They include four Proud Boy leaders who were convicted of seditious conspiracy Hundreds of rioters at the Capitol Who will be released after pardons and sentence commutes? newly inaugurated president Donald Trump.
Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the far right The gang, which at the time of the riot four years ago, had been sentenced to 22 years in prison – the longest sentence ever given to a 6-year-old. He received a pardon. His co-defendants Zachary Rehl, Joseph Biggs and Ethan Nordean, who were previously sentenced to 15, 17 and 18 years respectively, were released on Monday.
Tarrio’s mother, Zuny Duarte, told WIRED that Enrique will be back in Miami on Tuesday at 3 p.m. He is serving his sentence in a federal prison in Pollock, Louisiana.
Trump commuted 14 sentences and pardoned all other people convicted in connection with the Capitol insurrection. In total, around 1,580 people have been charged with offenses related to January 6th.
“These people were destroyed, what they did to these people is outrageous, something like this has rarely happened in the history of this country,” Trump said of the 6-year-olds from the Oval Office. He also spread conspiracy theories that “outside agitators” and the FBI were somehow responsible for the violence that unfolded on January 6th. Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, who was also convicted of seditious conspiracy, also had his sentence commuted and is released.
Trump had hinted at the impending pardons at his event earlier Monday at Capital One Arena and promised an early release of the “J6 hostages.”
“Oh, you’ll be happy reading newspapers tomorrow and the next day and the next day,” he said.
Reached by phone earlier Monday, Duarte told WIRED that they expect to release Enrique. “The boys are excited and believe we will finally get justice,” Duarte said. “Donald Trump knows what it’s like to be on the side of the accused and on the side of the unjust.”
When asked if Tarrio was still involved with the Proud Boys, Duarte replied, “That’s a question you’ll have to ask him when he’s out.”
Before Trump even put pen to paper, news spread online that correctional facilities would begin processing Jan. 6 residents for release. Social media accounts associated with the Proud Boys cheered, and Gavin McInnes, who founded the Proud Boys in 2016, declared “Party for the Boys” on a livestream of his show while raising funds to support released members of the gang to support.
As an act on day one, it was an astonishingly symbolic act. Four years ago, on January 6, 2021, thousands of Trump supporters, fueled by conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, descended on DC and laid siege to the Capitol, aiming to end the peaceful transfer of power to prevent. The ugly scenes culminated in the deaths of five people, more than 140 police officers were injured and Trump left Washington in disgrace.
Weeks later, behind barriers, barbed wire and under the gaze of more than 25,000 National Guard soldiers, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States.
