Four Proud Boy leaders convicted of insurrection plotting are among hundreds of Capitol rioters to be released following pardons and commutations by newly sworn-in President Donald Trump.
Enrique Tarrio, the leader of a far-right gang during the uprising four years ago, was sentenced to 22 years in prison, the longest sentence he will serve on January 6. he received a pardon. Co-defendants Zachary Lehr, Joseph Biggs and Ethan Nordeen, who were previously sentenced to 15, 17 and 18 years in prison, had their sentences commuted and were ordered released as of Monday.
Tarrio’s mother, Zuni Duarte, told WIRED that Enrique will be back in Miami by 3pm on Tuesday. He is serving his sentence at a federal prison in Pollock, Louisiana.
President Trump issued 14 commutations of sentences and granted blanket pardons to all other individuals convicted in connection with the Capitol riot. A total of approximately 1,580 people were charged with offenses related to January 6th.
“These people were destroyed. What they did to these people is outrageous,” President Trump said of the people from the Oval Office on January 6. This kind of thing rarely happens.” He also floated a conspiracy theory that “outside instigators” and the FBI were somehow responsible for the violence that occurred on January 6th. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was also convicted of seditious conspiracy, will also have his sentence commuted and be released.
President Trump teased the upcoming pardon at his event at Capital One Arena early Monday, promising to release the “J6 hostages” soon.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be happy reading the newspaper tomorrow, and the day after, and the next day,” he said.
Reached by phone early Monday morning, Duarte told WIRED he was hopeful for Enrique’s release. “The players are excited and think justice will finally be served to us,” Duarte said. “Donald Trump knows what it’s like to be on the wrong side of being prosecuted and on the wrong side of things.”
Asked if Tarrio was still involved with the Proud Boys, Duarte replied, “That’s a question you should ask him when he’s not.”
Before President Trump could put ink to paper, news began percolating online that correctional facilities were beginning the process for the boys’ release on January 6th. Social media accounts associated with the Proud Boys were overjoyed, and Gavin McInnes, who founded the group in 2016, said he was running his own show while raising money to support released gang members. “Party for the Boys,” he announced on the livestream.
For a first-day act, it was surprisingly iconic. Four years ago, on January 6, 2021, thousands of Trump supporters excited by conspiracy theories about the 2020 election descended on Washington, D.C., and laid siege to the Capitol in an attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. The ugly scene culminated in five people being killed, more than 140 police officers injured, and President Trump leaving Washington in disgrace.
Weeks later, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States behind riot fences and barbed wire and under the watchful eye of more than 25,000 National Guard troops.
