The activist was arrested Monday for facts dating back to December. Police fear violence as supporters of the outgoing president hear Joe Biden’s victory in the streets of the American capital on Wednesday.
Le Monde with AFP
Enrique Tarrio, head of the far-right American militia Proud Boys, was arrested Monday, January 4 in Washington, on the eve of two days of action in the capital of the United States organized by the pro-Trump camp which still disputes, without proof, the result of the presidential election of November 3. A last stand, as Congress is due to meet on Wednesday to formally certify the victory of Democrat Joe Biden.
The activist was arrested on the basis of an arrest warrant issued as a result for participating in an escalating demonstration on December 12 in which the “Black Lives Matter” banner of an African American church in Washington, DC – Asbury United Methodist Church – was destroyed. /
At war with Black Lives Matter
Four people were also stabbed during clashes between pro-Trump activists and counter-protesters. The man had admitted the facts in an interview given to the Washington Post , and accused the Black Lives Matter movement of “terrorizing the citizens of this country”. The Proud Boys have clashed violently with activists in the American anti-racial injustice movement across the country in recent months, most notably in Portland in September.
The masculinist (women are excluded) and supremacist group led by Enrique Tarrio since 2018 had suddenly achieved notoriety by being named during the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden on September 30.
Invited by the presenter to publicly denounce the actions of white supremacists, among which the Proud Boys, Donald Trump had sent them a message that was ambivalent to say the least: “Proud Boys, take action. withdraw and be ready. “A statement interpreted as assent and which the militia, with the contested dress code, had immediately printed on T-shirts.
Of Cuban origin, Enrique Tarrio usually resides in Florida, where he worked on the neck rs of the recent campaign at the head of the Latinos for Trump movement, not officially affiliated with the organization for the re-election of the Republican.
Dreaded violence
Asked by the New York Times , the one who presents himself as a close friend of Roger Stone, former adviser to Donald Trump, claims to have” personally knocked on 40,000 doors “to convince voters of the “Sunshine State” to support the outgoing president. Florida is one of the states Trump won on November 3.
Enrique Tarrio is also accused of being in possession of two illegal high-capacity firearm magazines at the time of his arrest, said Washington police, who fear potential violence, including from groups like the Proud Boys, over the next two days. Local authorities have warned that those carrying firearms will be arrested and have mobilized 340 members of the National Guard to bolster law enforcement.