Tarrio was taken into custody Tuesday after his indictment.
Tarrio, 38 years old, was taken into custody in Miami and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, the Southern District of Florida. Five other Proud Boys members were also indicted in the indictment, who were previously charged with January 6.
Tarrio was not accused of participating in the Capitol rioting physically, but the Justice Department claims he planned the advance and kept in touch with the Proud Boys during the Capitol breach. On January 4, 2021, the leader of Proud Boys was arrested and charged with bringing ammunition into Washington DC and lighting a Black Lives Matter banner. The next day, he was released and told to stay clear of Washington.
According to the indictment Tarrio was alleged to have continued to direct Proud Boys during the rioting in the Capitol. He claimed credit on social media, in an encrypted chatroom, for what had occurred.
Indictment claims that Tarrio and Proud Boys members conspired in December 2020 to obstruct the certification of the Electoral College’s vote on January 6, 2021. Indictment stated that Tarrio was sent a document entitled 1776 RETURNS by an unidentified individual in December. This document described a plan for occupying multiple buildings, including congressional chambers. Tarrio created several encrypted messaging groups to discuss his plans.
Tarrio met Stewart Rhodes on January 5, after he was told not to go into the District of Columbia. The Capitol was also discussed.
According to the indictment, 100 Proud Boys members gathered at Washington Monument at 6:01 a.m. on January 6. They are accused of having “directed, mobilized and led members of crowd onto Capitol grounds and into Capitol, leading to destruction of property and dismantling metal barricades,” according to the indictment.
Tarrio wrote on social media that day: “Make no mistake…we done this.” He wrote, “Proud Of My Boys and My Country” at 2:41 p.m.
Tarrio was indicted for conspiracy to obstruct a formal proceeding, obstruction of a formal proceeding, and two counts of each “assaulting or resisting certain officers” and destruction of government property.
The U.S. attorney’s office for District of Columbia is prosecuting this case, as well as the Justice Department Counterterrorism Section.
