On anniversary of US Capitol attack, Proud Boys ex-leader asks Trump for pardon
WASHINGTON — Four years after supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to thwart certification of the 2020 election result, a mastermind of the effort, Enrique Tarrio, on Monday asked Trump for a full pardon for his actions.
Tarrio, a former leader of the Proud Boys far-right militant group, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for helping to direct the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol that resulted in injuries to more than 140 police officers and five deaths.
The request, in a letter, came through Tarrio’s lawyer, Nayib Hassan of Miami, two weeks before Trump is due to return to the White House. Trump has said he will consider pardoning many of those convicted in connection with the breach of the Capitol that day, perhaps as early as his first day in office.
On Monday, the new Congress formally certified the results of the 2024 election that returned Trump to power, this time without incident. Inauguration Day is Jan. 20.
Hassan said the request marked the first time Tarrio has asked Trump directly for a pardon. The lawyer said he also has sent the letter to multiple people in Trump’s orbit making the case for his client.
“We’re making all efforts possible to ensure that this communication goes up to President-elect Trump,” Hassan said in an interview.
Trump’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment on Tarrio’s pardon request but reiterated that Trump will consider pardons on a case-by-case basis.
“President Trump will pardon Americans who were denied due process and unfairly prosecuted by the weaponized Department of Justice,” said transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
A source close to Trump’s transition team said to expect pardons “for a lot of people, particularly for people who haven’t been convicted of anything yet. If you were convicted of assaulting a cop, that’s one thing. If you were convicted of trespassing, that’s another category.”
According to the U.S. Justice Department, 1,583 people have been charged with a crime connected to the siege of the Capitol, with about 1,100 having had their cases fully adjudicated.
More than 700 have either served their sentences or were never incarcerated.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump frequently referred to the Jan. 6 defendants as patriots who fell victim to what he called a politicized justice system, and he pledged he would pardon many of them.
