who is not involved in the case, told The Daily Beast on Tuesday that he believed Tarrio would likely plead guilty to the obstruction charges to avoid being charged with seditious conspiracy.
“This is what [accused Oath Keeper and rioter] Joshua James did. Sedition is a very real possibility and carries a longer sentence,” Rahmani said. “Capitol rioters and other domestic terrorists have shown they aren’t necessarily rational actors, though, so if Tarrio refuses to plead, all bets are off and we may see yet another superseding indictment.... He needs to cut his losses now. It’s only going to get worse for him if he doesn’t.”
Jon Moseley, a former lawyer for Rehl, said Tarrio would have had to be charged by the prosecution to build their case—a case Moseley believes to be false.
“The long delay in charging Enrique Tarrio as the Chair of the Proud Boys Club, like Stewart Rhodes leader of the Oath Keepers, debunks the prosecutors' accusations,” Moseley said. “There is no significant information today that the prosecutors didn't have a year ago. Tarrio being the most prominent member of the Proud Boys, yet not charged for a year, shows the prosecution's case to be completely politicized and not based upon any real facts.”
Tarrio’s indictment comes just two months after he served four months in prison for the flag-burning incident. After he was released, he said he would work to rebuild the Miami-based Proud Boys before starting his own political organization.
Tarrio has a mixed history with law enforcement. Officials confirmed to Reuters last year that Tarrio has previously served as an informant in Miami, aiding in investigations involving drug operations and fraud schemes. Tarrio denied the report.
