Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio risked being arrested Friday after a judge asked him to explain why he could not recently be reached while awaiting trial for charges in Washington, D.C.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Robert Okun scheduled a hearing for Mr. Tarrio, the self-identified chairman of the Proud Boys group, to show cause why the conditions of his release should not be revoked.
Mr. Tarrio, a Florida resident, was arrested last month in D.C. in connection with having admittedly set fire to a stolen “Black Lives Matter” sign while in Washington several weeks earlier.
Police said that Mr. Tarrio was in possession of two empty but illegal high-capacity ammunition magazines at the time of his arrest. He was accordingly charged with destruction of property and two counts of possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device and ultimately released on his own recognizance and ordered to stay out of the District except for matters related to his case.
Mr. Tarrio has also been required to stay in contact with the court until his trial commences by periodically checking in with the Pretrial Services Agency for D.C.
In the order Friday, the judge said that a Pretrial Services Agency officer filed a report with D.C. Superior Court on Feb. 4 alleging that Mr. Tarrio, “has not verified his address, has not reported by phone as required and is deemed a loss of contact.”
The judge set the hearing for Monday, Feb. 22, to “show cause why his conditions of release should not be revoked … based on allegations that he has failed to comply with the terms of his release.”
Failure to appear may result in the issuance of a bench warrant for Mr. Tarrio’s arrest, the judge noted.
Mr. Tarrio did not immediately respond to a message requesting comment.
Formed in 2016, members of the all-male Proud Boys group describe themselves as “western chauvinists.”
Several other self-identifying Proud Boys are facing charges related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Canada has since labeled the group a terrorist entity.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.