A leader in the far-right Proud Boys extremist group will remain jailed until his trial on charges that he remotely led a plot to stop Congress’s certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory.
In a Miami courtroom, US Magistrate Judge Lauren F Louis on Tuesday cited the danger that prosecutors say Henry “Enrique” Tarrio poses to the community. The judge said her decision would be explained in detail later in a written order.
Though he wasn’t at the Capitol with other members of the Proud Boys during the violent insurrection on January 6, 2021, prosecutors say Mr Tarrio created the leadership structure, organised the group of men and directed them to the Capitol.
They say Mr Tarrio organised encrypted chats with Proud Boys members in the weeks before the attack, had a 42-second phone call with another member of the group who was moving in and out of the building during the riot and took credit for the chaos at the Capitol.
“This is a crime that struck at the heart of our democracy,” said prosecutor Jason McCullough. “It is difficult to imagine something that is graver than this crime.”
Mr Tarrio’s lawyer Nayib Hassan said his client was not at risk of fleeing from authorities and doesn’t have a violent background. He argued the evidence against Mr Tarrio was weak and relies mostly on text messages and social media.
“At no point in time did Mr Tarrio instruct anybody to go into the building,” Mr Hassan told the judge on Tuesday.
Mr Hassan said other people charged in the same alleged conspiracy and who were present at the Capitol during the riot have been allowed pretrial release. He also pointed out Mr Tarrio wasn't at the Capitol during the attack.
Police had arrested Mr Tarrio in Washington two days before the riot and charged him with vandalising a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic black church during a protest in December 2020.
The day before the Capitol was attacked, a judge ordered Mr Tarrio to stay out of Washington.
Instead of leaving town, Mr Tarrio’s indictment said he met with Oath Keepers founder and leader Elmer “Stewart” Rhodes and others in an underground parking garage for about 30 minutes. Prosecutors say a documentary film crew was in the garage and picked up audio of a person making a reference to the Capitol.
A week before the riot, an unnamed person sent Mr Tarrio a document that laid out plans for occupying a few “crucial buildings” in Washington on January 6, including House and Senate office buildings around the Capitol, the indictment says.
Mr Tarrio, who has since stepped down from his post as Proud Boys chairman, hasn’t yet entered a plea on charges of conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding and other counts.
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First gentleman Douglas Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris, US President Joe Biden and wife Jill Biden salute the crowd after their electoral victory on November 7, 2020. Outgoing president Donald Trump has yet to concede his loss. AFP -
Rudy Giuliani, lawyer for former president Donald Trump, gives a press conference in the car park of the Four Seasons landscaping company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after Joe Biden was declared as winner of the 2020 presidential election, which he claimed was false. As a result of these claims, Mr Giuliani can no longer practice law in the state of New York. EPA -
Donald Trump meets Clint Hickman, vice chairman of Arizona's 4th District, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, at Phoenix Sky Harbour International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, Mr Hickman said that he refused to take calls from the White House and Mr Trump, who he said was trying to overturn the battleground state's results. AP -
Four days before the Capitol riot, Donald Trump placed a call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and asked the official to 'find' 11,780 votes to prevent the certification of Joe Biden's victory in the battleground state. The House committee investigators have already interviewed election officials in the state. AP -
Ruby Freeman was an employee of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 2020 presidential election. After the state went to Joe Biden, Donald Trump accused Ms Freeman of stealing ballots in a call with Brad Raffensperger, who told Mr Trump that he was being misled by claims on social media. Reuters -
Kimberly Guilfoyle, engaged to Donald Trump's son, boasted to a Republican operative that she had raised $3 million for the rally that helped fuel the January 6 Capitol riot. She may be called to testify. AFP -
Kash Patel, chief of staff to former acting secretary of defence Christopher Miller, gave a deposition on Capitol Hill to the committee on December 9, 2021. Members of the committee and staff members had been meeting with Mr Patel and 'Stop the Steal' organiser Ali Alexander. Getty Images / AFP -
The Willard Hotel in Washington played home to a 'war room' set up by advisers of Donald Trump and has become the focus of the congressional investigation into the January 6 attack. AFP -
