Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio are free men after President Trump granted pardons to more than 1,500 defendants who faced charges in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Attorneys for both far-right leaders confirmed their release to The Post Tuesday.
Tarrio was 16 months into a 22-year prison sentence on seditious conspiracy and other charges, while Rhodes was almost 20 months into an 18-year sentence for the same offense.
Former Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years behind bars in September 2023. AP“They’ve already been in jail for a long time,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Monday evening about the clemency recipients. “These people have been destroyed.”
Unlike many of the Jan. 6 defendants, neither Tarrior nor Rhodes actually set foot in the Capitol Building during the ransacking of the legislative seat. But they were charged with helping to plot out the attack.
During the run-up to the riot, Rhodes and others had stockpiled tactical gear and firearms. He also stepped into restricted Capitol grounds while directing his Oath Keepers militia members as the chaos unfolded.
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was pardoned along with Tarrio. AP“My only regret is that they should have brought rifles,” Rhodes said on an audio recording obtained by federal investigators. “We should have brought rifles. We could have fixed it right then and there. I’d hang f—ing [Nancy] Pelosi from the lamppost.”
Tarrio had led the Proud Boys, another right-wing group, from 2018 to 2021. He also worked as the Florida state director of Latinos for Trump.
Prosecutors had accused Tarrio of playing a critical role in orchestrating the Proud Boys’ rampage at the Capitol, including by ordering “hand-selected members” of the group to attend the “Stop The Steal” Trump rally that preceded the event.
Tarrio was not in Washington, DC on the day of the riot, but prosecutors highlighted text messages he he exchanged with members of the mob.
After the riot, Tarrio stressed that he didn’t have sympathy for the members of Congress who were forced into hiding. He also said that he didn’t “support” or “condemn” the riot.
In addition to Monday’s clemency grants, Trump directed the Justice Department to ask for the dismissal of about 450 cases that are still being litigated.
