On Tuesday, former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio will be sentenced for his role in a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to stop the transfer of presidential power after Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. Tarrio will be the last Proud Boys leader convicted of seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack to receive his punishment.
The Justice Department is seeking a sentence of more than three decades for Tarrio, describing him as the ringleader of a plot to use violence to shatter the cornerstone of American democracy and overturn the election victory of Joe Biden, a Democrat, over Trump, the Republican incumbent. Tarrio was not in Washington on Jan. 6 – he was arrested two days earlier in a separate case – but prosecutors say he helped put in motion and encourage the violence that stunned the world and interrupted Congress’ certification of Biden’s electoral victory.
The three fellow Proud Boys found guilty by a Washington jury of the rarely used sedition charge were sentenced last week to prison terms ranging from 15 to 18 years. Ethan Nordean, who prosecutors said was the Proud Boys’ leader on the ground on Jan. 6, was sentenced to 18 years in prison, tying the record for the longest sentence in the attack. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was found guilty of seditious conspiracy in a separate case, was sentenced in May to 18 years in prison.
Lawyers for the Proud Boys deny that there was any plot to attack the Capitol or stop the transfer of presidential power. They argue that Tarrio had no intention of directing any participants to storm the Capitol building prior to or during the event. Tarrio was arrested in Washington on Jan. 4, 2021 on charges that he defaced a Black Lives Matter banner during an earlier rally in the nation’s capital, but law enforcement officials later said he was arrested in part over concerns about the potential for unrest during the certification.
On Jan. 6, dozens of Proud Boys leaders, members and associates were among the first rioters to breach the Capitol. The mob’s assault overwhelmed police, forced lawmakers to flee the House and Senate floors and disrupted the joint session of Congress for certifying Biden’s victory. As Proud Boys swarmed the Capitol, Tarrio cheered them on from afar, writing on social media: “Do what must be done.” In a Proud Boys encrypted group chat later that day someone asked what they should do next. Tarrio responded: “Do it again.”
The backbone of the government’s case was hundreds of messages exchanged by Proud Boys in the days leading up to Jan. 6. Tarrio’s attorneys have argued that there is no evidence to suggest that he directed any participants to storm the Capitol building. Despite the gravity of the charges against him, Tarrio has repeatedly and publicly indicated that he has no regrets about what he helped make happen on January 6.
Tarrio’s sentencing hearing is a reminder of the consequences of attempting to undermine the democratic process. It is also a reminder of the importance of upholding the rule of law and respecting the peaceful transition of power. Tarrio’s sentencing is a reminder that those who seek to disrupt the democratic process and undermine the rule of law will be held accountable for their actions.
The Proud Boys’ attack on the Capitol was an attack on the very foundations of American democracy. Tarrio’s sentencing is an opportunity to send a strong message that such acts of violence and sedition will not be tolerated. Tarrio’s sentencing is a reminder that the United States will not stand for attempts to undermine the peaceful transfer of power or disrupt the democratic process.
