Former Proud Boys leader arrives in Miami after receiving presidential pardon

Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the Proud Boys, returned to Miami after receiving a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. His release marks the closing of a 22-year sentence for seditious conspiracy related to the 2021 assault on the Capitol.

The former leader of the Proud Boys group, Enrique Tarrio, returned to Miami, Florida, this Wednesday, after receiving a pardon from the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and being released. Tarrio was released after Trump signed his pardon in the early hours of his new term.

“I am delighted to be with my family again,” declared Tarrio excitedly as he left Miami International Airport, where he was received by a crowd of journalists and onlookers.

The man, who was dressed in a red jacket and wearing a black cap with Donald Trump's campaign slogan “Make America Great Again,” landed on a flight from Dallas, Texas. , where he was serving a sentence for his involvement in the events related to the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Upon arrival, Tarrio expressed his gratitude to President Trump, highlighting the president's role in his release. “Thank you very much, justice was served on January 21, 2025,” he stated before the media, including the Voice of Americain reference to the date on which he was released.

Enrique Tarrio, originally from South Florida, had been sentenced to 22 years in prison for crimes of seditious conspiracy, after being identified as one of the main organizers of the riots that remained for posterity in the history of American democracy.

Although he was not physically in Washington on the day of the assault, authorities identified him as one of the masterminds behind the events that sought to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden's electoral victory.

His conviction was considered a landmark case in the fight against political extremism, and both the Justice Department and the Congressional Committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol highlighted his key role in the events. “He was one of the strategic leaders of this operation against democracy,” they stated at the time.

The case also had direct repercussions in the political sphere, affecting Donald Trump himself, who was accused of inciting and supporting the riots along with organized groups such as the Proud Boys. During his previous term, Trump referred to the defendants as “political prisoners,” and after his re-election in November, investigations against him were dismissed, clearing the way for pardons.

“There could be no doubt that he led a mob that he knew to be heavily armed, violent and angry, to march on the Capitol,” said Congressman Bennie Gordon, who served as head of the Congressional January 6 Investigative Committee. , despite the fact that the case had no legal course.

Although Tarrio has publicly disassociated himself from the Proud Boys organization in the past, his return raises questions about whether he will resume any type of relationship with the group. In his statement in Miami, he avoided commenting on this issue, leaving open the question about his future plans.