Proud Boys Leader Thanks Trump for January 6 Pardon, Promises Revenge | Attack on the US Capitol

In his first interview after his release from prison, Enrique Tarrio thanked Donald Trump for forgiving him for his role in planning the January 6 riot, saying he “literally gave me my life.”

Now that he’s out, the boys’ proud leader wants revenge, he told Info Wars conspiracy theorist host Alex Jones.

“The people who did this, they need to feel the heat, they need to be put behind bars and they need to be prosecuted,” Tarrio said.

“Success is going to be rewarding,” he added. “We need to do everything we can to make sure the next four years set us up for the next 100 years.”

In the days since the leaders of the far-right prison militia groups, they and their organizations are regrouping and figuring out how to scale things up again now that Trump is back in office. They are emboldened by mass pardons for insurrectionists and are planning their next moves.

Stewart Rhodes, the head of the Oath Keepers, showed up at the U.S. Capitol this week, dining at a Dunkin inside the Longworth House office building. The Associated Press reported that Rhodes “met with at least one lawmaker during his visit and spoke with others” on Capitol Hill.

He gave interviews outside the D.C. jail, where he said he wanted prosecutors to stand trial for their “crimes.” Rhodes was not pardoned – his sentence was commuted and he was released early. He wants complete forgiveness.

Rhodes suggested that January 6 should be remembered in history as “Patriots Day.” It did not express regret for its role in the riots, saying its members were trapped and their responses to police were understandable. “We were there to protect Trump supporters from Antifa,” he said in a video after his release.

When Rhodes was sentenced in 2023, the judge in his case said, “You’re smart, you’re charismatic and compelling and frankly that’s what makes you dangerous.” By the time you are released, whenever that may be, you will be ready to take up arms against your government. »

Tarrio and Rhodes experienced some of the longest sentences awarded to the Jan. 6 defendants, at 22 years and 18 years, respectively. Both were charged with seditious conspiracy for their roles helping plan the attack. Members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers infiltrated the Capitol on January 6, and some of them engaged in violence. The Oath Keepers “plotted for months to violently disrupt the peaceful transfer of power” and the Proud Boys “played a central role in setting in motion the January 6 attack on our Capitol,” lawyers for the government in the course of cases against class members.

At the time of Tarrio’s sentencing, federal prosecutors said: “No organization put more boots on the ground at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 than the Proud Boys, and they were at the forefront of every major breach of the Capitol’s defenses , leading the drive in driving the leadership of the Capitol, leading the drive in driving the Capitol defenses, leading the drive in driving the Capitol defenses, leading the drive in driving the Capitol defenses Capitol, leading the conduct of the conduct of the defenses of the Capitol, leading the conduct of the conduct of the defenses of the Capitol, leading the conduct of the conduct of the defenses of the Capitol, leading the leaders, leading the leading the led, leading the LEADING THE CONDUCTION, MENANCHE LE MENUE LES Efforts on the ground to storm the seat of government. »

The Global Project Against Hate and Extremism has been following the Proud Boys’ channels online since the Trump pardons and seen the group “fantasize about being ‘deputized like ice cream in Trump’s second term’ to help with the plan Trump’s mass deportation plan” and encourage members to report people who may be in the country illegally.

Tarrio, often referred to in the media as a “former” or “ex” leader of the Proud Boys, recently said that characterizing him as a former member was not accurate.

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“We made the decision four years ago not to tell the media what our structure is, but I suggest the media should stop calling me an ex-strong boy leader,” he said at CBS News.

A procession of Proud Boys marched through Washington on Inauguration Day, carrying a banner that congratulated Trump on his victory, a visible representation of the reception the far right is receiving from the new administration. They chanted “Fuck Joe Biden” and “Fuck Antifa” in their return to the national stage, and called on Trump to “free our boys.”

The rewriting of January 6 — and attempts to retaliate against those initially involved in the studies and prosecutions — will continue into Trump’s second term. House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Wednesday that a new select subcommittee will be formed to investigate “all events leading up to and after January 6” in order to “discover the complete truth that is due to the American people.

A web page previously set up for the FBI’s Most Wanted List from the January 6 attack now redirects to the FBI’s main page. Trump ordered the Justice Department to cease its ongoing cases related to the riot.

Police officers who were at the Capitol on January 6 spoke out against Trump’s decision to pardon or face convictions for all involvement in the Capitol attack, particularly those convicted of killing or assaulting the officers law enforcement. Some of the officers, including those who testified in the Jan. 6 cases, said they feared for their safety now that the insurrectionists had been released.

Michael Fanone, a retired officer who was beaten on January 6, put his message to Rhodes more bluntly in a live CNN interview: “That’s what I say to Stewart Rhodes – fuck you.”