Daily Archives: June 1, 2022

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Background

The Proud Boys represent an unconventional strain of American right-wing extremism. While the group can be described as violent, nationalistic, Islamophobic, transphobic and misogynistic, its members represent a range of ethnic backgrounds, and its leaders vehemently protest any allegations of racism. Their founder, Gavin McInnes, went so far as to file a defamation lawsuit against the Southern Poverty Law Center when the SPLC designated the Proud Boys a hate group.

In McInnes own words, the Proud Boys are a pro-western fraternity, essentially a drinking club dedicated to male bonding, socializing and the celebration all things related to western culture. In reality, the Proud Boys bear many of the hallmarks of a gang, and its members have taken part in multiple acts of brutal violence and intimidation. While the Proud Boys insist that they only act in self-defense, several incidents including one in which two members of the group were convicted of attempted gang assault, attempted assault and riot belie their self-professed peaceful nature. Indeed, many members have criminal records for violent behavior and the organization actively pursues violence against their perceived enemies.

During the last three years, the Proud Boys have established themselves as a dominant force withinthe alt lite. Easily recognizable, thanks to their black and yellow Fred Perry polo shirts and red Make America Great Again baseball caps, members are regulars at far-right demonstrations and Trump rallies. After several years of forging alliances with members of the Republican political establishment, the Proud Boys have carved out a niche for themselves as both a right-wing fight club and a volunteer security force for the GOP. Despite their associations with mainstream politicians, Proud Boys actions and statements repeatedly land them in the company of white supremacists and right-wing extremists. Jason Kessler, the primary organizer of the deadly 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, is a former Proud Boy. Several members attended the violent August 12, 2017 demonstration that ended in the death of counter-protestor Heather Heyer.

During an October 2018 brawl outside the Metropolitan Republican Club in Manhattan, for which two Proud Boys members were convicted and sentenced to substantial prison terms, and seven others pled guilty, the Proud Boys were joined by the 211 Bootboys, an ultra-nationalist and violent skinhead gang based in New York City. In October 2019, members of the Denver chapter of the Proud Boys marched with members of Patriot Front and former members of the now-defunctneo-Nazi group Traditionalist Worker Party. These relationships show the Proud Boys to be less a pro-western drinking club and more an extreme, right-wing gang. Ideologically, members subscribe to a scattershot array of libertarian and nationalist tropes, referring to themselves as anti-communist and anti-political correctness, but in favor of free speech and free markets.

History

The Proud Boys was formed in 2016 by VICE Media co-founder, Gavin McInnes. In an op-ed in the far-right outlet Takis Magazinenotorious for its regular contributors, which included white supremacist Jared TaylorMcInnes announced the foundation of the group, describing its members as Western chauvinists who refuse to apologise [sic] for creating the modern world, and who long for the days when girls were girls and men were men. According to McInnes, the Proud Boys, whose name is taken from a song in the musical Aladdin, are a response and opposition to politically correct culture.

McInnes, whose VICE magazine built its reputation on publishing juvenile and often offensive material, had been trying to establish himself for years as a professional provocateur, making wildly racist statements and claiming it was all ironic, or tongue-in-cheek. In 2002, he said, We seem really racist and homophobic because we hang around with fags and niggers so much. It just becomes part of our vernacular.

At the same time, McInnes was becoming increasingly overt in his xenophobia and racism, telling the New York Times in 2003 that, I love being white and I think it's something to be very proud of. I don't want our culture diluted. We need to close the borders now and let everyone assimilate to a Western, white, English-speaking way of life.

According to McInnes plan, the roughly 1,000 Proud Boys would be organized into chapters nationwide. Membership would be divided into ranks from one to four.

To attain level one, an initiate must publicly state: I am a proud Western chauvinist, I refuse to apologize for creating the modern world.

To reach level two, the initiate must endure a beating by his comrades while reciting the names of five breakfast cereals. This is ostensibly to demonstrate adrenaline control; leaked online videos show the ritual to be far less violent than what McInnes described. Initiates are told to limit masturbation to once per month. The idea behind this ban -- that porn is making men weak and keeping them from forming real relationships with women -- is common throughout the right-wing extremist movement. In his op-ed, McInnes wrote: Though sexual intercourse is encouraged, Proud Boys have an endgame and it is to settle down and have kids. They have absolutely no respect for feminists but venerate the housewife so much, they are actually becoming quite popular with women.

