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 In the Miami hearing, a federal
prosecutor, a Federal Bureau of Investigation
agent and Tarrio’s own lawyer described his
undercover work and said he had helped
authorities prosecute more than a dozen people
in various cases involving drugs, gambling and
human smuggling.
Tarrio, in an interview with Reuters Tuesday,
denied working undercover or cooperating in
cases against others. “I don’t know any of
this,” he said, when asked about the transcript.
“I don’t recall any of this.”
Law-enforcement officials and the court
transcript contradict Tarrio’s denial. In a
statement to Reuters, the former federal
prosecutor in Tarrio’s case, Vanessa Singh
Johannes, confirmed that “he cooperated with
local and federal law enforcement, to aid in the
prosecution of those running other, separate
criminal enterprises, ranging from running
marijuana grow houses in Miami to operating
pharmaceutical fraud schemes.”
Tarrio, 36, is a high-profile figure who
organizes and leads the right-wing Proud Boys in
their confrontations with those they believe to
be Antifa, short for “anti-fascism,” an
amorphous and often violent leftist movement.
The Proud Boys were involved in the deadly
insurrection at the Capitol January 6.
The records uncovered by Reuters are startling
because they show that a leader of a far-right
group now under intense scrutiny by law
enforcement was previously an active
collaborator with criminal investigators.
Washington police arrested Tarrio in early
January when he arrived in the city two days
before the Capitol Hill riot. He was charged
with possessing two high-capacity rifle
magazines, and burning a Black Lives Matter
banner during a December demonstration by
supporters of former President Donald Trump. The
D.C. Superior Court ordered him to leave the
city pending a court date in June.
Though Tarrio did not take part in the Capitol
insurrection, at least five Proud Boys members
have been charged in the riot. The FBI
previously said Tarrio’s earlier arrest was an
effort to preempt the events of January 6.
The transcript from 2014 shines a new light on
Tarrio’s past connections to law enforcement.
During the hearing, the prosecutor and Tarrio’s
defense attorney asked a judge to reduce the
prison sentence of Tarrio and two co-defendants.
They had pleaded guilty in a fraud case related
to the relabeling and sale of stolen diabetes
test kits.
The prosecutor said Tarrio’s information had led
to the prosecution of 13 people on federal
charges in two separate cases, and had helped
local authorities investigate a gambling ring.
Tarrio’s then-lawyer Jeffrey Feiler said in
court that his client had worked undercover in
numerous investigations, one involving the sale
of anabolic steroids, another regarding
“wholesale prescription narcotics” and a third
targeting human smuggling. He said Tarrio helped
police uncover three marijuana grow houses, and
was a “prolific” cooperator.
In the smuggling case, Tarrio, “at his own risk,
in an undercover role met and negotiated to pay
$11,000 to members of that ring to bring in
fictitious family members of his from another
country,” the lawyer said in court.
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 In an interview, Feiler said he
did not recall details about the case but added,
“The information I provided to the court was
based on information provided to me by law
enforcement and the prosecutor.”
An FBI agent at the hearing called Tarrio a “key
component” in local police investigations
involving marijuana, cocaine and MDMA, or
ecstasy. The Miami FBI office declined comment.
There is no evidence Tarrio has cooperated with
authorities since then. In interviews with
Reuters, however, he said that before rallies in
various cities, he would let police departments
know of the Proud Boys’ plans. It is unclear if
this was actually the case. He said he stopped
this coordination after December 12 because the
D.C. police had cracked down on the group.
Tarrio on Tuesday acknowledged that his fraud
sentence was reduced, from 30 months to 16
months, but insisted that leniency was provided
only because he and his co-defendants helped
investigators “clear up” questions about his own
case. He said he never helped investigate
others. That comment contrasts
with statements made in court by the prosecutor,
his lawyer and the FBI. The judge in the case,
Joan A. Lenard, said Tarrio “provided
substantial assistance in the investigation and
prosecution of other persons involved in
criminal conduct.”
As Trump supporters challenged the Republican’s
election loss in often violent demonstrations,
Tarrio stood out for his swagger as he led
crowds of mostly white Proud Boys in a series of
confrontations and street brawls in Washington,
D.C., Portland, Oregon, and elsewhere.
The Proud Boys, founded in 2016, began as a
group protesting political correctness and
perceived constraints on masculinity. It grew
into a group with distinctive colors of yellow
and black that embraced street fighting. In
September their profile soared when Trump called
on them to “Stand back and stand by.”
Tarrio, based in Miami, became the national
chairman of the group in 2018.
In November and December, Tarrio led the Proud
Boys through the streets of D.C. after Trump’s
loss. Video shows him on December 11 with a
bullhorn in front of a large crowd. “To the
parasites both in Congress, and in that stolen
White House,” he said. “You want a war, you got
one!” The crowd roared. The next day Tarrio
burned the BLM banner.
Former prosecutor Johannes said she was
surprised that the defendant she prosecuted for
fraud is now a key player in the violent
movement that sought to halt the certification
of President Joe Biden.
“I knew that he was a fraudster – but had no
reason to know that he was also a domestic
terrorist,” she said.
(Reporting by Aram Roston in Washington. Editing
by Ronnie Greene)
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