‘I am a leader of men’
Organizer Biggs and his role in the US Capitol riot
The arrest of Ormond Beach resident Joseph Biggs, who the FBI described as an organizer for the far-right nationalist group the Proud Boys, attracted national headlines Wednesday, as he became among the most high-profile fringe figures to face charges in the U.S. Capitol riot.
Biggs — who federal agents said was recorded calling the riot “awesome” as he stormed the Capitol with a mob of pro-Trump extremists — had in the days before his arrest downplayed his role, telling a British tabloid that he only entered the federal building to use the bathroom.
But Biggs, a former reporter for the conspiracy theorist website InfoWars, has long been a frontand-center figure among the Proud Boys, having described himself in interviews as a close friend of the group’s chairman, Enrique Tarrio, if not officially a leader in the organization.
In court records documenting the basis for their arrests, federal
agents have described the Proud Boys figures as instigators ahead of the Jan. 6 riot, which disrupted the process of Congress certifying now-President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, typically a formality.
Tarrio and Biggs, authorities said, had urged Proud Boys supporters to show up “incognito” in Washington, D.C., without their typical black-and-yellow attire, possibly hoping to pass among supporters of Antifa, the anti-fascist movement that often clashes with far-right groups.
“We are going to smell like you, move like you, and look like you. The only thing we’ll do that’s us is think like us!” Biggs posted on the social media site Parler, according to the affidavit. “Jan 6th is gonna be epic.”
John Daniel Hull, a Washington, D.C., based attorney identified in court this week as representing Biggs, did not respond to a call or email from the Orlando Sentinel this week. As Biggs left the federal courthouse in downtown Orlando on Wednesday, he declined to discuss the Proud Boys’ role in organizing the Capitol riot, saying it would come out in court.
‘It’s a family’
Biggs, who has described himself as a U.S. Army veteran born and raised in Charlotte, N.C., has in recent years featured prominently at flashpoints for the far-right, in support of now-former President Donald Trump and opposition to anti-fascist groups and the Black Lives Matter movement.
In August 2017, he was reportedly among the speakers at a “free speech” rally of right-wing figures in Boston, which went ahead despite the infamous “Unite the Right” rally days earlier that drew white supremacists and neo-Nazis to Charlottesville, Va., resulting in violent clashes and three deaths.
The following year, he was among a slew of far-right internet personalities, spurred by Trump ally Roger Stone, who sprung to action — Biggs vowing on Twitter to help stop “radical leftists” — as Broward County officials were re-counting the U.S. senate race between Rick Scott and Bill Nelson.
In June 2019, he was among a large contingent of Proud Boys members who were in Orlando for the kick-off of Trump’s reelection campaign, according to HuffPost.
As the group marched near the Amway Center, members — clad in their usual attire: black polo-style shirts with yellow stripes made by the British label Fred Perry — chanted “Pinochet was right,” referring to Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who was infamous for political executions.
“When you come out here, it’s a brotherhood. It’s a family,” Biggs was overheard remarking, according to HuffPost. “It’s like being at a revival, man.”
That August, Biggs led a protest in Portland, Ore., against anti-fascist activists, claiming “mission success” after Trump tweeted about the demonstration and suggested naming Antifa a terrorist organization, according to USA Today.
He was also among the Proud Boys members and other far-right figures who celebrated when Trump, during a presidential debate against Biden, told the group to “stand back and stand by” — which many extremists took as a signal of tacit approval from the president.
“President Trump told the Proud Boys to stand by because someone needs to deal with antifa ... well sir! we’re ready!!” he posted on Parler. He also said his interpretation of Trump’s statement was that the president had “basically said to go f—them up.”
‘A leader of men’
After New York-based Proud Boys member Dominic “Spazzo” Pezzola
smashed a window of the U.S. Capitol building with a plastic shield about 2:15 p.m. Jan. 6, FBI agents said in court filings, the flood of rioters into the halls of Congress was on.
“Go, go, go!” someone shouted.
Some climbed through the busted window, then opened the door for others to enter, agents said. Biggs was inside within 20 seconds, according to an affidavit, his face exposed as a member of the mob asked him on camera for his reaction to the scene.
“This is awesome!” he replied, according to the FBI affidavit, which described him as “smiling broadly.”
In affidavits, FBI agents identified signs of the Proud Boys’ organization, including visible ear pieces and walkie-talkie style radios.
Those touches are in line with the way Biggs has described the group’s activities: as well-planned and researched military-style operations.
“It’s like, you’re literally planning to go into a combat zone,” he said on a podcast in December, according to Vice News. “It’s not just like, ‘Hey man, we’re going to D.C., we’re going to Portland.’ It’s like, ‘Alright, we’re going to Portland. I need satellite imagery. I need to talk to people on the ground.’ ”
A portion of the same interview was quoted by the FBI in an affidavit in support of Biggs’ arrest.
In an article published online Tuesday, the Daily Mail, a London-based tabloid, said it had spoken to Biggs and he denied having entered the Capitol with any “ill intent.” Rather, he claimed he had gone inside because he needed to urinate, according to the report.
“I went to the bathroom, washed my hands and found another cop and asked him ‘how the hell do I get out of here?’ He showed me the way out,” Biggs reportedly said. “I left and stayed outside. That’s the only thing I did.”
Biggs emphasized that he hadn’t personally damaged any property, a detail that an assistant federal defender echoed in court Wednesday, describing the FBI’s allegations against Biggs as “speculative.”
Biggs told the Mail the Proud Boys had not gone to D.C. intending to storm the Capitol. Asked about his “awesome” remark, he said he meant the scene was “awe-inspiring” but also “awful,” according to the Mail’s report.
Florida business records indicate Biggs is a business partner with Tarrio, the Proud Boys leader, in addition to their collaborations organizing the extremist group. Biggs is listed as a manager for “WARBOYS LLC,” a company the Miami-based Tarrio established in July, records show.
In the interview with the Mail, he reportedly described himself as a leader — but not of the Proud Boys:
“I am a leader of men. But I’m not an official leader of the group.”