Enrique Tarrio, leader of the far-right group the Proud Boys, has been indicted for conspiracy related to the assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, when Congress was counting the electoral votes cast in the 2020 presidential election, the Justice Department announced in a press release. Tarrio was arrested Tuesday following his indictment.
Tarrio, 38, was arrested in Miami, and is expected to appear in court Tuesday in the Southern District of Florida. The indictment also includes five other Proud Boys members who were previously charged in relation to January 6.
The indictment alleges that in December 2020, Tarrio and Proud Boys members conspired to obstruct and stop the certification of the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021. On that day, they are alleged to have "directed, mobilized, and led members of the crowd onto the Capitol grounds and into the Capitol, leading to dismantling of metal barricades, destruction of property, and assaults on law enforcement," the indictment says.
Tarrio has not been accused of taking part physically in the Capitol rioting, but the Justice Department accuses him of leading the advance planning and remaining in contact with some of the Proud Boys while they were taking part in the Capitol breach.
The Proud Boys leader had been arrested on January 4, 2021, and accused of bringing ammunition into the District of Columbia and burning a Black Lives Matter banner. He was then released the next day and ordered to stay out of Washington.
According o the indictment, Tarrio allegedly continued to direct the Proud Boys during the rioting at the Capitol, and on social media and an encrypted chat room, he claimed credit for what had happened.
He has been indicted on conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding and two counts each of "assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and destruction of government property."
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's office for the District of Columbia and the Justice Department Counterterrorism Section.
