Capitol riot leaders Tarrio and Rhodes 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 frees more than 1,500 people charged in the US Capitol riots four years ago.

Within less than 24 hours of Trump pardoning or commuting the sentences of those who tried to violently overturn the 2020 election, the two most prominent leaders of the riots left prison. Trump is also rejecting the charges against those charged, but not yet convicted, in the riot.

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

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

Rhodes, a former US 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 his members from the outside and was sentenced in 2023 to 18 years in federal prison.

Tarrio was found guilty of seditious conspiracy – a rarely used charge of plotting to overthrow the government – over the riot. He was not in Washington DC during the unrest, but directed others involved.

He was given a sentence of 22 years, one of the longest sentenced.

Amid the pardons and pardons, Trump also signed an order directing the Justice Department to drop all pending cases against suspects accused in the riot.

Many of these people have been in jail in Washington DC for more than a year, with Trump often referring to them during his campaign as “hostages” while they awaited trial.

A leading advocate for these defendants – Edward R Martin – has also been named acting US attorney for Washington DC, showing the depth of Trump’s desire to quickly end the prosecution. The Washington office was responsible for processing the cases related to January 6, 2021.

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

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

“We have no idea what’s going on,” he said. “Why haven’t they been released?”

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

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

Trump has described the day as “peaceful”.

Clarification, January 21: This story has been updated to remove a description of the riot that led to multiple deaths and to add more context about the violence and its aftermath.