Capitol riot leaders Tarrio and Rhodes are released from prison

Former Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes have been released from prison as President Donald Trump releases more than 1,500 people charged with rioting at the U.S. Capitol four years ago were accused.

Less than 24 hours after Trump pardoned or commuted sentences for those who tried to violently overturn the 2020 election, the two most prominent leaders of the riots walked out of prison. Trump is also dismissing charges against those who have been charged in the riots but have not yet been brought to trial.

“My son, Enrique Tarrio, has now been officially released!” Zuny Tarrio posted on X.

Rhodes, who was not pardoned but had his sentence commuted, is in prison awaiting the defendant’s release.

Rhodes, a former U.S. Army paratrooper and Yale-educated lawyer, had been charged with leading a contingent of his Oath Keepers members to Washington.

Although Rhodes did not enter the Capitol, he led its members from outside and was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison in 2023.

Tarrio was found guilty of seditious conspiracy in connection with the insurrection – a rare charge of plotting to overthrow the government. He was not in Washington DC during the riots but led others involved.

He received a prison sentence of 22 years, one of the longest ever imposed.

As part of the pardons and commutations, Trump also signed an order directing the Justice Department to drop all pending cases against suspects charged with the insurrection.

Many of these people have been in prison in Washington, D.C., for more than a year, and Trump often referred to them as “hostages” during his campaign as they awaited trial.

A leading lawyer for those defendants – Edward R. Martin – was also named acting U.S. attorney for Washington, DC, showing Trump’s desire to end the prosecutions quickly. The Washington office was responsible for hearing the cases related to January 6, 2021.

But for some families of those inmates, the release process Tuesday proved frustrating.

Standing outside the D.C. Central Jail, Ben Pollock, whose children Jonathan and Olivia were locked up there, said he had spoken to his son and learned they might be moved to another facility.

“We have no idea what’s happening,” he said. “Why weren’t they released?”

Democrats have condemned the release of more than 1,000 people as an attempt to rewrite history and clean up the violence of the insurrection.

On January 6, about 140 police officers were injured and Ashli ​​Babbitt, an unarmed pro-Trump protester, was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer. Three other people who were on Capitol grounds died of natural causes, including a police officer who confronted rioters and died the next day. According to authorities, another protester died of an overdose.

Trump described the day as “peaceful.”

Clarification, Jan. 21: This story has been updated to remove a description of the riot, which resulted in multiple deaths, and to add more context to the violence and aftermath.