He said Tarrio helped police uncover three marijuana grow houses, and was a “prolific” cooperator. Tarrio’s then lawyer Jeffrey Feiler said in court that his client had worked undercover in numerous investigations, one involving the sale of anabolic steroids, another regarding “wholesale prescription narcotics” and a third targeting human smuggling. The prosecutor said Tarrio’s information had led to the prosecution of 13 people on federal charges in two separate cases, and had helped local authorities investigate a gambling ring. They had pleaded guilty in a fraud case related to the relabeling and sale of stolen diabetes test kits. During the hearing, the prosecutor and Tarrio’s defense attorney asked a judge to reduce the prison sentence of Tarrio and two co-defendants. The transcript from 2014 shines a new light on Tarrio’s past connections to law enforcement. The FBI previously said Tarrio’s earlier arrest was an effort to pre-empt the events of 6 January. Though Tarrio did not take part in the Capitol insurrection, at least five Proud Boys members have been charged in the riot. The DC superior court ordered him to leave the city pending a court date in June. He was charged with possessing two high-capacity rifle magazines, and burning a Black Lives Matter banner during a December demonstration by supporters of Donald Trump. Washington police arrested Tarrio in early January when he arrived in the city two days before the Capitol Hill riot. The records uncovered by Reuters are startling because they show that a leader of a far-right group now under intense scrutiny by law enforcement was previously an active collaborator with criminal investigators. The Proud Boys were involved in the deadly insurrection at the Capitol on 6 January. Tarrio, 36, is a high-profile figure who organizes and leads the rightwing Proud Boys in their confrontations with those they believe to be antifa, short for “anti-fascism”, an amorphous leftist movement. In a statement to Reuters, the former federal prosecutor in Tarrio’s case, Vanessa Singh Johannes, confirmed that “he cooperated with local and federal law enforcement, to aid in the prosecution of those running other, separate criminal enterprises, ranging from running marijuana grow houses in Miami to operating pharmaceutical fraud schemes”.
Law enforcement officials and the court transcript contradict Tarrio’s denial. “I don’t know any of this,’” he said, when asked about the transcript. Tarrio, in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, denied working undercover or cooperating in cases against others.
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