Enrique Tarrio, the former national chairman of the Proud Boys, was arrested in Washington, D.C., on Friday after a press conference with fellow Proud Boys members and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes.
According to U.S. Capitol Police, Tarrio was taken into custody for simple assault after a counter-protester held a cell phone close to his face, and he struck both the phone and the protester’s arm. The counter-protester chose to press charges, leading to Tarrio’s arrest near the U.S. Capitol and Union Station.
The incident occurred shortly after Tarrio and other Proud Boys gathered to announce a lawsuit against the Justice Department for their prosecutions related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Tarrio claimed he and four other Proud Boys were preparing to sue for $150 million over what he described as “their murders, their lies, and the endless suffering they have put us through,” though he did not elaborate on specific claims.
Tarrio and Rhodes were both previously convicted of seditious conspiracy for plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and were sentenced to 22 years and 18 years in prison, respectively. However, on his first day back in office, President Donald Trump issued a full pardon to Tarrio and commuted Rhodes’ sentence to time served, marking a significant reversal of the Justice Department’s largest-ever criminal investigation.
Trump’s sweeping clemency action extended beyond Tarrio and Rhodes, pardoning nearly all convicted January 6 rioters, including those who attacked law enforcement officers. His administration also fired more than two dozen federal prosecutors who worked on the January 6 cases and ordered the FBI to turn over the names of 2,400 agents involved in the investigations, a move now being challenged in court.
Following his arrest, Proud Boy member Joe Biggs—who was also convicted of sedition but had his sentence commuted—called the situation a “set-up,” claiming that law enforcement “let agitators into their path” before Tarrio was arrested.
