Former Proud Boys Leader Asks President Trump For Full Pardon

Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio has officially asked President Trump for a full pardon.

In 2023, Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison after being found guilty of seditious conspiracy in connection to the January 6th protests at the Capitol.

Tarrio currently has the longest sentence of any Jan 6 defendant.

Politico reported that Tarrio had formally contacted President Trump for a full pardon and claimed that the Biden administration had targeted him.

🚨EXCLUSIVE🚨

Enrique Tarrio's attorney, Nayib Hassan, has sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking for a pardon.

Tarrio's lawyer briefly highlights just some of the abuse he has endured by the Department of Injustice.

Tarrio was NOT at the Capitol on J6.

Tarrio was… pic.twitter.com/alXa0wI0S2

— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) January 6, 2025

Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio asks Trump for pardon https://t.co/thDkkjmZKO

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) January 6, 2025

Here’s what Politico reported:

The most notorious of all Jan. 6 defendants — former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio — has formally asked President-elect Donald Trump to pardon him for his seditious conspiracy conviction related to the attack on the Capitol.

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Tarrio was convicted by a jury of helping orchestrate the attack on the Capitol, even though he was banished from the city by prosecutors that day for his role in burning a stolen Black Lives Matter banner. U.S. District Judge Tim Kelly, a Trump appointee, sentenced Tarrio to 22 years in prison, the lengthiest sentence of any Jan. 6 defendant.

Now, Tarrio is asking Trump for a full pardon, claiming he was targeted by the Biden administration for his political views rather than the alleged effort to subvert the 2020 election by force.

Prosecutors laid out their case against Tarrio and other prominent Proud Boys during a four month trial last year. They described him as the driving force behind efforts to assemble hundreds of Proud Boys in Washington in response to Trump’s call for a “wild” protest on Jan. 6, and to point them toward the Capitol as a target.

Many of Tarrio’s top lieutenants in the group were at the front of the mob as it breached police lines and helped drive the riot forward at key moments. Dominic Pezzola, who was convicted alongside Tarrio, became the first rioter to breach the Capitol, using a stolen police riot shield to smash a Senate-wing window. He later came within the eyeline of Senate President Pro tem Chuck Grassley as he was being evacuated.

In September, Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the January 6 insurrection. https://t.co/x0OnLd5rWP

— Miami New Times (@miaminewtimes) January 6, 2025

Per Justice.Gov:

The former national chairman of the Proud Boys was sentenced today for seditious conspiracy and other charges related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 39, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced to 22 years in prison and 36 months of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly. His is the longest sentence, to date, related to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

“On January 6th, 2021, the United States Capitol was attacked, 140 law enforcement officers defending those inside were assaulted, and the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government – a cornerstone of our democracy – was interrupted,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department proved in court that the Proud Boys played a central role in setting the January 6th attack on our Capitol into motion. Over the past week, four members of the Proud Boys received sentences that reflect the danger their crimes pose to our democracy. Today, the leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, learned that the consequence of conspiring to oppose by force the lawful transfer of presidential power is 22 years in federal prison.”

“Today’s sentencing demonstrates that those who attempted to undermine the workings of American democracy will be held criminally accountable,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI will always protect those who peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights. But we will never condone the actions of those who break our laws, and we will continue to work with federal prosecutors to ensure those perpetrators are held responsible.”

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“No organization put more boots on the ground at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, than the Proud Boys, and they were at the forefront of every major breach of the Capitol’s defenses, leading the on-the-ground efforts to storm the seat of government,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew M. Graves. “The leaders of the Proud Boys and the leaders of the Oath Keepers, who conspired before, during, and after the siege of the Capitol to use force against their own government to prevent the peaceful transfer of power, have now been held accountable.”