Four Proud Boy leaders convicted of seditious conspiracy are among the hundreds of Capitol rioters who will walk free following pardons and sentence commutations issued by newly-inaugurated president Donald Trump.
Enrique Tarrio, who was the leader of the far-right gang at the time of the insurrection four years ago, had been sentenced to 22-years behind bars—the longest sentence received by any January 6-er. He received a pardon. His co-defendants Zachary Rehl, Joseph Biggs, and Ethan Nordean, who were previously sentenced to 15, 17, and 18 years, had their sentences commuted and were ordered released as of Monday.
Tarrio’s mother Zuny Duarte told WIRED that Enrique will be back in Miami by 3 pm on Tuesday. He’s been serving his sentence at a federal prison in Pollock, Louisiana.
Trump issued 14 sentence commutations and issued blanket pardons for all other individuals convicted in relation to the Capitol riot. Around 1,580 individuals in total were charged with crimes related to January 6.
“These people have been destroyed, what they’ve done to these people is outrageous, there’s rarely been anything like it in the history of this country,” Trump said of the January 6-ers from the Oval Office. He also floated conspiracy theories that “outside agitators” and the FBI were somehow responsible for the violence that unfolded on January 6. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was also convicted of seditious conspiracy, also had his sentence commuted and will walk free.
Trump had teased the incoming pardons from his event earlier Monday at the Capital One Arena, promising an imminent release of “J6 hostages.”
“Ooh you’re going to be happy reading newspapers tomorrow and the next day and the next day,” he said.
Reached by phone earlier on Monday, Duarte told WIRED that they were anticipating Enrique’s release. “The guys are excited and think that justice will finally come to us,” said Duarte. “Donald Trump knows what it’s like to be on the side of the prosecuted and on the unjust side of things.”
Asked whether Tarrio was still involved with the Proud Boys, Duarte responded: “That’s a question you need to ask him when he’s out.”
Before Trump had even put ink to paper, news that correctional facilities were beginning to process January 6-ers for release had started percolating online. Social media accounts linked to the Proud Boys were jubilant, and Gavin McInnes, who founded the Proud Boys in 2016, declared “Party for the Boys” on a livestream of his show while collecting donations to support released members of the gang.
As a first-day act, it was a stunningly symbolic one. Four years ago, on January 6, 2021, thousands of Trump’s supporters galvanized by conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, came to DC and besieged the Capitol with the goal of preventing the peaceful transfer of power. The ugly scenes culminated in the deaths of five people, left more than 140 police officers injured, and Trump left Washington in disgrace.
Weeks later, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the U.S. behind riot barriers, barbed wire, and under the eyes of more than 25,000 national guard troops.
