The former leader of the far-right Proud Boys was arrested on Friday outside the US Capitol, police said.
Enrique Tarrio, who was pardoned by President Donald Trump for his role in the 6 January 2021 riot at the US Capitol, was arrested not long after holding a news conference on Friday.
Protesters attempted to drown out the event, held near the site of the riot, but Tarrio’s remarks to media went ahead as planned.
In a statement, US Capitol Police said that after the event concluded and the Proud Boys were leaving the area, a woman put a phone near Tarrio’s face. Officers allegedly saw him strike the phone and the woman’s arm.
At the news conference, Tarrio was joined by several other members of the group and by Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers militia.
Tarrio and the other Proud Boys announced plans to sue the US justice department over their imprisonment.
They criticised prison conditions and said they had used a cryptocurrency to raise funds to launch the suit.
A group of about 200 Proud Boys was at the US Capitol riot, and dozens were arrested and convicted before being released after Trump issued a blanket pardon on the first day of his second term in office.
Following his release from prison, Tarrio hinted that he would resume his role at the helm of the Proud Boys, although some of the group’s local chapters have rejected his leadership.
During the news conference, while counter-demonstrators chanted against his group, Tarrio called Capitol rioters “peaceful protesters” and repeated conspiracy theories that the disorder that day “was orchestrated by none other than the government itself”.
Both Tarrio and Rhodes were convicted of seditious conspiracy for their roles in the US Capitol riot, which saw supporters storm Congress as lawmakers certified Joe Biden’s election victory.
One of the rioters, un unarmed woman, was shot dead by police, and a police officer died of a stroke the day afterwards.
Tarrio had been banned from the city of Washington due to previous criminal charges and watched the riot itself on TV from nearby Baltimore. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Rhodes was near the Capitol but stayed outside while members of his militia entered the building. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Both were among the nearly 1,600 people pardoned by Trump.
By BBC News
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