Ex-Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio Angles for Release After Trump Win – Miami New Times
Enrique Tarrio participates in a July 2021 demonstration in support of Cubans protesting the Castro regime. Photo by Michelle Eve Sandberg
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As former and now future president Donald Trump is set to return to the White House in 2025, onetime Proud Boy leader and Miami native Enrique Tarrio has joined the long line of January 6 insurrectionists angling for presidential pardons.
Following Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, Tarrio’s lawyer Nayib Hassan applauded the election results in a statement on November 6.
“While we continue to diligently work on the appeal process for our client, we want to make it clear that we will explore every possible avenue to seek the release from custody,” Hassan wrote. “We are committed to pursuing all legal options available and that justice is served.”
Hassan emphasized that he and Tarrio are excited about “what the future holds, both in terms of the judicial process for our client and the broader political landscape under the new administration.”
“We remain hopeful that the courts will recognize the merits of our appeal, and we are optimistic about what lies ahead,” he continued.
In September 2023, the former national chairman of the Proud Boys was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol in 2021. Tarrio was convicted of seditious conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. Prosecutors alleged that Tarrio, now 40 years old, ordered a group calling itself the “Ministry of Self Defense” to prevent the transfer of power from Trump to Joe Biden.
Reached by New Times, Hassan reiterated that he plans to explore every legal avenue to free his client. He did not rule out the possibility of filing for a pardon, saying he favors whatever mechanism would be the fastest to get Tarrio released from custody.
Hassan says he has not spoken to Tarrio since Trump’s win.
Although Tarrio was not present at the Capitol riot — he had been arrested two days prior for charges related to a stolen Black Lives Matter flag and was ordered to leave the city — prosecutors claimed Tarrio orchestrated the far-right organization’s attack on January 6. They pointed to text messages that revealed Tarrio’s mindset following Trump’s defeat.
During the siege, Tarrio posted on social media in apparent celebration of the assault.
“Proud of my boys and my country,” the post read.
Trump’s November 5 win renews hope for January 6 defendants; on the campaign trail, the president-elect pledged to pardon some of the 1,500-plus insurrectionists charged with crimes for their actions on that day.