To achieve the third level, an initiate must get a Proud Boys tattoo. Common variations are Proud Boy, POYB (acronym for Proud of Your Boy) and Uhuru, a Swahili word for freedom that the Proud Boys have appropriated as their battle cry.

Finally, the fourth level, which McInnes did not describe in the foundational document, is an honorary degree awarded for a material sacrifice or service by a brother. McInnes said in an interview that the fourth degree is awarded for a major fight for the cause. You get beat up, kick the crap out of an antifa," but he later backpedaled, saying it obviously doesnt mean you go to someones house or even pick a fight with one at a rally. Fourth degree is a consolation prize for being thrust into a shitty situation and surviving.

In October 2018, as law enforcement sought members of the Proud Boys for their role in the fight outside the Metropolitan Republican Club, Proud Boys leadership released a clarified set of bylaws that seemed to contradict their prior, violent rhetoric. The new language reads: Any requirement that a brother commit a violent or illegal act as a condition precedent to receiving a fourth degree is, by this bylaw, abolished.

In early 2019, before Proud Boys John Kinsman and Maxwell Hare were convicted for their role in the 2018 fight, McInnes announced that he would no longer be formally involved with the Proud Boys. Leadership was assumed briefly by disgraced Texas attorney, Jason van Dyke, before he was replaced by Enrique Tarrio, a Cuban-American from Miami. Tarrio, the current chairman, is also running for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020.

2020 was a significant year for the Proud Boys. They solidified their status as the most visible, and most active right-wing extremist group in the country. As the nation grappled with the pandemic, members of the Proud boys became a regular sight at anti-lockdown protests, using the demonstrations not only to raise their profile, but as recruitment opportunities. The group is not unique in this sense Boogaloo bois and militia members were also frequent participants at these rallies. Another key factor in the Proud Boys 2020 activity was their embrace of the #Saveourchildren campaign, alongside QAnon adherents. The new links with QAnon allowed Proud Boys access to untapped segments of the pro-Trump extremist movement.

Events held in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, allowed the Proud Boys to brand themselves as law and order counterpoint to Black Lives Matter protesters, although the Proud Boys themselves generally precipitated the most egregious acts of violence and intimidation against protesters. This dynamic produced some of the most brutal clashes between Proud Boys and their adversaries, particularly in Portland, Oregon which saw over 100 days of continuous unrest. There were violent and armed clashes on August 22, and a MAGA convoy on August 29 led to the death of Aaron Jay Danielson, a member of right-wing group Patriot Prayer, a frequent ally of the Proud Boys. On September 26, close to 500 Proud Boys gathered in a Park in Portland, demanding justice for Danielson. Apart from a few incidents, that event was largely peaceful.

Proud Boys profile was given an additional boost when President Trump, in his September 29 debate against Joe Biden, instructed the Proud Boys to stand back, and stand by. Emboldened by the attention from the President, the Proud Boys rallied for Trump twice in Washington, D.C. following his election loss. The first rally took place on November 14, and the second on December 12, which ended with four members of the Proud Boys suffering stab wounds from a brawl. During that same rally, Proud Boys members allegedly set fire to a BLM banner they stole from Asbury United Methodist Church, a historically Black church. Proud Boys leader, Enrique Tarrio, took responsibility for the incident and was later charged with destruction of property. He was arrested, carrying two extended gun magazines, on the eve of the January 6, 2021 rally that led to the storming of the U.S. Capitol. As a condition if his release, a judge barred Tarrio from attending the January 6 protest.

Violence

Violence has been a key component of the Proud Boys since the groups creation.

On August 22, 2020, members of the Proud Boys fought with counter-protestors in Portland, Oregon. This clash between right-wing and left-wing activists was one of manyin Portland and other American cities throughout the summer, and Proud Boys had been a fixture at most of them.

