According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial, prior to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, Tarrio created a special chapter of the Proud Boys known as the “Ministry of Self-Defense,” which included co-defendants Nordean, Biggs, and Rehl. As part of this group, these defendants conspired to prevent, hinder, and delay the certification of the Electoral College vote and to oppose by force the authority of the government of the United States.
In the days leading to January 6th, Tarrio and other leaders of the Ministry of Self-Defense hand-selected members of the organization, including co-defendant Dominic Pezzola, to serve as “rally boys” during the attack on the Capitol. To prepare for the attack, Tarrio and the other leaders established a chain of command, chose a time and place for their attack, and intentionally recruited others who would follow their top-down leadership and who were prepared to engage in physical violence if necessary.
On January 6th, the group began their assault that day at 10:00 a.m. when Nordean, Biggs, Rehl, and others marched an assembled group of nearly 200 individuals away from speeches at the Ellipse and directly toward the Capitol. At 2:11 p.m., Pezzola smashed open a window, allowing the first rioters to enter the Capitol as Biggs and those with him entered close behind. Court documents say that Nordean, Biggs, Rehl, and the men they recruited and led participated in every consequential breach at the Capitol that day.
As the events of January 6th unfolded, Tarrio, who was monitoring the attack from afar, posted encouraging messages to his tens of thousands of social media followers, including: “Proud of my boys and my country” and “Don’t f****** leave.” Tarrio privately claimed credit for the riot at the Capitol, telling Proud Boys senior leadership, “Make no mistake . . . we did this.” On January 7th, Tarrio addressed the Ministry of Self-Defense members, telling them he was “proud of y’all.”
