generic Lawyer Ducking Out So Ex Proud Boys Head Enrique Tarrio Can Defend Himself
The lawyer for Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the violent Proud Boys organization, asked a federal judge Thursday for permission to withdraw from three cases against his client regarding last year’s insurrection.
Tarrio plans to represent himself in at least one of the case, attorney J. Daniel Hull noted in the motion filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
“J. Daniel Hull respectfully moves the Court for permission to withdraw his appearance in this and two related cases,” wrote the attorney, referring first to a civil suit against Enrique Tarrio.
Tarrio has also been accused in two criminal cases, including one charging him with seditious conspiracy.
“Mr. Hull is authorized by Mr. Tarrio to represent that Tarrio consents to the withdrawal and that he will proceed in this case [the civil action] pro se,” representing himself, the motion for withdrawal states.
Hull noted, however, that the logistics of getting written consent from Tarrio has been difficult given Tarrio’s “unexpected arrest in mid-March,” his criminal indictment, his pre-trial detention and “his movements between several jails on the Eastern seaboard.”
The judge rejected Hull’s motion Friday because of the lack of Tarrio’s signed consent.
“Although the court understands counsel’s difficulty in communicating with Mr. Tarrio, there is no exception to [the] ... requirement to notify the client of the motion to withdraw,” U.S District Court Judge Amit Mehta wrote.
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Enrique Tarrio's lawyer files a notice of withdrawal in the Jan. 6 civil case, saying that his client will represent himself pro se. pic.twitter.com/P8wF7foFt6— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) September 2, 2022
The Justice Department has indicted several leaders of the Proud Boys — which has been declared a terrorist organization in Canada — and others as key planners of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
The day before the storming of the Capitol, Tarrio met in a parking garage in Washington, D.C., with Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, who has also been charged with seditious conspiracy,
Tarrio had been ordered the previous day to stay out of Washington after his arrest for stealing and burning a Black Lives Matter banner at a black Methodist church.
When Tarrio was apprehended, he was carrying two “high-capacity firearm magazines” for ammunition, police said then in a statement.
Tarrio’s trial on seditious conspiracy charges was delayed earlier this year until at least December.
Rhodes and four co-defendants are scheduled to go on trial on seditious conspiracy charges beginning Sept. 26. They have said there was no plot to attack the Capitol and that their communications before Jan. 6 were about providing security for right-wing figures or preparing for attacks from left-wing antifa activists.
Authorities announced Thursday that a lawyer for the Oath Keepers was charged with conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6 attack.
Kellye SoRelle — general counsel for the antigovernment group — is a close associate of Rhodes and also attended the parking garage meeting about Jan. 6, according to officials.
The indictment alleges that SoRelle told others to withhold and “alter, destroy, mutilate, and conceal” items from the federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6 riot by supporters of then President Donald Trump, Reuters reported
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