Ahead of the August 22 brawl, one prominent member of the group, Tusitala Tiny Toese, who is barred from taking part in any protest in Portland as a condition of his probation following his sentencing for assault, explained that the Proud Boys were in the streets because they werepissed off and didnt want to see this country burn.This is part of a trend of far right vigilantism where Proud Boys self-deputize in order to assist law enforcement. Armed with bear mace, clubs, paintball guns and in the case of one Proud Boys member,an actual gun, the Proud Boys engaged in multiple acts of violence against counter-protestors and members of the media. One journalist suffered a broken finger when Proud Boys memberTravis Taylor allegedly attacked him with a club.

Patriot Prayer, frequent Proud Boys collaborators, organized another protest that turned violent, on August 15, 2020. The event was attended by Proud Boys, including Alan Swinney, who would later brandish a revolverat the August 22 protest, and who came to the August 15 eventarmed with a paintball gun,which he used on counter-protestors.One person was injured after being hit with a paintball pellet, although it is unknown if Swinney was the shooter. At least two gunshots were reported during the protest; the shooter remaining unknown. One day earlier, Proud Boys clashed with counter-protestors in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

No members of the Proud Boys were arrested in the aftermath of these protests although a Multnomah County judge issued a new warrant for Tusitala Toese following his appearance at the August 22 protest.

McInnes has repeatedly advocated brutal tactics when dealing with the Proud Boys sworn enemies -- anti-fascist counter protestors, otherwise known as antifa -- and leaked chats from social messaging app Telegram reveal a clear pattern of inciting violence. In a June 2016 episode of the Gavin McInnes Show, McInnes warned his enemies, We will kill you. Thats the Proud Boys in a nutshell. We will kill you.

And yet, the groups leaders have repeatedly attempted to distance themselves from violence, both threatened and actual. In the aftermath of the 2018 brawl in Manhattan, McInnes stated in an interview with NewsmaxTV that he does not control these guys and described himself as the founder, not the leader. Similarly, Tarrio has repeatedly insisted that the Proud Boys organization is nonviolent.

Again, real world events belie the claims made by various Proud Boys leaders. Not only have there been several instances where Proud Boys have engaged in unprovoked violence, their social media conversations also demonstrate how inciting violence and responding to small slights with brutal force is key to the Proud Boys strategy. In fact, while the Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights (FOAK) was formed to serve as a tactical defense arm (italics ours) of the Proud Boys, its leader, Kyle Chapman AKA Based Stickman, is a violent felon who has repeatedly encouraged violence against anti-fascist activists, and whose persona stems from his history of threatening counter-protestors with a heavy iron stick. Similarly, Proud Boys and their allies purposefully organize and act in a manner that will all but guarantee violence. In advance of the August 2019 End Domestic Terrorism rally in Portland, Oregon, organizer and outspoken Proud Boys ally, Joe Biggs, posted videos of himself holding a spiked baseball bat with the words Make America Great Again emblazoned on it, telling the camera that Were going to put this to good use. He also posed wearing t-shirts reading, Im Just Here for the Violence and Death to Antifa.

Screen shots of conversations on Telegram reveal how members of the Proud Boys consider any provocation to be a direct assault that legitimizes any use of force as acceptable retaliation. In advance of an April 2019 rally in Rhode Island, a poster wrote, If any contact is made with you, thats assault. If they take your hat, spray you with silly string, spit, push Its assault. We need to have all our guys there before we retaliate though if we can. The cops arent going to let us fight long. We need to inflict as much damage as possible in the time we have. In the same chat room, a Proud Boy member using the name Jason Cardona posed with a hatchet, writing, Group, meet Kindness. Later he posed with a large knife and wrote, If they want to meet wisdom all they have to do is ask. Poster Col. Kish wrote, Its a prior service Marines [sic] to get out and continue beating the fuck out of communists, semper Fi ooh ra.

At the rally in Rhode Island, among others, there have been instances of Proud Boys engaging in unprovoked attacks, as well as groups of Proud Boys attacking single counter-protestors.

In January 2020, Proud Boy member, Tusitala Tiny Toese, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge for an attack on a man in Portland. Fellow Proud BoyDonovon Flippohad earlier pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault for the same incident.

