Ex-Proud Boys leader arrested for assault

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Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader granted clemency by President Donald Trump last month, was arrested outside the U.S. Capitol on Friday and charged with assaulting a female protester.

Tarrio was handcuffed, searched and put in a police van by U.S. Capitol Police after he appeared on Capitol Hill with several other members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers for a “press conference.” The police said he was charged with assault.

Capitol Police said in a statement that the incident happened around 2:30 p.m. ET when “our officers witnessed a woman (a counter protester) put a cell phone close to a man’s face” while they were both walking. “Then the officers witnessed the man strike the woman’s phone and arm,” the statement said.

Asked why he’d been detained, Tarrio told onlookers that “a lady stuck her phone in my face so I [inaudible] her phone.”

Tarrio had been serving a 22-year sentence in federal prison on charges including seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack until last month, when Trump commuted his sentence.

Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs had announced plans for the press conference on Thursday while appearing on former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon’s podcast.

“Myself, Enrique Tarrio, Stewart Rhodes and the Oath Keepers and Zachary [Rehl] right here, we’re gonna be going to the Capitol and talking about our future plans, and what it looks like we’re gonna be doing.”

At the press conference, they told reporters they plan to sue the Justice Department over the charges that were filed against them.

“I’m not talking about violent retribution. I’m talking about something much more powerful, accountability and the rule of law. That is why today we are announcing a lawsuit against the DOJ for their murders, their lies and the end of the suffering they have put us through,” Tarrio said.