Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio has been indicted on conspiracy and other charges for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, the Justice Department announced.
An indictment that names Tarrio, along with five other members of the far-right group who are already facing charges related to the riot, was revealed on Tuesday (March 8).
According to the indictment, “Tarrio and his co-defendants… conspired to corruptly obstruct, influence and impede an official proceeding, the certification of the Electoral College vote.”
A statement from the Justice Department also notes that “on Jan. 6, the defendants directed, mobilized and led members of the crowd onto the Capitol grounds and into the Capitol, leading to [the] dismantling of metal barricades, destruction of property and assaults on law enforcement.”
Tarrio was arrested in Miami on Tuesday and is set to appear in a federal court in the Southern District of Florida this afternoon. He was indicted on one count each of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and obstruction of an official proceeding; and two counts each of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and destruction of government property.
The 38-year-old is not accused of physically participating in the riot, but the Justice Department claims he led the plans for the attack and remained in contact with members of the group who stormed the Capitol that day.
Tarrio was arrested just days before the attack, on Jan. 4, 2021; for setting a Washington, D.C. church’s Black Lives Matter flag on fire in December of 2020 and for bringing high-capacity rifle magazines into the city.
He was released the day after his arrest and ordered to stay out of D.C. However, the DOJ claims “Tarrio nonetheless continued to direct and encourage the Proud Boys prior to and during the events of Jan. 6, 2021” and “claimed credit for what had happened on social media and in an encrypted chat room during and after the attack.”
Tarrio was released from jail this January after serving just over four months for the flag-burning and firearms offense.