In August, 2019, former Patriot Prayer member and current Proud Boy member, Russell Schultz, along with five others, was indicted for rioting following a fight outside the Cider Riot bar in Portland.

On January 6, 2019, self-proclaimed Proud Boy Buckey Wolfe allegedly murdered his brother with a samurai-style sword, claiming that God told me he was a lizard. The Proud Boys released a statement saying that Wolfe had never been approved as a member, but according to the Daily Beast, Buckeys Facebook profile included pictures of him with other members of the group. At the time of the murder, Buckey reportedly subscribed to the QAnon conspiracy theory. Prosecutors say that Buckey demonstratedsigns of mental illness.

Links to the political mainstream

On February 21, 2018, a new video appeared on the Proud Boys YouTube channel, showing Roger Stone, convicted felon and longtime advisor to President Trump, staring into the camera and reciting the Proud Boys initiation: Hi. Im Roger Stone. Im a western chauvinist, and I refuse to apologize for creating the modern world. Stone has had a long relationship with the Proud Boys, posing in countless pictures with various members, appearing in videos, receiving support from the group during his 2019 trial and even using them as private security at events. But Stone is not the only link between the Proud Boys and the political establishment.

After Gavin McInnes speech at the Metropolitan Republican Club in 2018, conservative commentator Ann Coulter tweeted, Get a Proud Boys wristband to defend the men who defend you. Several Metropolitan Republican Club members defended the decision to host the Proud Boys leader, and Alan Bialeck, a Club board member, told BuzzFeed News that he believes McInnes was merely expressing his right to free speech.

In October 2019, Donald Trump, Jr. posed for a photo with Proud Boy member Luke Rohlfing. It is unclear whether Trump Jr. was aware of Rohlfings political views, but the photo is part of a long-term Proud Boys strategy: posting alongside high-level Republicans in hopes of gaining legitimacy.

Both U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) and then-FloridaGov. Rick Scott have been photographed alongside Proud Boys, as have U.S. Reps Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25) and Devin Nunes (CA-22).

Sen. Cruz took his support a step farther, backing a non-binding resolution that would have defined anti-fascist activists as domestic terrorists after Enrique Tarrio launched a petition in favor of the bill. Even President Trump took notice and tweeted that Major consideration is being given to naming ANTIFA an ORGANIZATION OF TERROR.

The Proud Boys have also been embraced by a number of Fox News hosts; McInnes has appeared on Sean Hannitys Fox News program more than 24 times, and Tucker Carlson has appeared on McInnes show.

Racism:

While the Proud Boys often publicly denounce white supremacy, their activity has attracted white supremacists who share the groups opposition to progressive politics and proclivity for violence. The Proud Boys participated in the 2017 protests at the University of California-Berkeley, alongside a variety of white supremacist groups, including Rise Above Movement (R.A.M),Identity Evropa (now the American Identity Movement, or AIM) and theTraditionalist Worker Party (TWP).Similarly, members of Identity Evropa/AIM and TWP have joined Proud Boys and fellow right-wing group Patriot Prayer events in Portland. One man, wearing a patch for the Proud Boys-associated Fraternal Order of Alt Knights (FOAK), attended the October 2017 neo-Nazi White Lives Matter rally in Shelbyville, Tennessee. During the rally, he taunted the counter-protesters by destroying an antifa flag. Members of the Proud Boys also attended the violent August 2017 Unite the Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. They later circulated an image of themselves in a celebratory pose with a flag they captured from antifa. In October 2018, Proud Boys posed with members of the 211 Bootboys, an ultranationalist skinhead group, after McInnes speech at the Metropolitan Republican Club in New York City.

McInnes also has a long history with racism not confined to his repeated use of the N-word. He once called African-American actress Jada Pinkett Smith that monkey actress, and on an episode of the Gavin McInnes Show on Compound Media he said that Were the new n***ers. MAGA is the new black." McInnes declared on March 8, 2017, If you like Trump, you are a black man in 1945 trying to have water at a liberal fountain.

