Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, the former national chairman of the Proud Boys, was arrested Tuesday following his indictment on conspiracy and other charges related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, which disrupted a joint session of Congress as they were ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.
In an indictment filed in D.C. District Court, federal prosecutors linked Tarrio to the assault on the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6.
Although Tarrio is not accused of physically taking part in the breach of the Capitol, the indictment alleges that “he led the advance planning and remained in contact with other members of the Proud Boys during their breach of the Capitol. Tarrio was arrested on Jan. 4, 2021, on a warrant charging him in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia with the destruction of property in the Dec. 12, 2020, burning of a Black Lives Matter banner. He was released at approximately 5 p.m. on Jan. 5, 2021. As a condition of his release, he was ordered by the court to stay out of Washington.
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Tarrio was photographed on Jan. 5 meeting in a garage with Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and others, but was not in D.C. the following day due to an arrest for illegal possession of high-capacity magazines.
The indictment alleges that Tarrio nonetheless continued to direct and encourage the Proud Boys prior to and during the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and that he claimed credit for what had happened on social media and in an encrypted chat room during and after the attack.
The indictment charges Tarrio with seven counts:
- Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding
- Obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting
- Obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and aiding and abetting
- Destruction of government property and aiding and abetting
- Assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers (x2)
Tarrio joins the case of four Proud Boys leaders previously charged with conspiracy: Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Charles Donohoe. The superseding indictment filed this week also adds New York Proud Boy Dominic Pezzola, who was filmed breaking the window that let the first rioters into the Capitol.
Pezzola’s co-defendant, Matthew Greene, 34, of Syracuse, New York, was the first and to date only Proud Boy charged in the Capitol riot to agree to a plea deal with the government. That deal included a cooperation agreement.
