The leader of the Proud Boys, one of the main far-right militias in the United States, was arrested Tuesday in Miami and charged for his role in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, announced the federal prosecutor of Washington.
Key figure of the American far right at the head of an organization designated as “terrorist” by Ottawa, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 38, is being prosecuted for “criminal association” with five other members of his organization, according to the services of the prosecutor Matthew Graves, who supervises the sprawling investigation into this attack.
This fervent supporter of former President Donald Trump is not accused of having personally participated in the attack on the seat of Congress, when the elected officials were certifying the victory of Joe Biden in the presidential election, but of having “led the preparations upstream and remained in contact with the other members of the Proud Boys during their intrusion into the Capitol”, they specify in a press release.
Henry Tarrio was arrested on January 4, 2021 in Washington for the destruction of a Black Lives Matter banner hung on the facade of an African-American church and while he was in possession of weapon magazines prohibited in the capital. federal.
He had been released with orders to stay out of Washington, which explains his absence around the Capitol on January 6. After pleading guilty to both offences, he received a five-month prison sentence.
Henry Tarrio is the second far-right leader caught by justice more than a year after this coup that shook American democracy.
The founder and leader of the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, 56, and ten other members of this militia were arrested on January 13 and charged with “sedition”, the most serious charge to date.
In total, more than 775 people have been arrested since January 6.