Enrique Tarrio, the former national chair of the Proud Boys, told Newsmax on Wednesday how grateful he was that President Donald Trump kept his promise to pardon most of those charged by the Biden administration's Department of Justice after the events of Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol.
Trump issued the pardons Monday for roughly 1,500 defendants in cases related to Jan. 6 hours after being sworn into office.
"I think I speak for all J-Sixers when I say we're super thankful," Tarrio told "Greg Kelly Reports." "But we knew that this was coming. We knew that we had a president, that his motto is ‘promises made, promises kept.' And because of that, many, many families are reunited."
Tarrio was sentenced in 2023 to 22 years in prison and 36 months of supervised release after being convicted on multiple charges, including seditious conspiracy. His was the longest sentence related to the events on Jan. 6 at the Capitol, even though he wasn't there at the time. He was released Tuesday from a federal prison in Louisiana and arrived at his home in Miami on Wednesday afternoon.
Fellow Proud Boys members Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola also were pardoned by Trump. Nordean was sentenced to 18 years in prison, Biggs to 17 years, Rehl to 15 years, and Pezzola to 10 years on charges related to Jan. 6.
"It's not just an amazing day for me, it's an amazing day for many, many families," Tarrio said. "About 1,500 families got their life back today, and my four guys – Joe Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Dominic Pezzola and Zachary Rehl – they got to see some of them, got to see their daughters for the first time. … We couldn't be happier with the president of the United States, not just for this, but for everything that's going to happen in these next four years.
"We already see that he means business from Day 1, but it was amazing that he brought so many families together. I think no other president in the history of the United States has ever done something like this."
Tarrio said he would like to see investigations launched against former Attorney General Merrick Garland and Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia who oversaw the prosecutions of the Jan. 6 defendants.
"They need to be investigated, and if there's a crime that they committed, put them in jail," Tarrio said. "Merrick Garland is guilty of the same thing that Steve Bannon was guilty of [contempt of Congress], and they put [Bannon] in jail for three months. So, at the very minimum, Merrick Garland should be put in prison for three months.
"Congress [should] go ahead and put that resolution through again in holding Merrick Garland in contempt and have [incoming Attorney General] Pam Bondi make the final decision on that. But [Garland] needs to serve at least three years. And it's not about retribution. It's about justice."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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