In an explosive new revelation, media have reported that the leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, has a history as a police informant. According to the report, Tarrio worked undercover both for the FBI and local law enforcement as a confidential informant, helping in cases against dozens of people accused of drug, gambling, and human trafficking offenses. Tarrio’s work came after he himself was arrested in 2012. In his response to the latest revelations, Tarrio claimed that he didn’t recall doing anything like that.
It wouldn’t be surprising for Tarrio to be an informant, as it’s widely known or suspected that most right-wing groups are highly infiltrated by the FBI and law enforcement informants, even up to the leadership level. That’s one reason the media hype about how “dangerous” right-wing groups are is so bogus, because they’re often fully under the control of FBI or police collaborators.
This latest revelation brings up interesting questions about Tarrio’s arrest before the rally at the US Capitol on January 6. Tarrio was arrested days before the rally, almost as soon as he got off the plane and entered DC. He was then ordered to leave the city before the rally, ensuring that he wouldn’t be able to take part either in the rally or in the takeover of the Capitol that occurred later.
What exactly did law enforcement agencies know about the rally on January 6, and what exactly did they know about plans to march to the Capitol? Were law enforcement agencies aware of plans to enter the Capitol or, more likely, were they or their informants among the most active provocateurs before and on January 6 to rile up the crowds and get people to break into the Capitol Building? And, knowing that they and their informants would encourage the crowd to enter the Capitol, did police arrest their stool pigeon days before in order to keep him safe and ensure that he could stay out of prison and continue to feed them information about the Proud Boys and their operations?
These are important questions to know the answers to, although it’s highly likely the mainstream media won’t pick up on the significance of Tarrio’s past and won’t do any digging to find out what his current relationship with the FBI is, nor the FBI’s infiltration of the Proud Boys. But it’s just one more reminder that you have to be very wary about who you talk to and who you associate with, as the FBI and other law enforcement agencies have infiltrated right-wing groups and are looking for patsies to throw in jail to boost their image.