MIAMI — Enrique Tarrio, the high-profile leader of the Proud Boys extremist group, appeared subdued in Miami federal court Tuesday as a magistrate judge ordered that he remain behind bars before his trial on charges of plotting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building to stop Congress’ certification of the presidential election.
Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis said evidence “that he’s a danger to the community is unrebutted,” rejecting a request by Tarrio’s defense attorney to release him on a $1.25 million bond secured by his family members in Miami. She did not rule on the Justice Department’s other basis for his detention, that Tarrio, a lifelong Miami resident, is a risk of flight.
Tarrio, 38, who after his arrest last week remains in custody at the Miami Federal Detention Center, will now be transferred to Washington, D.C., to face an indictment accusing him and five other Proud Boys members of conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding and related charges including destroying government property.
At Tuesday’s detention hearing, Justice Department prosecutors described Tarrio as a “command and control leader” who, despite his absence on the day of the U.S. Capitol assault, directed fellow Proud Boy members in encrypted chat room messages to “storm” Congress and stop Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump for president.
“This was a crime that was carried out by Mr. Tarrio and his co-conspirators that struck at the heart of our democracy,” prosecutor Jason McCullough told the judge, calling the insurrection a “crime of terrorism.”
Tarrio’s defense attorney, Nayib Hassan, argued that the Proud Boys leader was not a violent person and did not order anyone to occupy the Capitol building, hurt any police officers or destroy any government property.
“At no point in time did Mr. Tarrio instruct anybody to go into the Capitol building,” Hassan said.
The indictment describes Tarrio as the former national chairman of the Proud Boys who helped organize a group of hardcore members — the Ministry of Self Defense — to develop “national rally planning” for a “Stop the Steal” protest on Jan. 6 to coincide with Congress’ certification of the Electoral College vote that same day. The indictment further accuses Tarrio and the other five Proud Boys defendants of devising a militant strategy to target the Capitol building, using the internet not only to develop strategies and recruit members but also to raise funds and buy paramilitary gear for the assault.
In text exchanges with other Proud Boys members, Tarrio backed a “1776 Returns” plan that called for occupying “crucial buildings” in D.C., including the House and the Senate, and he supported staging the “main operating theater“ at the Capitol steps, according to the indictment.
In one exchange on the morning of Jan. 4, Tarrio advised his colleagues that “you want to storm the Capitol” — although his defense attorney asserted Tuesday that he made that comment in the form of a question, not an order. Prosecutors did not address his point.
Later that day, Tarrio was arrested in connection with a prior protest in the District of Columbia where he burned a Black Lives Matter banner, spent the night in jail and was released the next day on a judge’s order saying he must leave the city.
Instead, on Jan. 5, Tarrio met in a Washington, D.C., parking garage with the founder of another extremist group, the Oath Keepers, about coordinating efforts to target Congress, according to the indictment. A documentary film crew was also on hand to record Tarrio and the Proud Boys’ activities, court records show.
“They were with Mr. Tarrio when he was released (from jail after his arrest), and they were with him at the parking garage,” FBI special agent Nicholas Hanak testified at Tuesday’s hearing.
Tarrio left the evening of Jan. 5 for Baltimore. At his hotel room the next day, he watched TV news accounts of the “Stop the Steal” rally on the National Mall and the subsequent attack on the Capitol building. He also made comments on social media and in an encrypted chat room.
“After I finish watching this I’ll make a statement about my arrest (on Jan. 4) ... But for now I’m enjoying the show ... Do what must be done. #WeThePeople.”
A few minutes later, Tarrio posted: “Don’t f***ing leave.”
Nearly 800 people have been arrested in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection. Unlike Tarrio, the vast majority of them were actually there at the time of the assault.
In the first case to go to trial, Guy Reffitt, a Texas militia member who was at the head of an early wave of rioters, was found guilty this month of five felony charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding, carrying a firearm during the attack and threatening witnesses. Reffitt faces a maximum possible sentence of 60 years in prison, but will likely get much less time under federal sentencing guidelines.
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