On September 5, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) — led by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland — announced that Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio had been sentenced to 22 years in federal prison on seditious conspiracy and other charges.
Garland, appointed by then-President Joe Biden, said, in an official statement, "The Justice Department proved in court that the Proud Boys played a central role in setting the January 6th attack on our Capitol into motion. Over the past week, four members of the Proud Boys received sentences that reflect the danger their crimes pose to our democracy."
Similarly, then-FBI Director Christopher Wray stated, "Today’s sentencing demonstrates that those who attempted to undermine the workings of American democracy will be held criminally accountable."
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But after Donald Trump returned to the White House on January 20, 2025, he pardoned over 1500 defendants involved in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building and commuted the sentences of 14 other people — including Tarrio and other members of the Proud Boys. The Oath Keepers' Stewart Rhodes received a commutation from Trump as well.
Tarrio was released from federal prison. And USA Today's Will Carless, in an article published on February 8, describes life after prison for Tarrio and other Proud Boys members.
"After President Donald Trump commuted their sentences last month for various serious crimes connected to the insurrection," Carless explains, "Tarrio and the other top leaders of the Proud Boys find themselves contemplating the future…. And now, they are making plans."
USA Today interviewed Tarrio and three other Proud Boys members who were released from prison after Trump commuted their sentences: Joe Biggs (who was serving an 17-year sentence), Ethan Nordean (serving 18 years) and Zachary Rehl (sentenced to 15 years).
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"Their hopes and dreams are as lofty as they are hazy," Carless explains. "Tarrio speaks vaguely about entering politics. He doesn't want to abandon the Proud Boys. But he also seems to recognize the limits of the group, which alienated swathes of America by associating with white supremacists and participating in violent street brawls with leftist counter-protesters and pro-LGBTQ+ groups."
The USA Today reporter continues, "Nordean talks cryptically about starting an organization that will 'reclaim” American masculinity for young men. Rehl wants to run for Congress, but he doesn't know what seat yet. And Biggs wants to reform the American justice system — with the help of Kim Kardashian."
Cassie Miller of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project argues that Trump's efforts to mainstream the Proud Boys don't erase the group's history of violence.
Miller told USA Today, "This is a group that's foundation is violence and that believes that violence is a way of pursuing their political goals, and now Trump has signaled to them that he approves of those actions."
Similarly, Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told USA Today, "The GOP has had incredible success rewriting the history of January 6, regardless of the facts. It's not surprising to hear these guys glomming on to the same narrative, that this wasn't an insurrection."
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Read the full USA Today article at this link.