Misogyny:

The Proud Boys claim that they venerate the housewife, but McInnes has said that women are lazy and less ambitious than men, and that the pay gap between women and men is due to the fact a woman would rather go to [her] daughters piano recital than work. He has said that women are magical and that birth is a magical thing, and that the U.S. should have enforced monogamy because women are colostomy bags for various strangers semen when they have sex outside of marriage. He has described feminism as a cancer that makes women ugly. Joe Biggs, a frequent Proud Boys rally-planning partner, close friend of Enrique Tarrio and former InfoWars contributor, has a long history of explicit misogyny and support for rape.

Islamophobia:

Within the Proud Boys creed The West is the Best lies an implicit anti-Eastern bias common among right-wing extremists and white supremacists. McInnes has called the idea of a Muslim American president insane and compared it to electing a German president in 1942 in America. In a talk show on Fox News, he said there was a huge problem with inbreeding within the Muslim community, and alleged that they [Muslims] hate all non-Muslims. There are also close ties between the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio in particular, and virulent anti-Islam activist, Laura Loomer.

Anti-Semitism:

Although McInneshas decried racism and anti-Semitism, his past statements tell a different story.Hehas posted videos of himself giving the Nazi salute and repeatedly saying Heil Hitler. He was accused of anti-Semitism in March 2017 when he posted a video on Rebel Media called Ten Things I Hate about Jews, which was later retitled Ten Things I HateAboutIsrael.

McInnes has made a number of contradictory statements about Zionism. Prior to his spring 2017 trip to Israel, McInnes appeared in a Rebel Media video in which he asked people to crowdfund his trip to Israel so he could see what the country was like for himself; however, in that same video, he referenced both The Culture of Critique, by white supremacist Kevin MacDonald, and David Dukes book Jewish Supremacism. It was during this trip that McInnes appears to have had somewhat of an anti-Semitic awakening. On his show on March 8, 2017, McInnes muses that Jews were somehow responsible for World War II because the Treaty of Versailles, wasnt that disproportionately influenced by Jewish intellectuals? He also defended Holocaust deniers and neo-Nazis, saying, Like at one point, the tour guide goes, You know, and there are people who think that this didnt happen. And I felt myself defending the super-far-right Nazis, just because I was sick of so much brainwashing. AndI felt like going, Well, they never said it didnt happen. What theyre saying is that it was much less than six million and that they starved to death and they werent gassed. Then he finishes his train of thought with some thoughts about Jews obsession with the Holocaust. God, theyre so obsessed with the Holocaust. I dont know if its healthy to dwell.

At another point McInnes said: Jews: If you dont want to get people mad, dont be annoying.

Transphobia:

In 2014, McInnes wrote a controversial article for the blog Thought Catalog titled, Transphobia is Perfectly Natural, which included the passage, Havent you seen all the totally functional, happily married, normal trannies walking around? They arent all dead, you knowTheyre non-heteronormative. In fact, the only thing more normal than castrating yourself and taking tons of hormones to grow tits is chopping them off.

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Proud Boys | ADL

The indictment also made reference to a curious meeting that Mr. Tarrio had with Mr. Rhodes, the Oath Keepers leader, and others on the day before the attack in an underground parking garage near the Phoenix Park Hotel outside of Union Station.

While some attendees of the meeting have claimed it was an unplanned gathering largely meant to ensure Mr. Tarrio had legal representation as he departed Washington pursuant to the judges order, prosecutors somewhat cryptically said in their indictment that one participant referenced the Capitol.

The meeting was not the first time the government has claimed there were connections between the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. In previous court filings, prosecutors have said that around Christmas 2020, one of Mr. Rhodess lieutenants in Florida, Kelly Meggs, reached out to Mr. Tarrio and later told his militia compatriots that the Proud Boys could act as a force multiplier on Jan. 6.

Mr. Tarrio, 38, was taken into custody in his hometown, Miami, on Tuesday morning and was scheduled to appear in court there later in the day.

Prosecutors chose to add him to a pre-existing case in which four other leaders of the Proud Boys Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Charles Donohoe and Zachary Rehl had already been named. The new indictment also added a man accused of being a Proud Boys foot soldier, Dominic Pezzola, who was previously charged in a separate case.

