Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the extremist group Proud Boys whose members were accused of connection to the January 6 attack on Capitol, has already served as a disguised informant for law enforcement, according to a former prosecutor and court records .
Former President Trump drew national attention to the Proud Boys during a debate in September, when he asked them to “stay put.” Since then, Tarrio has raised his profile even further, appearing in pro-Trump protests to challenge federal officials and being arrested in Washington, DC, before the attack on the Capitol on suspicion of destroying a Black Lives Matter banner at a church.
In a transcript of Tarrio’s Miami sentencing hearing, after he pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in 2014, a prosecutor, FBI agent and Tarrio’s lawyer said he helped authorities prosecute more than a dozen people in cases involving drugs, gambling and smuggling people.
During the hearing, Tarrio’s prosecutor and attorney asked a judge to reduce Tarrio’s sentence related to the reclassification and sale of stolen diabetes test kits. The prosecutor said Tarrio’s information led to the trial of 13 people on federal charges in two cases and helped local authorities investigate an gambling ring. An FBI agent at the hearing called Tarrio a “key component” in local police investigations involving marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy.
Tarrio’s lawyer, Jeffrey Feiler, told the court that his client had worked undercover in several investigations involving human smuggling, selling anabolic steroids and “wholesale narcotics.” He said Tarrio also helped the police to discover three marijuana growing houses and was a “prolific” cooperator. In the case of smuggling, he said that Tarrio, “at his own risk and in a secret role, met and negotiated the payment of $ 11,000 to members of that gang to bring in fictitious family members from another country. ”
Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and other right-wing protesters march in Portland, Oregon, in 2019.
(Noah Berger / Associated Press)
Contacted at his Miami office on Wednesday, Feiler said: “The representations I made to the court were true based on the information provided to me by the police authorities and the prosecutor.
“Based on their cooperation, the government has filed a motion to reduce its sentence,” said Feiler.
Former federal prosecutor in Tarrio’s case, Vanessa Singh Johannes, confirmed on Wednesday that “he has cooperated with local and federal security forces to help prosecute those who run other separate criminal companies, ranging from running farm houses of marijuana in Miami until operating fraud scam schemes. “
According to the court record, the judge in charge of Tarrio’s case reduced his sentence from 30 to 16 months, concluding that he “provided substantial assistance in the investigation and prosecution of others involved in criminal conduct”.
Tarrio did not return calls or emails on Wednesday. In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, he denied working undercover or cooperating in cases against third parties.
“I don’t remember any of that,” said Tarrio, 36, when asked about the sentencing hearing. “He told Reuters that his sentence for fraud was reduced because it helped investigators to” clear up “doubts about his own case, not that of others.
Washington police arrested Tarrio two days before the attack on the Capitol. They accused him of owning two high-capacity rifle loaders and burning a Black Lives Matter strip during a demonstration the previous month.
A judge ordered Tarrio to leave the city pending his next hearing in June. Although Tarrio did not join the Capitol riot, at least five other Proud Boys reportedly did and were charged with the deadly attack.