BRYAN DOZIER/AFP/X
A pardoned J6er and former leader of the Proud Boys was arrested on Friday after assaulting a protester outside the U.S. Capitol building that he was accused of storming four years prior.
Enrique Tarrio, 42, and several members of the Proud Boys, a far-right neo-fascist militant group, held a joint press conference with Stewart Rhodes, founder of right-wing militia group Oath Keepers, to announce their plans to sue the Justice Department for “about $150 million,” according to The Hill.
Their briefing was attended by about a dozen protesters, one of whom attempted to record Tarrio with her cell phone while he was speaking with a journalist. Tarrio allegedly smacked the woman’s phone out of her hand and hit her arm. She told Capitol Police she wanted to press charges, and Tarrio was arrested.
“This is absolutely insane,” Proud Boy Joe Biggs told The Hill in a text. He also claimed local police let “agitators” into their path. “Tarrio did nothing wrong. This is a set-up.”
About 60 Proud Boys participated in the January 6 Capitol riot alongside Tarrio, who was the group’s chairman at the time. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison, the longest of any J6er, but pardoned by President Donald Trump his first day in office last month.
Originally published by Latin Times
