Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, has been charged with conspiring with other top lieutenants of the far-right nationalist group to attack the Capitol last year, according to an indictment released Tuesday by federal prosecutors.
The indictment against Mr. Tarrio was the latest step in the Jan. 6 investigation and the second in recent months that charges had been brought against a leader of a far-right extremist group that took part in the Capitol attack. In January, prosecutors charged Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers militia, with incendiary conspiracy for what the administration has described as a plot to violently disrupt the work of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.
Mr Tarrio was not in Washington on January 6, having been arrested two days earlier for vandalizing a Black Lives Matter banner at a black church in the city following a pro-Trump demonstration in December 2020. Mr Tarrio, who also charged with carrying two high-capacity rifle magazines at the time, was ordered by a local judge to leave Washington as part of his release agreement.
But prosecutors say he ordered members of the group to dress “incognito” before the attack on the Capitol when they arrived in Washington on Jan. 6. He also participated in a private Telegram group chat when several leaders and members of the Proud Boys stormed the Capitol.
Mr Tarrio’s lawyer, J. Daniel Hull, declined to comment on the allegations and said he was awaiting charges from the government.
