Enrique Tarrio released from prison
Former Proud Boys extremist group leader Enrique Tarrio has been released from prison. FOX 4 News caught up with him at Love Field as he makes his way to Miami.
DALLAS – The man who received the longest prison sentence for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot thanked President Donald Trump for granting him a full pardon.
What’s new:
Proud Boys leader Enrigue Tarrio was released from prison in Louisiana and departed on Wednesday from Dallas Love Field on his way home to South Florida.
He said Trump’s decision to grant clemency to all Jan. 6 defendants reflects the will of the voters.
“I think November 5th of last year changed the conversation. And I think America woke up and I think America made the right decision. It wasn’t just for this, it was for all of us. For you guys, freedom of the press, freedom of speech. And I think it was a big win for America. So, America’s back,” he said.
When asked how it feels to be free, Tarrio said, “Breathing free man’s air feels good.”
He also mentioned that the media should stop calling him the “ex-Proud Boys leader,” referring to his current affiliation with the organization.
The backstory:
Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy and obstruction of Congress.
Even though he was not in Washington D.C. during the attack on the Capitol, prosecutors said he coordinated the violent actions of his extremist group to try to block the transfer of presidential power.
Tarrio reportedly split from the Proud Boys after the attack.
Jan. 6 Pardons
What we know:
Through an executive order Monday night, President Trump pardoned all those convicted of federal crimes in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
President Trump often referred to those rounded up by the feds for the attack as “hostages.”
In his inaugural address on Monday, Trump called January 20, 2025 “Liberation Day.”
“I thought their sentences were ridiculous and excessive,” the president said. “These were people that actually loved our country. So, we thought a pardon would be appropriate.”
By the numbers:
The Jan. 6 prosecution was the largest case in the U.S. Justice Department’s history.
Roughly 1,500 participants in total were pardoned. And for 300 others awaiting trial, their cases have been dismissed.
Of the 1,500, more than 1,000 pleaded guilty, and 250 were convicted after trial. Only two alleged rioters were acquitted of all charges by judges after bench trials. No jury has fully acquitted a defendant.
The overturning of those prosecutions was the first step in the president’s promised overhaul of the Justice Department itself.
Trump pardons 1,500 cases charged in Jan. 6 riot
President Trump issued pardons and commuted sentences for people involved in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Family members of those charged have waited outside prisons for inmates to be released.
The other side:
Some of Trump’s allies expected a more specific approach to the clemency order instead of broad, sweeping pardons.
But House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would not second-guess the president’s decision.
Big picture view:
Constitutional law attorney David Coale said our country’s founding fathers chose to add pardons to the constitution based on their experience with English law. They seemingly liked the idea that the king could just let somebody go.
“The effects of these pardons is literally a ‘get out of jail free card.’ It clears the decks. The prosecutions no longer there. The convictions no longer there. A person’s free to go about their business without that conviction hanging around the neck anymore. And a lot of people have received the benefit of that this month really more than in our nation’s history,” he said.
Former President Joe Biden also issued pre-emptive pardons just before leaving office for several family members, as well as Dr. Athony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, and the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack, even though they haven’t been charged or convicted of any crime.
“I don’t think this is very healthy because the pardons by both Biden and Trump are steeped in personal and political interests. In the case of Mr. Trump, these are people that supported him so strongly that they engaged in violent acts on Jan. 6,” Coale said.
“And in the case of Mr. Biden going out the door, the use of the pardon for your family members is something we haven’t really seen much of historically. And that kind of pardon to people who the president has a direct interest in either because they are friends or family or political ally is something that’s a little new. It’s a little different, and it does make the pardon power a lot more mainstream.”
The Source: The information in this story comes from an interview with Enrique Tarrio, constitutional law attorney David Coale, and past news coverage.
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