Proud Boys leader Tarrio indicted on conspiracy charge related to Jan. 6 Capitol riot

A federal grand jury has indicted the leader of the right-wing Proud Boys on a conspiracy charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

The indictment for Enrique Tarrio follows his recent arrest in Miami for conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, a felony charge that has been brought against hundreds of Capitol rioter.

Tarrio, 38, is being charged alongside five Proud Boy co-defendants who have each pleaded not guilty to "delay(ing) and hinder(ing) the certification of the Electoral College vote."

Tarrio was arrested in Washington, D.C., days before the attack on the Capitol for burning a stolen flag from an African\-American church in December 2020. He was ordered to stay out of the capital. 

But now, federal prosecutors are alleging he helped rally the Proud Boys to travel to the capital with the intent of obstructing Congress's certification of the Electoral College, which officially made Democrat Joe Biden the winner over GOP-incumbent Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.  

The Justice Department alleges that, despite his earlier arrest, Tarrio had phone calls with members of the Proud Boys on the ground at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and assumed credit for what occurred that day.