Mr. Pezzola, a former Marine from Rochester, N.Y., was best known as being prominently featured during former President Donald J. Trumps second impeachment trial when the House managers played a video of him shattering a window at the Capitol with a stolen police riot shield. More than 20 other members of the Proud Boys have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack, and many others who took part in the assault remain at large.

As the Proud Boys moved past their December rally and began to turn their focus to Jan. 6, Mr. Tarrio and more than 60 other leaders and members organized themselves as a select group they called the Ministry of Self-Defense, according to the indictment. They arranged to travel to Washington from cities around the country and used their private Telegram chat to make various statements about attacking the Capitol, prosecutors said.

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Former Proud Boys Leader Indicted in Jan. 6 Investigation

For months, the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol has been probing coordination between far-right groups, and another trove of text messages released this week by federal prosecutors shows coordination between members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

But in recent weeks, the House committee has also learned through testimony from several witnesses that while members of both groups often worked together, and did so on Jan. 6, there was animosity between the groups' leaders in the run-up to the Capitol attack.

House investigators have probed this line of inquiry in depositions, trying to learn more about the dynamics inside two key groups linked to Jan. 6, four people familiar with the probe told CBS News.

The questions the committee has asked and related answers reveal how it is deeply looking into how far-right groups were potentially riven by intense rivalry, even as they pursued similar and allegedly seditious aims during the Jan. 6 period. It is unclear if this line of inquiry will be included in the committee's public findings, if at all, as it pushes to finish its work in the coming weeks. Several people close to the committee have said members and aides felt pressure to wrap up their work in the coming weeks even as they explore various investigative paths.

But in recent weeks, Jan. 6 committee investigators have asked at least three witnesses to detail the behind-the-scenes rivalry, mistrust, and animus between Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and prominent Proud Boys member Enrique Tarrio during the run-up to the attack on the Capitol, the people said. In addition, the House panel has spent a combined 10 hours probing Rhodes and Tarrio about their roles, according to the sources, with Rhodes sitting for six hours with the committee and Tarrio for at least four hours.

Responses from several witnesses have provided information about the subtleties of how far-right groups operate, the people said. The committee is preparing to explain to the public how various feuding groups were able to put aside those differences and embark on a shared mission to boost former President Donald Trump and pressure Congress.

The investigation into the relationship between the two leaders has not altered the committee's private assessment that members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers were able to work closely together on Jan. 6, inspired by Trump and his false claims of a stolen election, two of the people familiar with the depositions said.

Rhodes and Tarrio are two of the highest-profile Jan. 6 defendants facing federal prosecution, with Rhodes awaiting a trial for seditious conspiracy related to the Jan. 6 attack. Tarrio also remains jailed pending trial on several federal charges, including conspiracy.

New York-based filmmaker Nick Quested, who said he testified for seven hours before the committee in March, confirmed to CBS News that he spoke with the committee's investigators about the relationship between Rhodes and Tarrio, which he has documented.

"There was an animus between Rhodes and Tarrio," Quested told CBS News, referring to a Jan. 5, 2021, meeting in a parking garage between the two men, which was filmed. "They were not on the same team. There was a trepidation to engage with each other, especially from Rhodes' point of view."

Three of the other people interviewed by CBS News requested anonymity since they were not authorized to discuss committee depositions.

This latest line of inquiry underscores how the Jan. 6 committee, just weeks before it plans to begin public hearings, is working to map out the relationships between far-right groups and to understand the dynamics around the Jan. 6 attack.

But rather than see the two central far-right groups associated with Jan. 6 as a monolith working seamlessly to coordinate the assault on the Capitol, the committee has learned that they were riven by intense infighting, even as they pursued similar and allegedly seditious aims during that period.

Recent testimony from several witnesses has provided some nuanced information about how far-right groups operate, with their shared conspiracies and ambitions at times gaining traction on social-media fronts, even though the individual leaders were feuding or suspicious of one another.

An attorney who has represented Proud Boys clients in other criminal cases said the group specifically seeks men only for membership. The Jan. 6 defendants allegedly affiliated with the Proud Boys have roots in larger metropolitan areas, including Philadelphia. Many of the accused Oath Keepers charged in the attack hail from small, rural communities, including southern Ohio and western Virginia.

