Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the extreme right-wing group Proud Boys, was arrested on Tuesday (8) in Miami for conspiracy to invade the Capitol on January 6 of last year.
The Proud Boys is named as one of the organizations that helped carry out the invasion, which was intended to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election, in which the Democrat defeated Donald Trump. The attack on Congress ended with five dead and hundreds injured.
Tarrio led the group until last year. According to investigators, in December 2020 he created a new section of the fraternity, self-styled as the Ministry of Self-Defense, which would have acted in planning the attack.
According to data from the lawsuit, he would have sent messages at the time about a plan to occupy important buildings in Washington, including Congress, with as many people as possible.
Tarrio would also have instructed activists to hide the group’s identification during the action. Proud Boys members used to wear black shirts with yellow stripes and symbols.
The former leader had been arrested on January 4, 2021, on charges of stealing and burning a Black Lives Matter banner from a church, and was released on the 5th, on the condition that he stay out of Washington. Even from afar, he continued to spur the assault on Congress and later bragged about his participation in social media posts and private conversations, according to investigators.
Tarrio was indicted on charges of, among other things, conspiring to obstruct an official procedure (the certification of the election) and for engaging in the destruction of government property. In addition to him, five other names linked to the group were detained as part of the lawsuit. They claim to be innocent.
Since the invasion, more than 775 people have been arrested for participating in the Capitol Raid, in nearly all 50 US states. The investigations are still ongoing – also in a committee of Congress itself, which seeks to determine the responsibilities of members of the federal administration at the time, under Trump. In January, authorities had arrested Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, another extremist group accused of involvement in the invasion.
The FBI classifies the Proud Boys as an “extremist group with ties to white nationalism”. For the fraternity, which only accepts men, the Western way of life is in danger and needs to be defended from the threat posed by foreigners, especially Muslims.
The group was created in 2016 by Gavin McInnes, co-founder of the conglomerate Vice Media, and drew attention for violently confronting anti-racism protesters, although they deny being racist.
The values ​​they defend, such as closing borders, diminishing the presence of the state, abolishing political correctness, defending the carrying of weapons and glorifying entrepreneurship, often become the basis for hate speech – which is why they were banned. social networks like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
In September 2020, Trump cited the group during an election debate. “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by”, said the then president who was seeking re-election, when asked if he would condemn the action of racist groups. The mention was celebrated by members of the organization at the time, because, from a dubious reading, the phrase can be understood as “stand back and wait” or “wait and get ready to act”.