Former White House chief strategist in the Trump administration Steven Bannon leaves a federal courthouse in Washington after being indicted on two counts of contempt of Congress. EPA -
Roger Stone, a former adviser and confidant of Donald Trump, gave a deposition before the committee in which he repeatedly pled the Fifth Amendment when questioned. Getty Images / AFP -
Bennie Thompson was chosen by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to lead the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack on the US Capitol. Getty Images / AFP -
Bennie Thompson meets Liz Cheney, vice-chair of the select committee, Adam Kinzinger and Jamie Raskin on Capitol Hill. The committee voted unanimously to recommend contempt of Congress charges for former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark for defying his subpoena, refusing to answer questions and failing to hand over documents to the committee. Getty Images / AFP -
Liz Cheney, committee chairman Bennie Thompson and other members of the committee speak to reporters after meeting with Nancy Pelosi. Reuters -
Republican Scott Perry of Pennsylvania helped promote theories that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, resulting in millions of tax dollars spent on recounts in the state. Election workers there were also threatened with violence. Reuters -
Chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party Kelli Ward led the charge to pressure Maricopa County officials to invalidate the results of the 2020 presidential election. Ms Ward also said that 'outside agitators' were responsible for the deadly attack. AP -
Jim Jordan, a Republican congressman, admitted to speaking with Donald Trump on January 6. Reuters -
Lawyer John Eastman spoke with Donald Trump's personal legal representative Rudy Giuliani at the January 6 'Stop the Steal' rally in Washington. During the melee, Mr Eastman emailed Greg Jacobs, aid to vice president at the time Mike Pence, to say that it was Mr Pence's fault that the riot was taking place because he refused to block the election's certification results. Reuters -
Before Mike Pence could certify the Electoral College votes before Congress, the last step in the process before Joe Biden was to be sworn in, rioters breached the US Capitol. Outside the chamber doors, a person was shot and police officers were beaten and trampled as some rioters yelled: 'Hang Mike Pence!' EPA -
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said he has no intention of complying with a subpoena to appear before the committee and missed a scheduled deposition. Committee members voted unanimously to pursue criminal contempt charges against Mr Meadows for refusing to give evidence. AFP -
In a legal setback, a federal appeals court ruled against Donald Trump, demanding he turn over White House records to the committee. AP -
Fox News host Sean Hannity sent text messages to the White House during the January 6 insurrection. AP -
The Oath Keepers is a US militia group that recruits former members of the military and law enforcement, with many participating in the January 6 attack. The committee has sent a subpoena to its founder, Stewart Rhoades, and several members have been arrested. AP -
The select committee subpoenaed Enrique Tarrio, naming him as leader of the Proud Boys, an extremist group that responded to Donald Trump’s call to descend on Washington and which played a central role in the attack on the Capitol. EPA -
US Olympic swimmer Klete Keller can be seen, with arms extended and wearing a blue kerchief covering his face, during the attack on the US Capitol. He pled guilty to one count of obstructing an official proceeding and is co-operating with the committee. AFP -
House select committee member Liz Cheney told CNN that a witness said Donald Trump's daughter and former White House adviser, Ivanka Trump, pleaded with her father to put a stop to the violence that took place on January 6. Getty Images / AFP -
On January 9, 2021, Twitter banned Donald Trump after he tweeted his support for the rioters. Reuters -
'Stop the Steal' organiser Ali Alexander gave a deposition on Capitol Hill to the committee. Getty Images / AFP -
Stephanie Grisham, former White House Press Secretary under former US president Donald Trump, leaves the O'Neill House office building following a meeting with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th attack on the US Capitol. Reuters
On the morning of January 6, members of the Proud Boys met at the Washington Monument and marched to the Capitol before then-president Donald Trump finished speaking to thousands of supporters at a rally near the White House.
Right before Congress convened a joint session to certify the presidential election results, a group of Proud Boys followed a crowd of people who breached barriers at a pedestrian entrance to the Capitol grounds, an indictment says.
Several Proud Boys also entered the Capitol building itself after the mob smashed windows and forced open doors.
More than three dozen of the more than 750 people charged in the Capitol siege have been identified by federal authorities as Proud Boys leaders, members or associates.