In particular, the committee has prodded witnesses about the Jan. 5, 2021, meeting between Rhodes and Tarrio in Washington, D.C., hours before members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys were accused of storming the Capitol intent on stopping the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

On the eve of the Capitol attack, Tarrio and Rhodes met for the first time, fleetingly, in the parking garage of the Hall of States building in Washington, across the street from the Senate side of the Capitol, according to two people familiar with the panel testimony of Tarrio and others.

Tarrio told the Jan. 6 committee that he was staying in a hotel near the parking garage and made the quick visit to see Rhodes. But he said under oath that he had done so unwillingly because he disdained Rhodes and considered him a rival, three people familiar with his testimony said.

"They met reluctantly, without warning. They don't like each other," said one person close to Tarrio.

At one point, during his meeting with the committee, Tarrio referred to Rhodes' group as "oath breakers," a second person said.

Tarrio also told investigators that the animus between him and Rhodes can be traced back to a falling out in 2019, following an incident in Portland, Oregon. Tarrio told the investigators that he had made arrangements with Rhodes to help transport a convoy of Proud Boys through the city, but then Proud Boys were stood up and stranded by Rhodes, the people said.

Tarrio said he grew angry and frustrated by Rhodes' handling of that incident, which left Proud Boys struggling to travel and pay for car services and other travel options, the sources added.

Beyond Quested, another person familiar with the Jan. 5, 2021 meeting between Tarrio and Rhodes said it was brief, likely less than two minutes long.

Tarrio told the House committee he was unaware Rhodes would be in the garage, where a group of associates and Trump supporters had gathered on Jan. 5. Tarrio told the committee he and Rhodes shook hands and greeted each other.

Rhodes' defense attorney says Rhodes was interviewed for six hours by the House committee in February. Attorney Phillip Lindner told CBS News much of the interview was focused on the origins and beliefs of the Oath Keepers, but also included questioning about the relationship between Rhodes and Tarrio. Lindner said Rhodes had little to say about Tarrio.

An attorney for Tarrio declined to comment.

A spokesman for the committee declined to comment.

CBS News has also confirmed that the committee is investigating whether far-right leaders felt inspired by Trump's remarks about the Proud Boys.

At a presidential debate on Sept. 29, 2020, Trump and then former vice president Joe Biden had a heated exchange on the threat of white supremacy. At one point, when asked about the Proud Boys, Trump said, "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by," and then said that violence is a "left-wing problem."

Lawyers, federal prosecutors, and judges have singled out Trump's comments in an increasing number of civil and criminal cases stemming from the Capitol siege. They allege the phrase was an inspiration for the violence on Jan. 6, particularly among Proud Boys.

A CBS News review of the tens of thousands of pages of criminal court filings also revealed multiple references to the phrase in affidavits or memos used to seek criminal charges or pretrial detention against individual defendants.

The Justice Department accused Capitol riot defendant Daniel Goodwyn of Corinth, Texas, of posting "stand back and stand by" on his Twitter feed, using an avatar image of Donald Trump, on Nov. 7, 2020.

Tarrio pleaded not guilty to multiple federal felony counts earlier this month, including conspiracy to obstruct Congress' certification of the 2020 electoral votes, stemming from his alleged participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

He was arrested in Miami in March after a grand jury in Washington, D.C., indicted him and five other Proud Boys members who had already been charged with other crimes connected to Jan. 6. A Florida judge ordered Tarrio detained pending trial, and in April, he appeared virtually at an arraignment in U.S. District Court in Washington to enter his not guilty plea.

The Justice Department said Tarrio was not at the Capitol on Jan. 6, but prosecutors allege he led the advance planning of a portion of the attack and remained in contact with some of the Proud Boys while they were taking part in the assault.

Tarrio had been arrested two days before the attack on unrelated charges. He was released the next day and ordered to stay out of Washington. The new indictment alleged that he defied the order and remained in Washington for some time, directing the Proud Boys' actions during the Capitol rioting and bragging about it later on social media and in encrypted messages.

