The former leader of the far-right group Proud Boys, Henry ‘Enrique’ Tarrio, was released from prison on Tuesday after benefiting from the pardon of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, whom he praised because “(he) gave him back his life” after being sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the assault on the Capitol, and has called for “reprisals” against Justice personnel in charge of the case.
“I had no doubt that (Trump) was going to free us. He gave me my life back,” he said in his first interview after leaving the penitentiary where he was serving a sentence for “seditious conspiracy” for the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2022.
Tarrio praised the new tenant of the White House, who shortly after taking the oath of office announced a pardon for nearly 1,500 people accused in this case, whom he referred to as “hostages,” in statements to right-wing presenter Alex Jones reported by the American television network CNN.
Along these lines, the former leader of the Proud Boys has accused the judicial system of being “armed” against those accused of the events of January 6 and has called for “retaliation” against his staff. “Twenty-two years is not a short sentence, it’s the rest of my life (…) The people who did this need to feel the heat. They need to be put behind bars and prosecuted,” he said.
Regarding the future of the extremist group, he said that it will continue to be “what it has always been,” that is, a group of men, he said, who love freedom, drink beer and protect Trump supporters, the aforementioned network reports. He also said that he wants to “get back into the fight as soon as possible” and suggested that the media stop calling him the “former leader” of the group.
