Former Proud Boys leader pleads not guilty to Capitol riot charges

April 5 (UPI) -- Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys group, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to several felony counts related to his alleged involvement in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Tarrio, 38, entered a virtual not-guilty plea through his attorney at an arraignment in Washington's U.S. District Court.

He was arrested in his hometown of Miami in March. A D.C.-based grand jury indicted him and five other members of the extremist group who also faced charges connected to the riots at the Capitol.

Tarrio, along with Charles Donohoe, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean and Dominic Pezzola are among more than 30 Proud Boys members or affiliates who have been charged in the Justice Department's ongoing investigation into the Capitol attack.

Tarrio had served as the Proud Boys' national chairman.

While not accused of physically participating in the breach of the Capitol that left five people dead, he had been ordered to stay out of Washington as a condition of release following his arrest on Jan. 4, 2021.

Tarrio was taken in on a warrant charging him with burning a Black Lives Matter banner in December 2020.

Following his release on Jan. 5, 2021, the indictment alleges he continued to contact other Proud Boys members during the Capitol attack.

Prosecutors also allege Tarrio led advance planning of the plot to prevent lawmakers from certifying election results that would affirm President Joe Biden's win.

The day of the attack, charging documents show Tarrio posted online, "Make no mistake...we did this."

He also allegedly met with Steward Rhodes, leader of far-right militia group the Oath Keepers, in a D.C. parking garage on Jan. 5.

Tarrio's charges include two counts each of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers and destroying government property, one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and one count of obstructing an official proceeding.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted the Justice Department's request to postpone the trial date set for May 18, as the government needed more case preparation time, Bloomberg reported.

A new trial date has not been set.