Prosecutors said Tarrio and other Proud Boys allegedly established what they called a "Ministry of Self Defense," with Tarrio at the top of the power structure.

One of Tarrio's co-defendants pleaded guilty earlier this month and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

In January, Rhodes and nine of his co-defendants pleaded not guilty to charges that they planned for and participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Appearing virtually in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the defendants each entered not-guilty pleas after listening to the counts levied against them, including seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge that has so far been brought in the Justice Department's investigation into the attack.

In all, the Justice Department has charged 11 alleged members of the Oath Keepers with seditious conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at the judge's discretion. One of the defendants in the Oath Keepers case has pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department's investigation.

On Monday, Rhodes formally requested his trial be moved out of the Washington, D.C.-area.

Prosecutors allege Rhodes and his co-conspirators intended to stop the presidential transfer of power.

"They coordinated travel across the country to enter Washington, D.C., equipped themselves with a variety of weapons, donned combat and tactical gear, and were prepared to answer Rhodes's call to take up arms at Rhodes's direction," according to the indictment. "Some co-conspirators also amassed firearms on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., distributed them among 'quick reaction force' teams, and planned to use the firearms in support of their plot to stop the lawful transfer of presidential power."

Rob Legare contributed to this report.

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Hostilities between Proud Boys and Oath Keepers emerge as a line of ...

THE former leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio was arrested and charged with conspiring to attack the Capitol.

Tarrio is the second alt-right leader to be arrested and formally charged in connection with the January 6 riots.

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Tarrio is from Miami-Dade County, Florida and he was raised in a Cuban family in Little Havana in Miami.

He told Heavy News that he was "lured" to the Proud Boys because it was a similar atmosphere to the home where he grew up.

"My house, at like 7 oclock in the morning, theres like 20 people, in my house, talking about politics, roasting each other, just making fun of each other," he said.

A Reuters report revealed on January 27 that Tarrio has an extensive history working as an informant for federal and local law enforcement.

His undercover work reportedly led to the arrests of 13 people for various crimes related to drugs, gambling, and human smuggling.

The outlet obtained a transcript from a 2014 federal court proceeding where Tarrio's undercover work was described and confirmed the story with a former prosecutor, Vanessa Singh Johannes.

The avidDonald Trumpsupporter, however, has said that he does not "recall" working undercover.

"I don't know any of this," Tarrio, 36, told Reuters. "I don't recall any of this."

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Tarrio is an open Donald Trump supporter and on November 21, 2018, he took over the leadership of the Proud Boys from the alt-right groups' founder Gavin McInnes.

He identifies himself as a leader of the South Florida chapter, one of six chapters in the state but each chapter has a degree of autonomy.

Tarrio has since been arrested for allegedly burning a Black Lives Matter banner.

Proud Boys member and far-right protester Alan Swinney was arrested on assault charges in 2020.

The 50-year-old allegedly attacked aBlack Lives Matterprotester with a paint gun on August 15 inOregon.

A federal grand jury has charged Enrique Tarrio with conspiracy to stage an attack on the Capitol in January 2021.

According to The New York Times, prosecutors said Tarrio told the Proud Boys to dress incognito when they showed up at the Capitol on January 6 and was involved in a Telegram group chat during the chaos.

Although Tarrio allegedly gave the orders to the other members of the Proud Boys, he was not present at the riots, having been arrested two days prior.

In a press release issued on March 8, 2022, the Department of Justice said, "Tarrio nonetheless continued to direct and encourage the Proud Boys prior to and during the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and that he claimed credit for what had happened on social media and in an encrypted chat room during and after the attack."

TheWashington Post reported in January 2021 that Tarrio was arrested by Washington, D.C. officers on a warrant charging him with burning aBlack Lives Matterbanner at a Black Church following a pro-Trump rally in December 2020.

The judge barred Tarrio from Washington, D.C. on the day of the January 6 riots and he was charged with one misdemeanor count of destruction of property in connection with the December 12 burning of a banner taken from Asbury United Methodist Church.

He has also been charged with two counts of possession of high-capacity ammunition feeding devices.

A date for Tarrio's trial has not been set and his attorney has not commented on the case.

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Who is Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio? - The US Sun