Enrique Tarrio, former chairman of the Proud Boys, was taken into custody by U.S. Capitol Police on Friday following a public appearance near the Capitol. The arrest came after a confrontation with a counter-protester, during which Tarrio struck a phone and arm after the protester held a cell phone close to his face. Authorities charged him with simple assault after the counter-protester expressed a desire to file charges.
The incident occurred between the U.S. Capitol and Union Station shortly after Tarrio and other members of the Proud Boys, along with Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, held a press conference. At the event, they announced plans to sue the Department of Justice over their prosecutions related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Tarrio, speaking alongside fellow Proud Boys and supporters, stated, “I’m not talking about violent retribution. I’m talking about something much more powerful: accountability and the rule of law.”
Tarrio and four other Proud Boys convicted of seditious conspiracy planned to file a lawsuit seeking approximately $150 million in damages. The exact nature of their legal claims was not disclosed. Rhodes, also convicted of seditious conspiracy, indicated his intention to file a separate lawsuit but did not provide details.
Both men were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for their roles in the effort to stop the certification of President Biden’s 2020 election victory. Tarrio, though not present in Washington on January 6 due to a prior arrest, was accused by prosecutors of orchestrating the Proud Boys’ actions that day. Rhodes, who was at the scene but did not enter the Capitol, was described by prosecutors as overseeing the attack “like a general overlooking a battlefield while his troops stormed inside.”
Tarrio received a 22-year prison sentence, the longest handed down in connection with the riot, while Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years. However, both were granted clemency by former President Trump upon his return to office. Tarrio was fully pardoned, and Rhodes had his sentence commuted to time served. Trump also commuted sentences for other convicted Proud Boys, including Joe Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola, who had been found guilty of various charges related to the Capitol breach.
Trump, who had referred to those convicted as “political prisoners,” extended clemency to nearly all individuals charged in connection with the riot, including those who assaulted law enforcement officers.
