Former leaders of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, Enrique Tarrio and Stewart Rhodes, have been released from prison following a sweeping order from former President Donald Trump. The order benefited over 1,500 defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Tarrio and Rhodes, who were among the highest-profile defendants in the Jan. 6 investigation, had received lengthy sentences for seditious conspiracy related to their roles in the Capitol riot. Rhodes, from Granbury, Texas, was serving an 18-year prison term, while Tarrio, based in Miami, was serving a 22-year sentence.
Their attorneys confirmed their release after Trump pardoned, commuted sentences, or dismissed cases against all the individuals charged in the riot. This action also led to the dismissal of approximately 450 pending cases before judges.
Trump's decision to pardon the rioters was part of his effort to rewrite the narrative of the Jan. 6 attack and fulfill a campaign promise to free defendants he believed were unfairly targeted by the Justice Department. He described the pardons as correcting a “grave national injustice” and initiating a “process of national reconciliation.”
More than 1,200 individuals across the U.S. have been convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack, with around 200 pleading guilty to assaulting law enforcement officers. A small number of defendants were convicted of seditious conspiracy, a rare and serious charge dating back to the Civil War era.
Tarrio, who led the Proud Boys, was convicted in 2023 of seditious conspiracy and other offenses for allegedly orchestrating violence to overturn the 2020 election results. Despite not being present in Washington on Jan. 6 due to a prior arrest, prosecutors claimed he directed Proud Boys members in storming the Capitol.
Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, was convicted alongside members of his militia group for their alleged efforts to maintain Trump in power at any cost. Testimony during the trial revealed discussions of potential civil war and insurrection if Trump did not remain in office.
