Mum awaits pardon for jailed Proud Boy

Families of those convicted for their January 6 exploits at the US Capitol in 2021 are relying on Donald Trump to come good with his promise to pardon them.

Enrique Tarrio, left, joins a counter-protest in Miami in 2021 where people gathered to remember George Floyd on the first anniversary of the black man’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis policeman. Picture: AFP

Parents and their children do not always see eye-to-eye on politics, and the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 caused splits in many families.

But Zuny Tarrio and her son, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 40, who is serving 22 years for seditious conspiracy, are not among them.

She is an ardent believer both in her son’s political views and in ­Donald Trump’s promise to free many of the January 6 criminals when he takes office in two weeks.

“My hope is 100 per cent that my child will be pardoned,” she said. “I believe in Donald Trump’s word.”

Asked whether her son was still committed to the far-right Proud Boys group he leads, she said: “I do believe a Proud Boy is always a Proud Boy”, and if he was released “he has a lot to give”.

Monday was the fourth anniversary of the insurrection and it is a time of hope for the families of those convicted – and despair for counter-extremism experts who fear pardoning the rioters will encourage more political violence.

With little effort made to ­deradicalise those jailed for the ­attacks, they say it is probable that people will emerge emboldened and more entrenched in their divisive worldviews.

“Extremist thinking and ­activity have already been normalised to some degree because of (Trump’s) insistence that they are patriots persecuted by the justice system,” said Wendy Via, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism.

Any pardons would “further empower the extremists, especially those who see their ­actions as sanctioned by Trump”.

Enrique Tarrio is the leader of the Proud Boys, which calls itself a “men’s fraternal organisation” against political correctness.

Henry ‘Enrique’ Tarrio during a protest showing support for Cubans demonstrating against their government, in Miami, in July 2021. Picture: AFP

Extremism monitors say it is an incubator for political violence.

The group’s Telegram channels are filled with misogynist and anti-LGBT memes, often also mocking liberals and Democrats. Support for Mr Trump is clear.

Proud Boys were among the hundreds of people, many armed and prepared for battle, who stormed the US Capitol to try to prevent congress certifying President Joe Biden’s election win. Five people died in connection with the riot. More than 645 people were jailed, with sentences ranging from days to Tarrio’s 22 years.

Tarrio was in Maryland on January 6, 2021 because he faced an arrest warrant in Washington for burning a Black Lives Matter flag. But prosecutors said he acted as a “general”, directing his followers in their actions at the Capitol.

While he expressed remorse at his sentencing, any contrition shown by Tarrio and other rioters appears to have evaporated after Mr Trump’s re-election. The president-elect has embraced the rioters as “political prisoners” and their status has been elevated among far-right podcasters and media figures.

“They believe that these are freedom fighters,” said Brad Galloway, a former white nationalist who now works as a deradicalisation specialist.

“You’ve got leaders of the world that are misrepresenting these people and it’s going to be a crazy situation if and when (they) start getting released.”

New York Magazine ran an ­investigation in October detailing how many January 6 prisoners were held in the same cell block in Washington that they had nicknamed “Patriot Wing”.

Mr Galloway said there had been a missed opportunity to use their jail time to get people to reassess their views.

It remains unclear who Mr Trump will pardon but he told Time magazine last month: “If they were non-violent … they’ve been greatly punished.”

Zuny Tarrio feels this applies to her son.

Mr Galloway cautioned that Mr Trump might have backed himself into a corner, given that releasing people who had assaulted police would be deeply unpopular.

“I don’t think he can release all those people,” he said. And that could create problems from the many hopeful Proud Boys. “There’ll be a revolt against him, saying he was a liar.”

The Times