Proud Boys leader says he’s not sorry about Capitol riots

Blue Telusma
·3 min read

Though he wasn’t there, Enrique Tarrio admits that the Proud Boys were involved

This week, the leader of the far-right group the Proud Boys group came forward to make it clear he feels no remorse for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

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During an interview broadcast by CNN Thursday night, Enrique Tarrio proudly acknowledged the Proud Boys’ role in the siege and also made it clear that he had no sympathy for the lawmakers who reportedly feared for their lives during the incident.

Previously, Tarrio, who identifies as Afro-Cuban, posted a photo on the social media app Parler of House members hiding from extremist Trump supporters, along with the caption: “When the people fear the government, there is tyranny… When the government fears the people… There is liberty.”

Not surprisingly he echoed those sentiments on CNN, explaining, “I’m not going to worry about people that their only worry is to be reelected.”

“I’m not gonna cry about people who don’t give a crap about their constituents. I’m not going to sympathize with them,” he continued. “When they support drone-bombing children in the Middle East … [and] those people are dead and they’re just cowering because a group of misfits came into the Capitol, I’m not going to be sympathetic.”

Supporters Of President Trump Gather In D.C. To Protest Election Results
Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, stands outside Harry’s bar during a protest on December 12, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

Tarrio does concede that Proud Boy Dominic Pezzola, who was filmed using a police shield to smash in a window on the Capitol building went too far, admitting, “I don’t think that he should have done that. I think it was completely wrong.”

“But the other seven individuals were trespassing,” he added. “I think that they got caught up with the entire crowd. And they made a poor decision to go in there.”

But he still refuses to condemn those who stormed the Capitol, opining that police officers protecting the Capitol were culpable for “their inability to respond” adequately to the attack.

“I can’t say that, because I think condemn is a very strong word, and I think it’s a little bit too strong,” he said.

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Tarrio was exposed as a ‘prolific’ FBI informant last month but has denied his involvement, though there is documentation that information he provided in 2014 after a 2012 arrest led to 13 prosecutions in two separate cases.

“I don’t recall any of this,” Tarrio said to Reuters.

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