Former Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio is one of five members of the far-right group charged with seditious conspiracy in relation to the insurrection at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021.
The five men were also charged with conspiring to prevent an officer from discharging any duties by a federal grand jury.
The indictments come just days before public prime-time hearings over the events of January 6 commence in Congress.
Prior to the sedition charges, the men had already been charged with conspiring to obstruct the certification of the 2020 Presidential election won by Joe Biden over incumbent Donald Trump. The seditious conspiracy are also the most severe charges brought by the Justice Department to this point regarding the January 6 riot.
Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola were the other Proud Boys members charged. They join 11 members of a separate far-right group, the Oath Keepers, as targets in the seditious conspiracy investigation.
All five pled not guilty.
Tarrio was not present at the riots, but prosecutors allege he was a key figure in the planning of the violent siege that took place that day.
During the riots, Tarrio posted “Proud of my boys and my country” on social media. Prosecutors also presented a text message from an unnamed person to Tarrio the night of January 6 that read, “Dude, did we just influence history?”
Tarrio’s response: “Let’s first see how this plays out.”
The efforts were ultimately unsuccessful in stopping the electoral count but did result in the deaths of five Capitol police officers and several other injuries as well as extensive property damage.
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