What Proud Boys' Enrique Tarrio Has Said about the Capitol Riot, FBI and 'Running for Office'

Enrique Tarrio, leader of the far-right Proud Boys group, has described how he has no sympathy with the lawmakers who feared for their lives during the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

In an interview with CNN, Tarrio discussed a number of other issues, including the Proud Boys' role in the insurrection and he also admitted to previously working as an informer for the FBI.

Tarrio discussed what the future holds for him in the wake of the turbulent few months he and his "Western Chauvinist" group have endured, stating how he is even considering running for office himself.

Capitol Riots

In the CNN interview, Tarrio said he does not care about how lawmakers were terrorized while attempting to certify the election results in the Senate on January 6, with photos later posted on social media showing them cowering from the violent mob.

Tarrio himself posted a photo on the social media app Parler showing House members hiding from the extremists, along with the caption: "When the people fear the government, there is tyranny... When the government fears the people... There is liberty."

After the attack, the Proud Boys also boasted about how they had politicians in "absolute terror" in a post on messaging app Telegram.

"I'm not going to worry about people that their only worry is to be reelected, Tarrio told CNN.

"I'm not gonna cry about people who don't give a crap about their constituents. I'm not going to sympathize with them.

"When they support drone-bombing children in the Middle East ... [and] those people are dead and they're just cowering because a group of misfits came into the Capitol, I'm not going to be sympathetic," Tarrio added.

Tarrio also said that the Proud Boys "absolutely" did not have a plan to try and overthrow the government on January 6.

At least eight known Proud Boys members, including fellow leading figure Joe Biggs, have been charged in connection to the Capitol attack. One Proud Boy, Dominic Pezzola, was filmed using a police shield to smash in a window on the Capitol building.

"I don't think that he should have done that. I think it was completely wrong," Tarrio said.

"But the other seven individuals were trespassing," he added. "I think that they got caught up with the entire crowd. And they made a poor decision to go in there."

Tarrio also suggested some blame lies with the police officers protecting the Capitol for "their inability to respond" properly to the attack and allowing them to enter.

Tarrio also refused to condemn those who stormed the Capitol on January 6.

"I can't say that because I think condemn is a very strong word, and I think it's a little bit too strong," he said.

Tarrio was not present in Washington D.C. on January 6 after being banned by a judge from entering the capital after he was arrested on suspicion of destruction of property and possession of two high-capacity firearm magazines.

Move Into Politics

When asked what the future holds for him, Tarrio suggested that he is looking to become a politician himself.

"I think right now is the time to go ahead and overthrow the government by becoming the new government and running for office," he said.

FBI

Tarrio also accused the FBI and the Department of Justice of unfairly targeting the Proud Boys and other far-right groups, such as the Oath Keepers, during their investigation into the January 6 attack.

"They need a head to roll. They need heads on pikes," Tarrio said. "The FBI and the DOJ [are] using the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers as their go-to, to show the people that they did something."

Tarrio also admitted that he worked undercover for the FBI after he was arrested for fraud in 2012.

It was previously reported that Tarrio went undercover to help prosecute 13 people for offenses such as drug and people smuggling.

"To put it simply, I was put in a very tough situation where the federal government had wanted me to testify against my brothers."

Tarrio claimed that he only cooperated with the FBI and law enforcement once.

"The only thing that I actually gave them was the human trafficking ring, and I'm not going to apologize for it."