Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Proud Boys leader arrested before riot
FBI says move was made in an attempt to prevent violence after agency draws criticism for perceived lack of action
The FBI, under criticism for not doing more to stop last week’s deadly siege of the Capitol, is pointing to the arrest of a South Florida Proud Boys leader to show it was proactive about possible threats before the Jan. 6 riot.
“We developed some intelligence that a number of individuals were planning to travel to the D.C. area with intentions to cause violence,” said Steven D’Antuono, assistant director of the FBI Field Office in Washington, during a news conference Tuesday.
“We immediately shared that information and action was taken, as demonstrated by the arrest of Enrique Tarrio by the Metropolitan Police Department the night before the rally.”
The arrest actually occurred two days before the rally, not long after Tarrio, 36, had arrived in the Washington, D.C., to speak at two events in support of President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, Tarrio told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Tarrio said the suggestion by the FBI that his arrest for burning a stolen Black Lives Matter banner in December was a “preventative measure” before the Capitol siege is comical. “What they’re trying to do is save face for their inadequacies,” he said. “They didn’t do anything to stop this.”
He said he had previously admitted to burning the banner on social media and had said in interviews that he would gladly turn himself in. “Taking me off the streets has nothing to do with the events of Jan. 6.”
D’Antuono’s statements on Tuesday came
after many have criticized the FBI and other authorities for not quickly quelling the uprising and not taking action on potential subjects who had made clear their intentions to cause trouble at a number of events planned for Jan. 6 in D.C.
D’Antuono said the agency had been sorting through messages on the internet to determine what is criminal and what isn’t. “We have to separate the aspirational from the intentional and determine which of the individuals saying despicable things on the internet are just practicing keyboard bravado or they actually have the intent to do harm.”
He said that no matter how offensive statements online are, an investigation can’t be opened without the threat of violence or alleged criminal activity.
Tarrio was arrested for burning a stolen banner that belonged to a historic D.C. church and for having two high-capacity ammunition magazines on him when he was stopped by police. He was charged with a misdemeanor for the property destruction, two felonies for the ammunition and banned from D.C. until his next court date in June.
During his arrest, his cellphone and a laptop belonging to him were confiscated by police, according to court filings. Prosecutors are in the process of obtaining a search warrant for both items.
His statements on Parler, the conservative leaning social media site where he had over 100,000 followers before it was taken down this week, were used as evidence against him before his arrest.
One post cited by the Metropolitan Police Department, according to court filings, shows Tarrio saying the Proud Boys would “turn out in record numbers on Jan 6th.” He said the right-wing group would not be wearing their traditional black and yellow colors that distinguish them and instead, “will be incognito and will spread across DC in smaller teams.”
Tarrio said members of the Proud Boys stood outside as the Capitol Building was overrun but that he had told them not to go inside as he watched the rioting from his hotel room in Maryland. At least one member from Hawaii was later arrested and charged with unlawful entry.
On Tuesday D’Antuono said the FBI and was busy scouring over 100,000 pieces of digital media for leads on possible arrests related to the Capitol siege.
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said that over 70 people have already been charged in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot.
In an effort to process individuals as soon as possible, Sherwin said many were initially charged with misdemeanors and smaller charges. But he said larger charges related to sedition and conspiracy could be coming.
“The initial charges we’re filing,” he said, “these are only the beginning, these are not the end.”
A spokesman for the Sherwin did not respond to questions about further charges pending on Tarrio.
Tarrio, for his part, said he was not worried. But he did say he was concerned about what he perceives as excess on the part of authorities to go after supporters of President Trump.
While he agrees with prosecuting anyone who trespassed or committed crimes on the Capitol Building, he said he would be motivated to protest and take action if others are charged solely on the basis of their social media posts.
“I’m not going to sit here and watch people get burned and charged with sedition for f——- Facebook posts.”
But Christopher Macchiaroli, a former D.C. Assistant U.S. Attorney, said there will be a high bar for prosecutors to charge anyone who only made statements, even vile ones, calling for violent action sometime before the Jan. 6 riot.
For someone to be charged with heavy charges like conspiracy, he said, there would have to be concrete proof that they helped plan the riot or organized it in some way. “The kind of guy who plans the robbery of the bank, but never sets foot inside,” he said.