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Enrique Tarrio, chairman of the Proud Boys, a far-right nationalist group that is a major target in the sprawling investigation into the riot on Capitol Hill this month, has a history of cooperating with law enforcement, according to court records and a former prosecutor.
The astounding revelation that Mr. Tarrio, who heads one of the nation’s most notorious extremist groups, helped the FBI and local law enforcement agencies prosecute more than a dozen felony defendants about a decade ago was first reported by Reuters on Wednesday.
The news emerged as Mr. Tarrio himself had come under surveillance for his role in encouraging the Proud Boys to attend a “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington on January 6, after which a crowd of hundreds of people did. burst into the Capitol, disrupting the final. certification of the presidential election.
“Sir. Tarrio was a cooperator – like many who seek to provide information and seek substantial assistance,” former prosecutor Vanessa S. Johannes wrote in an email.
The court transcript, which documents a hearing in 2014 in which Mr Tarrio attempted to reduce his own sentence in a fraud case, shows that he assisted law enforcement officers in his state. Originally, Florida, to investigate and prosecute criminal enterprises, including an illegal gambling business, a marijuana grow lab, an operation that sells anabolic steroids, and an immigrant smuggling ring.
Mr. Tarrio did not respond to New York Times messages seeking comment, but denied to Reuters ever working undercover or cooperating with law enforcement.
“I don’t know any of this,” he said. “I don’t remember any of this.”
Mr Tarrio, 36, has been at the center of the FBI’s massive investigation into the Capitol attack, which has so far led to more than 150 arrests, including those of at least six members of the Proud Boys . The self-proclaimed “Western chauvinist” group has a history of brawling in street fights with leftist anti-fascist activists and has made a name for itself in recent years for its vocal – and often violent – support for former President Donald J Trump. .
Although Mr Tarrio visited Washington earlier this month, he was arrested by local police on suspicion of burning a Black Lives Matter banner torn from one of the city’s black churches during another round of protests in December.
After being kicked out of town by a judge, he posted messages online encouraging the Proud Boys to attend the rally on January 6, not in their typical black and yellow polo shirts, but rather “incognito.” Federal agents cited the messages in their criminal complaint against one of Mr. Tarrio’s top lieutenants, Joseph Biggs, who was arrested last week.
Mr. Tarrio’s criminal history dates back to at least 2004, when he was convicted of stealing a $ 50,000 motorcycle. In 2012, he was charged with fraud in Miami as part of a scheme to sell lots of diabetes test kits that the co-defendants had stolen from a truck in Kentucky and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. . “He was kind of like the head of marketing,” said his attorney, Jeffrey Feiler, at the time.
In July 2014, Mr. Feiler went to court to ask a federal judge to reduce Mr. Tarrio’s sentence, arguing that his client had “significantly” cooperated in two other federal cases, which led to the pursuit of 13 people. Mr Feiler also noted that Mr Tarrio had worked undercover for the Miami and Hialeah Police Departments, sometimes putting himself in danger.
“I find that the defendant has provided substantial assistance in the investigation and prosecution of others involved in criminal conduct,” said the judge in Mr. Tarrio’s case, Joan A. Lenard.
She eventually reduced her sentence to 16 months.
Although there is no evidence that Mr. Tarrio continued to help the authorities fight crime, Mr. Feiler believed at the time that his client was good at it.
“Frankly, in all the years, that is to say now over 30 years that I have been doing this,” he told the audience, “I have never had a client so prolific in terms of cooperation in any respect.
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