Former Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio Sentenced To 22 Years, Was Once A 'Prolific' Undercover FBI Drug Informant

Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy for his role in the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. This is the longest sentence to date handed down in connection with the assault on the Capitol.

"What happened that day did not honor our Founders. It's the kind of thing they wrote the Constitution to prevent," said sentencing Judge Timothy Kelly who called Tarrio the ultimate leader of the conspiracy. "That day broke our previously unbroken tradition of peacefully transferring power," said the judge, adding that "it's going to take time and effort to fix it."

Judge Kelly said the fact that the Proud Boys leader was not at the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 "allowed Tarrio to attempt to 'insulate' himself." 

Days before Jan. 6, Tarrio was arrested and ordered to leave the city for possessing two high-capacity rifle magazines and setting fire to a Black Lives Matter banner stolen from a Washington, D.C. church. 

Prosecutors, who called Tarrio a "naturally charismatic leader, a savvy propagandist," said that while he was at a hotel outside D.C. on Jan. 6, Tarrio directed his Proud Boys to attack the Capitol without him.

"Tarrio has repeatedly and publicly indicated that he has no regrets about what he helped make happen on January 6," prosecutors wrote in court documents.

Who Is Enrique Tarrio?

Prior to setting up the Proud Boys, Tarrio worked for federal and local law enforcement as an undercover informant after he was arrested in 2012, according to a former prosecutor and a transcript of a 2014 federal court proceeding obtained by Reuters and reported in Jan. 2021. The transcript describes Tarrio’s work as helping authorities prosecute 13 cases involving drugs, gambling and human smuggling. 

'Prolific' FBI Cooperator

Jeffrey Feiler, Tarrio’s lawyer at that time, said that while his client was working undercover, he discovered the illicit sale of anabolic steroids, “wholesale prescription narcotics” and human trafficking. He said Tarrio helped authorities uncover three marijuana grow houses. Feiler called Tarrio a “prolific” cooperator. 

In an interview with Reuters in late January 2021, Tarrio denied working undercover or cooperating in cases against others. “I don’t know any of this,” he said. “I don’t recall any of this.”

Law enforcement officials and the court transcript contradict Tarrio’s denial. A former federal prosecutor in Tarrio’s case, Vanessa Singh Johannes, confirmed in a statement to Reuters that “he [Tarrio] cooperated with local and federal law enforcement, to aid in the prosecution of those running other, separate criminal enterprises, ranging from running marijuana grow houses in Miami to operating pharmaceutical fraud schemes.” 

More than 1,000 people have been arrested on charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol assault; at least 570 have pleaded guilty and so far 78 have been convicted.

Five people including a police officer died during or shortly after the riot and more than 140 police officers were injured. The Capitol suffered millions of dollars in damage.

Meanwhile, With Friends Like These...

There will be no conspiracy theories or terrorist actions at the upcoming Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago on September 27- 28, just lots of interaction with cannabis experts and investors and fun! All information is available on bzcannabis.com

Lead photo: Enrique Tarrio (left) from Twitter/X