Federal Jury Charges Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio with Conspiracy in US Capitol Riot

The leader of the far-right Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, cannot help but stay in the news. In 2021 alone, he was arrested and charged for burning a Black Lives Matter banner that was being displayed in a Black church in Washington, D.C. Ironically, months later he was so broke that he resorted to selling BLM and anti-Trump shirts for money because his group was shunned. Then, after he was sentenced to five months in prison for burning the BLM flag, he complained about prison conditions and wanted to be released.

Now, according to CNN, the Justice Department announced Tarrio is being charged with conspiracy in the U.S. Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, along with other leaders of the far-right group who already faced charges for their actions at the Capitol.

The indictment also revealed that Tarrio met with Stewart Rhodes, leader of the Oath Keepers, another far-right group, in a DC parking garage for 30 minutes leading up to the attack on the Capitol. But, Tarrio traveled to Baltimore after the meeting and was not at the Capitol during the insurrection.

From CNN:

According to the Justice Department Tuesday, “Tarrio and his co-defendants…conspired to corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding, the certification of the Electoral College vote.”

“On Jan. 6, the defendants directed, mobilized, and led members of the crowd onto the Capitol grounds and into the Capitol, leading to dismantling of metal barricades, destruction of property, and assaults on law enforcement,” the Justice Department said in a statement.

Tarrio was in court Tuesday in Florida and will have to remain in jail until his detention hearing this Friday. The Justice Department asked that he stay in jail until his trial starts because of his threat to the community and flight risk, according to CNN.

Along with Tarrio, five other Proud Boys leaders are charged in the indictment. They include Ethan Nordean, the sergeant at arms of the Proud Boys and president of his local chapter; Joseph Biggs, an organizer of Proud Boys events; Zachary Rehl, who leads the Philadelphia chapter of the Proud Boys; Charles Donohoe, the president of a Proud Boys chapter in North Carolina; and Dominic Pezzola, a Proud Boy in New York.

The other five Proud Boy leaders were all charged together a year ago in March with conspiracy and other charges that are related to the Capitol insurrection.

More from CNN:

The conspiracy that the prosecutors allege included the use of social media and other means to raise funds to support travel and “equipment purchases” for the trip to DC. The indictment pointed to plans by the Proud Boys to dress “incognito” on January 6, as well as their efforts to allegedly obtain gear and supplies.

They used encrypted messages in the lead up to plan for the attack, the indictment said, as well as handheld radios to “coordinate” the breach. They’re accused of carrying out the conspiracy by directing and mobilizing the crowd into the Capitol grounds, by dismantling and storming past its barricades, by destroying property and assaulting law enforcement.

“The purpose of the conspiracy was to stop, delay, and hinder the Certification of the Electoral College vote,” the indictment said.