Former Proud Boys chief Enrique Tarrio asks Trump for pardon

The previous chief of the Proud Boys — a bunch prosecutors say was central to the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — is asking President-elect Donald Trump for a pardon, in line with a letter from his lawyer on Monday.

Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years behind bars for his position in serving to rally members of the far-right group to come back to Washington prematurely of Jan. 6, prosecutors say, with the objective of stopping the peaceable transition of energy, that he monitored their actions and egged them on as they attacked the Capitol, and continued to have a good time their actions within the days after the rebel.

“Henry ‘Enrique’ Tarrio was portrayed all through the federal government’s case as a right-wing extremist that promoted a neo-fascist militant group,” Tarrio’s lawyer, Nayib Hassan writes in a letter obtained by ABC Information. “Henry is nothing greater than a proud American that believes in true conservative values.”

His lawyer writes that Tarrio is a “younger man” with an “aspiring future” and that he wasn’t even in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6.

Throughout his sentencing, prosecutors pointed to a nine-page strategic plan to “storm” authorities buildings in Washington on Jan. 6 that was present in Tarrio’s possession after the riot, in addition to violent rhetoric they are saying he routinely utilized in messages with different members of the group about what they might do if Congress moved ahead in certifying President Joe Biden’s election win.

Tarrio, his lawyer argues, has been moved from numerous personal and federal prisons and is commonly remanded to the Particular Housing Unit which solely permits somebody to depart their cell as soon as a day.

“Granting this pardon would enable Henry to reintegrate right into a household that’s extraordinarily supportive and would additional display dedication to lawful, peaceable and constructive contributions,” in line with the letter. “It might additionally allow him to help his household absolutely and contribute meaningfully to the neighborhood.”

Throughout his sentencing listening to in September 2023, Tarrio apologized profusely for his actions and heaping reward on members of legislation enforcement who he stated have been unfairly mistreated and maligned after the Jan. 6 assault — which he referred to as a “nationwide embarrassment.”

“I must dwell with that disgrace and disappointment for the remainder of my life,” Tarrio stated. “We invoked 1776 and the Structure of the US and that was so fallacious to do. That was a perversion. The occasions of Jan. 6 is one thing that ought to by no means be celebrated.”