Enrique Tarrio: Former Proud Boys leader jailed for 22 years over January 6 plot to overthrow democracy
Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio has been jailed for 22 years for helping plan the January 6 US Capitol riots.
Tarrio – along with three other members of the far-right group – was convicted of the rare charge of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors say was an attempt to overthrow democracy.
Described as a street gang and a hate group, the Proud Boys have been designated as a terror group in two countries – Canada and New Zealand.
At the trial earlier this year, assistant US attorney Jason McCullough said in the days after the 2020 US presidential election the defendants had started “calling for action, calling for war, if their favoured candidate was not elected”.
Tarrio made an apologetic statement today at his sentencing, where he was handed the longest jail term to date among more than 1,100 Capitol riot cases.
Prosecutors had sought 33 years behind bars for Tarrio and described him as the ringleader of a plot to use violence to shatter the cornerstone of American democracy and overturn the 2020 election result.
His sentence tops the 18-year sentences handed down to Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, and one-time Proud Boys leader Ethan Nordean, who were convicted by juries of seditious conspiracy and other charges.
Although Tarrio was not present at the Capitol on January 6, because he had been arrested at a pro-Donald Trump event in the days beforehand, prosecutors say evidence suggests Tarrio “strategically calculated his arrest as a means to inspire a reaction by his followers”.
Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio. File pic
Before the judge delivered his sentence, Tarrio gave a contrite statement, apologising to the police, citizens of Washington DC, politicians and his family for the events of January 6 and his actions.
“To the men and women of law enforcement who answered the call that day, I’m sorry,” Tarrio said.
“I have always tried to hold myself to a higher standard and I failed,” he said. “I failed miserably. I thought of myself morally above others and this trial has humbled me.”
During his statement, Tarrio tried to explain his actions leading up to January 6, saying that his thoughts were initially clouded by anger at his candidate having lost the election and media he consumed which reinforced those beliefs.
“I was my own worst enemy,” he said.
Tarrio also rowed back on comments he had made comparing his co-defendant Dominic Pezzola to George Washington, words that appeared to irk Judge Tim Kelly when they came up earlier in the proceedings.
Trump supporters outside the US Capitol building during the January 6 riot. File pic: AP
“I have matured, however the cost of that maturity has been steep,” he said, expressing remorse for letting down family members and for not being able to attend the funeral of a relative who he said raised him to be a better person.
Tarrio also sought to downplay his political involvement, saying that he did not intend to change the results of the election on January 6 but only planned on going to speak at an event, to support Donald Trump and to support his friends.
“I am not a political zealot,” he said. “When I get back home I want nothing to do with politics, groups, activism or rallies.”
Tarrio added that he wouldn’t be saying anything different when Judge Kelly left the room, an apparent reference to his co-defendant Pezzola who shouted “Trump won” after receiving his 10-year sentence last week.
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Are the Proud Boys still a threat?
Read more:
How four Proud Boys secretly planned to overthrow American democracy
Former Proud Boys leader Ethan Nordean jailed for 18 years
“God bless this entire court,” Tarrio said in closing.
However, while Judge Kelly said he was glad to hear the apologetic comments, he said he found the remarks lacking.
“I don’t have any indication that he’s remorseful for the actual things that he’s convicted of,” he said, calling Tarrio’s statement “better than nothing”.
The Justice Department is preparing to put Mr Trump on trial at the same courthouse in Washington on charges that the then-president illegally schemed to cling to power.
The Republican frontrunner to contest the 2024 presidential election earlier this month denied the four charges – of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.
He also denounced the indictment as “a persecution of a political opponent”.
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.
In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.
“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Pic: AP
Police said emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in Neergabby on Friday night.
“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.
“The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”
Sexual assault claims
Prince Andrew has denied all claims of wrongdoing. File pic: Reuters
Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.
In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
‘An incredible champion’
Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, said in a statement that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.
“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”
“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.
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Dini von Mueffling, Ms Giuffre’s representative, also said that “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.
“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she added. “She adored her children and many animals.
“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words.
“It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”
Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.
Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.
She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US Department of Justice
Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.
‘A survivor’
After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.
She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.
“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Donald Trump has met Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Pope’s funeral, Vatican sources have told Sky News.
The US and Ukrainian presidents had a “very productive discussion”, according to a White House Official, and have also agreed to hold further talks after the service.
They are among world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, who are attending the funeral of Pope Francis.
Follow live updates: Zelenskyy among world leaders joining thousands of mourners
There was applause from some of those gathered in St Peter’s Square when the Ukrainian leader walked out.
The former British ambassador to Russia Sir Tony Brenton said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy.
Trump and Zelenskyy meet for first time since Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine, and is their first face-to-face meeting after a very public row between the presidents at the White House in February.
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish Armed Forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening, in a post on X.
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US
Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine are ‘very close to a deal’ – and says ‘two sides should now meet’
Donald Trump has said Russia and Ukraine are “very close to a deal” with “most of the major points agreed” – as he called for the two sides to meet.
Shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral, the US president said high-level officials should now meet to “finish [the deal] off”.
“A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off’.
“Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!”
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Ukraine-Russia peace talks explained
Throughout the week, the US president has criticised both Ukraine and Russia for failing to agree to a peace deal.
On Wednesday, he accused Mr Zelenskyy of harming talks on Truth Social, saying “the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE”.
A day later, after nine people were killed in Kyiv after a Russian missile and drone strike, Mr Trump said: “Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”
The president and other officials have also threatened to withdraw from negotiations if no progress is made toward a deal.
It comes after Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss a US-brokered peace plan for Ukraine.
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Putin-Witkoff meeting
The talks allowed Russia and the United States to “further bring their positions closer together” on “a number of international issues”, a Kremlin aide said.
Speaking earlier on the flight to Italy, Mr Trump said he hadn’t been fully briefed on Mr Witkoff and Mr Putin’s meeting – but added it was a “pretty good meeting”.
Read more:
US and Russia talks moving in ‘right direction’, top diplomat says
A ‘barbaric’ 24 hours in a ‘horrendous’ war
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Ukraine has repeatedly said it would not accept a deal conceding land or handing over sovereignty to Russia.
However, Mr Trump said in an interview with TIME magazine that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” describing the region as a place where Moscow has “had their submarines” and “the people speak largely Russian”.
“Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time,” he added. “It’s been with them long before Trump came along.”
When asked on Friday about Mr Trump’s comments, Mr Zelenskyy did not want to comment but repeated that recognising occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian is a red line.
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