Former Proud Boys boss Henry “Enrique” Tarrio remains in prison pending the Capitol trial

The former top Proud Boys leader will remain jailed while awaiting trial for conspiring with other members of the far-right group to attack the US Capitol and prevent Congress from confirming Joe Biden’s presidential victory, a federal judge ruled.

Henry “Enrique” Tarrio poses a danger to the public that cannot be mitigated by house arrest and a ban on social media use, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said in an order issued late Friday.

Tarrio, a South Florida resident, has been jailed since his March 8 arrest, a day after he was charged with charges including conspiracy. A federal judge in Miami had previously ordered custody.

According to the indictment, Tarrio and other Proud Boys leaders used encrypted channels, social media and other electronic communications to plan and execute a conspiracy to storm the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and disrupt the congressional certification of the Electoral College election.

Tarrio asked Kelly to order his release on bail, but the judge denied the request. Kelly said the evidence against Tarrio was “very strong,” despite Tarrio’s argument that authorities essentially had no “smoking gun” against him, “perhaps in the form of direct evidence of an order by Tarrio to other Proud Boys to close the Capitol.” storm ”

Tarrio was not in Washington when the riot took place. Police arrested Tarrio two days before the riot in the District of Columbia and charged him with destroying a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic black church during a December 2020 protest. A judge ordered Tarrio to stay away from the country’s capital.

Before leaving Washington, Tarrio met with Oath Keepers founder and head Elmer “Stewart” Rhodes and others in an underground parking lot for about 30 minutes, authorities say. Rhodes and several other members or associates of the anti-government militia group Oath Keepers are charged with seditious conspiracy to attack the Capitol.

A documentary filmmaker recorded part of the garage meeting.

“But not much can be gleaned from the clips about the content of the meeting — at one point, Tarrio and others asked the filmmaker to stop,” Kelly noted in his order.

Tarrio claims to have resigned as national chairman of the Proud Boys.

Five other men linked to the Proud Boys – Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Charles Donohoe and Dominic Pezzola – were charged in the same March 7 indictment as Tarrio.

Donohoe, 34, of Kernersville, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and assault charges in April and has agreed to cooperate in Justice Department cases against other Proud Boys members.

Nordean, Biggs, Rehl and Pezzola also remain detained while awaiting a trial scheduled for August.

Nordean of Auburn, Washington was a Proud Boys chapter president. Biggs, of Ormond Beach, Florida, has self-described as the organizer of the Proud Boys. Rehl was president of the Proud Boys chapter in Philadelphia. The indictment describes Pezzola of Rochester, New York as a member of his local Proud Boys chapter.

Tarrio attempted to communicate with Nordean and Biggs by phone while the two men were pacing in and out of the Capitol, the indictment said.