Proud Boys leader reportedly worked undercover with law enforcement to prosecute 13 people after 2012 arrest
Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the far-right Proud Boys, worked undercover with local and federal law enforcement after a 2012 arrest for fraud, providing authorities information that led to the prosecution of 13 people in cases involving drugs, human smuggling, and gambling, court transcripts from 2014 obtained by Reuters reveal.
In an interview with Reuters, Tarrio denied he cooperated in the cases and, when asked about the transcript, he said he didn't "recall any of this." But the former federal prosecutor in his case, Vanessa Singh Johannes, reaffirmed the transcripts — which show Johannes, an FBI agent, and Tarrio's own lawyer describing his undercover work — were accurate. Tarrio eventually had his sentence reduced.
There's no evidence Tarrio has cooperated with authorities since 2014 and the Proud Boys were not founded until 2016, Reuters notes, but the revelation comes at a time where he is "under intense scrutiny by law enforcement" after he was arrested in Washington, D.C., two days before the Capitol riot for weapons possession and burning a Black Lives Matter banner in December. Read more at Reuters.
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