When he arrived back at Miami International Airport, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio was overwhelmed by what he saw. A forest of cameras. Cell phones held aloft by well-wishers. Journalists, fans and onlookers clamored for a glimpse of the de-facto leader of the Proud Boys.
Tarrio, 40, had left Miami almost three years earlier as a prisoner. Disgraced, he faced the most serious charges levied from the Jan. 6 attack. A jury convicted him of seditious conspiracy and other crimes. Prosecutors argued he was a terrorist, the mastermind of a well-planned coup that only failed by the grace of God.
Now he was returning, if not as a hero, then as the protagonist in an American folk tale: revered by some, loathed by others and recognized by many, if not all.
“Are you waiting for Bad Bunny?” a woman in the crowd asked the assembled journalists, referring to the Puerto Rican reguetonero.
After President Donald Trump commuted their sentences last month for various serious crimes connected to the insurrection, Tarrio and the other top leaders of the Proud Boys find themselves contemplating the future.
Prison appears to have left a mark on these men. They no longer speak with the brash insolence that characterized their piloting of the mob they led to the doors of the U.S. Capitol. They have drunk some cold beers (except Tarrio, who no longer drinks alcohol) and taken their families out to sushi. They have slept in their own beds. And now they are making plans.
USA TODAY interviewed the four top leaders of the Proud Boys, who were all given lengthy prison sentences for their roles on Jan. 6: Tarrio (22 years), Ethan Nordean (18 years), Joseph “Joe” Biggs (17 years), and Zachary Rehl (15 years).
Their hopes and dreams are as lofty as they are hazy.
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.
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.
These Proud Boys appear to have come a long way from strutting down Washington’s streets in wraparound sunglasses and Fred Perry polo shirts. A group that prided itself in its anti-establishment bona fides has now produced political martyrs, with a remarkable arc — from America’s most wanted extremist group to a badge of honor that could grant entry into the political mainstream.