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Proud Boys leader Henry Enrique Tarrio wears a hat that says The War Boys during a rally in Portland, Oregon, September 26, 2020. (Allison Dinner/AP)
AP The leader of the Proud Boys, who was arrested in Washington shortly before the Capitol riot, previously worked undercover and cooperated with investigators after he was accused of fraud in 2012, court documents show.
Henry “Enrique” Tarrio helped law enforcement in a variety of investigations nearly a decade ago by providing information and going undercover, the records show.
The Proud Boys is a far-right, male chauvinist extremist group that seized on the Trump administration’s policies and was a major agitator during earlier protests and the Capitol riot on January 6. The Proud Boys have railed against a “deep state” and work to break down the current government system, and so the revelations of Tarrio as a federal informant came as quite a surprise.
REPORTS: Proud Boys Leader Was FBI Informant Years Ago
27 Jan 2021
Multiple news outlets report that Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio worked several years ago as a confidential informant for the FBI and other police agencies. He reportedly assisted in multiple state and federal investigations as a “prolific” cooperator.
Tarrio reported began working with authorities following his arrest in 2012 on fraud charges, the
New York Postwrote citing a Reuters article. He is said to have helped in cases regarding drugs, gambling, and human smuggling.
Reuters first reported the information about Tarrio being a confidential informant.
An attorney for Tarrio in 2014, Jeffrey Feiler, said his client worked “at his own risk, in an undercover role met and negotiated to pay $11,000 to members of that [human smuggling] ring to bring in fictitious family members from another country.”
Right-wing Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio went undercover for police, records show
Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times
Jan. 27, 2021
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HOUSTON Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys extremist group whose members have been charged in connection with the U.S. Capitol attack Jan. 6, once served as an undercover informant for law enforcement, according to a former prosecutor and court records.
Former President Donald Trump drew national attention to the Proud Boys during a debate in September when he called on them to “stand back and stand by.” Tarrio has since raised their profile even further, appearing at pro-Trump protests to challenge federal authorities and getting arrested in Washington, D.C., ahead of the Capitol attack on suspicion of destroying a Black Lives Matter banner at a church.
HOUSTON Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys extremist group whose members have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack Jan. 6, once served as an undercover informant for law enforcement, according to a former prosecutor and court records.
Former President Trump drew national attention to the Proud Boys during a debate in September when he called on them to “stand back and stand by.” Tarrio has since raised their profile even further, appearing at pro-Trump protests to challenge federal authorities and getting arrested in Washington, D.C., ahead of the Capitol attack on suspicion of destroying a Black Lives Matter banner at a church.