They were sentenced for their roles in one of the most shocking attacks on American democracy, but now they’re free.
This Sunday on 60 Minutes Australia, reporter Amelia Adams examines the fallout of Donald Trump’s presidential pardons, which have released Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and hundreds of others convicted over the January 6 Capitol riot.
With fresh confidence and bold claims of invincibility, what’s next for these controversial figures?
From Nine:
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
It can’t be understated just how momentous January the 6th 2021 was for American democracy. It was the day rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol building. The lead up to this dark moment in history began two months earlier when Donald Trump lost, but claimed he won, the 2020 Presidential election.
The lie became Trump’s mantra and the catalyst for the attack on America’s most important institution. One of the instigators of the violence that day in January was Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the far-right, neo-fascist group, the Proud Boys.
He ended up being imprisoned for 22 years for seditious conspiracy. One thousand five hundred others were also sent to prison. But remarkably, now they’re all free, beneficiaries of Trump Presidential pardons.
And as Amelia Adams reports, armed with their ‘get out of jail’ cards, Tarrio and his Proud Boys are not only empowered, they say they’re invincible.
Reported by Amelia Adams and produced by Garry McNab.
