Enrique Tarrio, the president of the Proud Boys, a far-right nationalist group that is one of the main targets of the extensive Capitol riot investigation this month, has a history of cooperating with law enforcement, according to court records and a former prosecutor.
The surprising revelation that Tarrio, who leads one of the country’s most famous extremist groups, helped the FBI and local police departments to pursue more than a dozen criminal defendants about a decade ago, was first reported by Reuters on Wednesday.
The news came while Tarrio himself was being examined for his role in encouraging the Proud Boys to participate in a “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington on January 6, after which a crowd of hundreds invaded the Capitol, interrupting the final certification of the presidential election.
“Sir. Tarrio was a co-worker – like many who seek to provide information and try to get substantial assistance,” wrote the former prosecutor, Vanessa S. Johannes, by email.
The court transcript, which documents a 2014 hearing in which Mr. Tarrio sought to reduce his own sentence in a fraud case, shows that he helped police officers in his home state of Florida to investigate and prosecute criminal companies, including a game illegal business, a marijuana growing lab, an operation that sold anabolic steroids and an immigrant smuggling ring.
Tarrio did not respond to messages from The New York Times seeking comment, but denied Reuters that he had previously worked undercover or cooperated with the police.
“I don’t know any of that,” he said. “I don’t remember any of that.”
Tarrio, 36, has been the focus of the FBI’s massive investigation into the attack on the Capitol, which has led to more than 150 arrests, including those of at least six members of the Proud Boys. The group of self-styled “Western chauvinists” has a history of fighting in street fights with left-wing anti-fascist activists and has made its name in recent years for its vocal – and often violent – support for former President Donald J. Trump.
Although Tarrio went to Washington earlier this month, he was arrested by local police on suspicion of burning a Black Lives Matter strip torn from one of the city’s Black churches during a separate round of protests in December.
After being expelled from the city 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 “incognito”. Federal agents cited messages in their criminal complaint against one of Tarrio’s top lieutenants, Joseph Biggs, who was arrested last week.
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 in connection with a scheme to sell many diabetes test kits that co-defendants stole from a truck in Kentucky and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. “He was something of a marketer,” said his lawyer, 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 “cooperated significantly” in two other federal cases, leading to the trial of 13 people . Mr. Feiler also noted that Mr. Tarrio had worked undercover for the Miami and Hialeah police departments, sometimes putting himself at risk.
“I found out that the defendant provided substantial assistance in the investigation and prosecution of others involved in criminal conduct,” said Mr. Tarrio’s case judge, Joan A. Lenard.
She ended up reducing her sentence to 16 months.
Although there is no evidence that Mr. Tarrio continued to assist the authorities in fighting crime, Mr. Feiler at the time believed that his client was good at this.
“Frankly, in all the years, which have now been doing this for more than 30 years,” he said at the hearing, “I have never had a client so prolific in terms of cooperation in any respect.”