Miami-based Proud Boys leader arrested in D.C. for burning Black Lives Matter flag
The Miami-based leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, was arrested in Washington on Monday two days before protests are expected in the nation’s capital to coincide with a vote to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral college victory.
Tarrio, who leads a male-only extremist group that promotes far-right ideas and President Donald Trump, was arrested on charges of destruction of property during a pro-Trump rally in Washington on Dec. 12 that turned violent. Tarrio admitted to burning a Black Lives Matter banner that was ripped down from a historic Black church, and previously said he was guilty of the crime.
“I have nothing to hide,” Tarrio said in an interview with the Washington Post last month. “So let me make this simple. I did it.”
Tarrio was also charged with possession of a high capacity magazine, police said. He was on the phone with a reporter while being arrested. The Proud Boys are expected to participate in protests across Washington on Wednesday.
On Saturday, Tarrio was in Miami protesting outside the home of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, urging him to join a group of Republican senators who have vowed to contest the electoral college result on Wednesday.
Tarrio said on Saturday that if Rubio doesn’t listen to us “he will pay.”
“He will pay at the ballot box,” Tarrio said. “If it wasn’t for us, none of [the senators] would have their seats right now.”
Tarrio — given name Henry Tarrio Jr. — launched an unsuccessful campaign in the Republican primary for Florida’s 27th Congressional District from Trump’s Doral golf resort in 2019. He became the group’s leader in 2018 and encouraged the Proud Boys to become more politically active, most notably in support of Trump.
Tarrio has a criminal record. He has a felony conviction for grand theft involving a stolen motorcycle when he was 20 and was sentenced to three years on probation in 2004. Tarrio wasn’t as lucky in 2013 when he got a 30-month federal prison sentence for his role in a scheme involving rebranding medical devices for diabetes and reselling them. Tarrio served 16 months.
In recent years, Tarrio popped up at Republican events across Miami-Dade County. In 2018, he confronted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi outside former Rep. Donna Shalala’s campaign headquarters, and video of him and others shouting expletives at Pelosi and shaking doors drew a public rebuke from Rubio.
Tarrio was also among a group of protesters who joined Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz outside the Broward County elections office to claim without evidence that elections staff were “finding votes” for Democrats after the 2018 election.
And after Trump told the Proud Boys to “stand back, and stand by” during the first presidential debate in September, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott condemned “all forms of racism, violence, or discrimination, including the Proud Boys” when asked about a picture he took two years ago with Tarrio, who is also close with former Trump advisor Roger Stone.
After the debate, Trump said, “I condemn all white supremacists. I condemn the Proud Boys. I don’t know much about the Proud Boys but I condemn that.”
Police in Washington have urged the public to stay away from pro-Trump protests that are expected to begin on Wednesday and the National Guard was also deployed in advance of the protests. Members of Congress have been encouraged to stay indoors and walk to the U.S. Capitol through underground tunnels after a protest was announced on Capitol grounds.
Miami Herald reporter David Smiley contributed to this report.
