{"id":18134,"date":"2021-01-29T00:26:34","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T05:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=18134"},"modified":"2021-01-29T00:26:34","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T05:26:34","slug":"proud-boys-leader-enrique-tarrio-once-a-prolific-police-informer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2021\/01\/29\/proud-boys-leader-enrique-tarrio-once-a-prolific-police-informer\/","title":{"rendered":"Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio &#8216;once a prolific police informer&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p><b class=\"ssrcss-14iz86j-BoldText e5tfeyi0\">The leader of the far-right Proud Boys group, at the heart of recent pro-Trump protests, was once a &#8220;prolific&#8221; informer for the FBI and local police, old court transcripts show.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Enrique Tarrio helped authorities prosecute more than a dozen people involved in drugs, gambling and human smuggling, the 2014 transcripts reveal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>He denied the allegations when asked by Reuters, which broke the story.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>There is no suggestion he has been an informer while leading the Proud Boys.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>But the revelations will surprise many.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Tarrio, 36, was arrested two days before the 6 January 2021 riots at the US Capitol in Washington, which other members of his group took part in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>He was charged with carrying two high-capacity rifle magazines as well as burning a Black Lives Matter banner taken from a church in DC during a rally in December.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"unordered-list-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1pzprxn-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi3\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-hiczm3-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/election-us-2020-54352635\">Who are Proud Boys and antifa?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-hiczm3-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/blogs-trending-47332054\">This is what happened when a Proud Boy and Antifa activist met<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The court transcripts uncovered by Reuters relate to a hearing in a federal court in Florida in 2014 in which Tarrio and two others had pleaded guilty in a fraud case relating to the resale of diabetic test strips.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Both the prosecutor and Tarrio&#8217;s defence lawyer asked the judge for leniency in sentencing, pointing to his extensive co-operation with both federal and local law enforcement since a previous arrest in 2012.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The prosecutor said Tarrio&#8217;s undercover work had led to the prosecution of 13 people and the court heard he had helped police investigate a gambling ring, the sale of both prescription and illegal drugs and human smuggling.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>&#8220;Your Honour, frankly, in all the years, which is now more than 30 that I&#8217;ve been doing this, I&#8217;ve never had a client as prolific in terms of co-operating in any respect,&#8221; Tarrio&#8217;s then lawyer Jeffrey Feiler, told the court, according to the transcript.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The judge eventually reduced Tarrio&#8217;s sentence from 30 months to 16 months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"unordered-list-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1pzprxn-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi3\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-hiczm3-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-54380656\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Proud Boys becomes LGBT trend on social media<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-hiczm3-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/election-us-2020-54381500\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trump condemns white supremacists after debate row<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Mr Feiler, when interviewed by Reuters, said he did not recall the details of the case but added: &#8220;The information I provided to the court was based on information provided to me by law enforcement and the prosecutor.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Tarrio denied to Reuters that he had ever worked undercover or co-operated with the police in cases against others, saying: &#8220;I don&#8217;t know any of this. I don&#8217;t recall any of this.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>He did acknowledge that his sentence had been reduced but insisted it was because he had his co-defendants help investigators &#8220;clear up&#8221; questions about his own case, Reuters reports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Miami-based Tarrio became leader of the Proud Boys in 2018 &#8211; two years after the group was established by Canadian-British right-wing activist Gavin McInnes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The group is a far-right, anti-immigrant, all-male group with a history of street violence against its left-wing opponents.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Their platform, such as it is, includes Trumpian ideas (&#8220;glorify the entrepreneur&#8221;, &#8220;close the border&#8221;) libertarianism (&#8220;give everyone a gun&#8221;, &#8220;end welfare&#8221;) and traditional gender roles (&#8220;venerate the housewife&#8221;).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The group was referenced by then-President Donald Trump during the first presidential debate last October. Responding to a question about white supremacist and militia groups, he said, &#8220;Proud Boys &#8211; stand back and stand by&#8221; which members of the group online took as a call to prepare for action. Mr Trump later distanced himself from the group.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-55846696\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">The leader of the far-right Proud Boys group, at the heart of recent pro-Trump protests, was once a &#8220;prolific&#8221; informer for the FBI and local police, old court transcripts show. Enrique Tarrio helped authorities prosecute <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2021\/01\/29\/proud-boys-leader-enrique-tarrio-once-a-prolific-police-informer\/\" title=\"Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio &#8216;once a prolific police informer&#8217;\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[109,2],"tags":[285,117,7573,417,3719,7574,7575,6504],"class_list":{"0":"post-18134","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headline","8":"category-news","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-drugs","11":"tag-enrique-tarrio","12":"tag-florida","13":"tag-gambling","14":"tag-human-smuggling","15":"tag-police-informer","16":"tag-proud-boys","17":"pmpro-has-access"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18134"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18136,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18134\/revisions\/18136"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}