Enrique Tarrio, the national leader of the Proud Boys, has been indicted for conspiracy related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol
., docketed Tuesday, charges Tarrio with conspiracy to obstruct Congress. Prosecutors have already leveled conspiracy charges against four Proud Boys leaders who the Justice Department says played a central role in fomenting the breach of the Capitol.
Other members of the Proud Boys have been charged separately for joining the mob, including Dominic Pezzola, who breached the Capitol when he shattered a Senate-wing window with a riot shield. Pezzola, on Tuesday, was added to the indictment of Proud Boys leaders along with Tarrio. Tarrio was not present at the Capitol on Jan. 6. He was arrested days earlier for burning a stolen Black Lives Matter flag at a December 2020 rally in Washington. He was released from prison for that offense in January.
But prosecutors have shown in court filings that Tarrio was in frequent contact before Jan. 6 with other Proud Boys leaders. And they’ve routinely referred to his pre-Jan. 6 exhortation that members of the Proud Boys decline to wear their typical yellow and blue attire to prevent easy identification.