Wants accusers to ‘feel the heat’, weighs sheriff run

MIAMI ― In an exclusive sit-down interview at his home in Miami, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, the former − and possibly current − leader of the Proud Boys told USA TODAY he plans to keep influencing the group and said it will continue to have a role in politics moving forward.

Tarrio, who was less than two years into a 22-year federal prison sentence for seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol when President Donald Trump pardoned him on Monday, returned home to Miami on Wednesday and sat down with USA TODAY Friday morning.

The former “Chairman” of the Proud Boys struck a more cautious and less rambunctious tone than in the past in his first interview with a major news organization since his release. He acknowledged that some Jan. 6 rioters attacked police and deserved prosecution, said the Proud Boys have been unfairly miscast as a hate group, and tamped down statements he made on a podcast earlier this week when he called for “retribution” against the people who put him and other Jan. 6 rioters behind bars.

“When I say ‘Feel the heat,’ I want to be clear that I want investigations,” Tarrio said.

Asked what he and the Proud Boys would do to bring “retribution” against those who prosecuted them, if those investigations don’t reveal anything, Tarrio said he would not press the issue further.

“In the case that nothing’s found, I’ll move on to the next thing,” he said.

Tarrio, who said he hasn’t spoken with President Donald Trump either before or since his release, was not at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Prosecutors nevertheless cast him as the mastermind of the attack. In the interview, Tarrio maintained his long-stated claim that the insurrection was not organized or planned beforehand.

Prosecutors presented evidence saying Tarrio created a special wing of the Proud Boys called the “Ministry of Self Defense,” which coordinated attacks on the day and celebrated them afterward. “Make no mistake … we did this,” Tarrio wrote at one point to the group.

On Friday, he cast himself as a victim of a corrupt system that sought to quash freedom of speech and suppress opponents of the political class.

More: Trump freed Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders. What’s next here? | The Excerpt

‘We’re not white supremacists’

Tarrio said it was a mistake to label him as the “former” chairman of the Proud Boys. He said the organization no longer publicly discusses its leadership, but he claimed he has the support of a majority of the Proud Boys.

“I think right now, probably I get along with 60% of my guys,” he said.

The Proud Boys espouse a political ideology of free speech and nationalism, expressed through offensive language, controversial memes and images. A 2021 USA TODAY investigation of the Wisconsin chapter of the group revealed racism and antisemitism, where moving up within the group was dependent on bullying potential members and promoting white supremacist talking points.

Tarrio said individual chapters of the Proud Boys remain largely autonomous and stressed that they are not under the full control of the national leadership. He acknowledged that white supremacists and other far-right extremists have flocked to the Proud Boys brand, but said that is because the group has been miscast by the media.

“We’re not white supremacists, we’re not Nazis, we’re not anti-semitic,” Tarrio said. “There is no group I do not insult or make a joke about.”

The Proud Boys have been less visible on America’s streets in the four years since the Capitol riot, for which dozens of members of the group were prosecuted, jailed, and now released. Sporadic groups of men wearing the signature black-and-gold Proud Boys colors have shown up everywhere from all-age drag shows to local school board meetings.

‘I’m an equal opportunity offender’

But Tarrio, who describes his heritage as “afro-Cuban,” insisted that the LGBTQ+ community and minorities have nothing to fear from the Proud Boys moving forward.

“I think that probably they should join their local chapter,” he said of members of those groups. “I don’t think that that fear is based on reality. We’ve never targeted specific groups because of their color, sexual orientation or whatnot.”

“I’m an equal opportunity offender,” he said.

Tarrio said the Proud Boys have targeted elements of American culture that they disagree with — like drag shows for all ages, or public officials who openly supported President Biden — but said members of the group would be disavowed if they expressed hatred towards specific races or groups.

The Proud Boys have always supported Trump and will continue to do so, especially considering the pardons that have released their top leadership, Tarrio said. But he said he doesn’t foresee Proud Boys having any role to play, or getting involved with enacting Trump policies.

Proud Boys won’t be out seeking to find immigrants in the country illegally to report to officials, for example, Tarrio said.

“You’ll see them as very boisterous towards those things,” he said. “I have seen some other groups say, ‘We’re going to help them physically deport them,’ but it’s not real. It’s not realistic.”

As for his own future, Tarrio half-joked that he might run to be Miami’s next local sheriff.

“I’m just riffing here, but I run for sheriff, and I win, and it’s sheriff Enrique Tarrio, well — stranger things have happened,” he said.

Will Carless covers extremism and emerging issues nationwide for USA Today.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Enrique Tarrio, Proud Boys leader, wants his prosecutors investigated