Proud Boys leader condemns members who destroyed property in Capitol riot and admits he does NOT think the election was stolen - as he says he had to testify in Roger Stone's trial for Russia probe
Proud Boy leader Enrique Tarrio condemned insurrectionist who stormed and destroyed the Capitol but relished in members of the government 'fearing the people.'
In a Thursday interview with CNN, the chairman of Proud Boy refused to walk back a post he made moments after the Capitol riot that showed politicians hunched over as they hid from the fanatic Trump supporters.
'I'll celebrate the moment that the government fears the people,' Tarrio said. '[But] at that point I didn't have all the information that was coming in, why they were cowering.'
Enrique Tarrio refused to walk back a post he made moments after the Capitol riot that showed politicians hunched over as he condemned the members of the Proud Boys who stormed the Capitol
'I condemn the actions. I don't think he should have done that,' Tarrio said of Dominic Pezzola, who broke a window at the Capitol. 'I think that it was completely wrong but the other seven individuals were trespassing'
Tarrio failed to show sympathy for the politicians, claiming their 'only worry in life is to be reelected.'
The Proud Boy leader was not in attendance for the rallies or riot on January 6, having been detained just days prior for burning a Black Lives Matter flag in Washington D.C. and having illegal rounds of ammunition on his person.
Tarrio condemned the actions of the various Proud Boy members who have been detained for their part in the riots, particularly Dominic Pezzola for using a police shield to break a Capitol door window. There were at least eight members who were charged that Tarrio knew, CNN reports.
'I don't believe that the election was stolen,' he said of the 2020 election, going against his longtime pal Roger Stone
The Proud Boy leader remarkably has access to Stone's phone, even on occasion helping him with his social media post
'I condemn the actions,' he said. 'I don't think he should have done that. I think that it was completely wrong but the other seven individuals were trespassing.
'I think they got caught up with the entire crowd and they made a poor decision to go in there.'
Many Trump supporters and Proud Boy flunkies in attendance for the storming of the Capitol did so under the belief that the election had been rigged and stolen.
Tarrio, however, is not in the same boat. 'I don't believe that the election was stolen,' he said.
The sentiment is at stark opposition with that of longtime Trump loyalist Roger Stone, a pal of Tarrio's. Stone was seen in D.C. on the day of the riot but not at the Capitol. He has not been charged in connection to the riot.
The Proud Boy leader remarkably also revealed during his interview on CNN that he at one time had access to Stone's phone, even on occasion helping him with his social media post.
'A couple of times when I went to go see him, I would help him with a social media post and things like that,' Tarrio said.
Tarrio even had to testify in front of grand jury when Stone was on trial for lying to Congress during its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Trump would eventually commute his prison term before pardoning his pal on Dec. 23.
While on trial, Stone was said to have threatened the judge in the case by taking to Instagram and posting a photo of her with what appeared to be a target.
'I actually testified in front of a grand jury but that picture was brought up on a Google search,' Tarrio claimed. 'The cross hairs, its not a cross hair. It is actually the logo of the organization that wrote the article.'
He added: 'I had nothing to do with it.'
Tarrio repeatedly worked undercover for investigators after he was arrested in 2012 on fraud charges, according to a former prosecutor and a transcript of a 2014 federal court proceeding obtained by Reuters.
The records uncovered by Reuters are startling because they show that a leader of a far-right group now under intense scrutiny by law enforcement was previously an active collaborator with criminal investigators.
Tarrio, 36, in an interview with Reuters, denied working undercover or cooperating in cases against others. 'I don't know any of this,' he said, when asked about the transcript. 'I don't recall any of this.'
Law-enforcement officials and the court transcript contradict Tarrio´s denial.
