Former Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio Arrested in Connection to Capitol Riot

Former leader of right-wing Proud Boys extremist group Enrique Tarrio was arrested Tuesday on conspiracy charges for what the feds say was his role in planning the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Tarrio’s attorney confirmed he was taken into custody at a Miami home where the FBI was conducting a raid.

The 38-year-old was indicted on one count of each conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and obstruction of an official proceeding. He was also charged with two counts each of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and destruction of government property in the Capitol breach, per the Department of Justice.

The feds claim the ex-Proud Boys chairman led the advance planning and remained in contact with other members of the Proud Boys during the attack on the Capitol. The indictment also alleges Tarrio took credit for what happened at the Capitol on social media and in a chat room during and after the riot.

Tarrio was not at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot. He was arrested in Washington two days prior for vandalizing a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic Black church during a protest. A day before the attack on the Capitol, a judge ordered him to stay out of Washington. He later served five months in that case.

With this new case, Tarrio now joins eleven members or associates of the anti-government Oath Keepers militia group who have been charged for their alleged roles in planning the attack on the Capitol, which was supposed to stop Congress from confirming Democratic President Joe Biden’s election.