Proud Boy Pardoned for January 6 Conspiracy Eyeing Run for Congress in Matt Gaetz’s Old District
AP Photo/Allison Dinner
Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boy leader sentenced to 22 years in prison back in 2023 and released after President Donald Trump pardoned over 1,500 people for crimes related to the January 6 Capitol riot, is eyeing a run for Congress in Matt Gaetz’s old district.
In an interview with the Miami New Times, Tarrio said that he’s heard form “a lot” of Proud Boys interested in running for public office, and said that he may do the same thing himself, identifying the open seat that, until recently, belonged to Gaetz as his target.
“If I do run, I want to be in that building that they accused me of trying to storm,” said Tarrio.
In September 2023, Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison for committing, among other felonies, seditious conspiracy against the U.S.
From the Department of Justice press release announcing Tarrio’s fate:
The former national chairman of the Proud Boys was sentenced today for seditious conspiracy and other charges related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
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On May 4, 2023, a jury found Tarrio and three other co-defendants guilty of multiple felonies, including seditious conspiracy, for their actions before and during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.
Previously sentenced in this matter were co-defendants Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola. Nordean was sentenced to 18 years in prison, Biggs was sentenced to 17 years, Rehl was sentenced to 15 years, and Pezzola was sentenced to 10 years.
According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial, prior to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, Tarrio created a special chapter of the Proud Boys known as the “Ministry of Self-Defense,” which included co-defendants Nordean, Biggs, and Rehl. As part of this group, these defendants conspired to prevent, hinder, and delay the certification of the Electoral College vote and to oppose by force the authority of the government of the United States.
In the days leading to January 6th, Tarrio and other leaders of the Ministry of Self-Defense hand-selected members of the organization, including co-defendant Dominic Pezzola, to serve as “rally boys” during the attack on the Capitol. To prepare for the attack, Tarrio and the other leaders established a chain of command, chose a time and place for their attack, and intentionally recruited others who would follow their top-down leadership and who were prepared to engage in physical violence if necessary.
On January 6th, the group began their assault that day at 10:00 a.m. when Nordean, Biggs, Rehl, and others marched an assembled group of nearly 200 individuals away from speeches at the Ellipse and directly toward the Capitol. At 2:11 p.m., Pezzola smashed open a window, allowing the first rioters to enter the Capitol as Biggs and those with him entered close behind. Court documents say that Nordean, Biggs, Rehl, and the men they recruited and led participated in every consequential breach at the Capitol that day.
As the events of January 6th unfolded, Tarrio, who was monitoring the attack from afar, posted encouraging messages to his tens of thousands of social media followers, including: “Proud of my boys and my country” and “Don’t f****** leave.” Tarrio privately claimed credit for the riot at the Capitol, telling Proud Boys senior leadership, “Make no mistake . . . we did this.” On January 7th, Tarrio addressed the Ministry of Self-Defense members, telling them he was “proud of y’all.”
On the day of his sentencing, Tarrio professed to have “spent the last year and a half trying to figure out how I ended up at this podium. On November 3, 2020, something that I never expected happened – my candidate lost. I felt like something was personally stolen from me. Every media channel that I turned to told me I was justified.”
Tarrio was released from prison on January 20, the same day Trump took office.
