On December 30, 2020, Tarrio received an intriguing document titled, "1776 Returns."[136] The document was apparently sent to him by cryptocurrency investors in South Florida.[137] The file's author(s) divided their plan into five parts, "Infiltrate, Execution, Distract, Occupy and Sit-In," with the goal of overrunning several Federal buildings around the U.S. Capitol. The plan specifically mentioned House and Senate office buildings, setting forth steps for occupying them. The author(s) called for "the masses to rush the building[s]," distract law enforcement in the area by pulling fire alarms around the city, target specific Senators' offices, and disguise participants' identities with COVID masks.[138]
One proposal mentioned in the document is titled, "Storm the Winter Palace."[139] This is a reference to a dramatic reenactment of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, during which Vladimir Lenin ordered his forces to take over the Romanovs' residence in Petrograd. The "Winter Palace" was the seat of the provisional government, which had held out against the Bolshevik revolutionaries. The Proud Boys would frame their actions on January 6th as part of the American Revolution. But the "1776 Returns" document shows their inspiration came at least in part from the Communist Revolution, which led to 70-plus years of totalitarian rule. No historical event has been less American.
The Proud Boys did not adopt the "1776 Returns" plan in full. Several Proud Boys testified that they were unaware of the document before it became public.[140] But the document does appear to have been significantly edited while in the Proud Boys' hands.[141] The person who sent it to Tarrio—his ex-girlfriend, Eryka Gemma Flores—commented, "The revolution is [more] important than anything." To which Tarrio responded: "That's what every waking moment consists of . . . I'm not playing games."[142]
On January 3rd, Tarrio posted a conspicuous question on Telegram: "What if we invade it?" The first response to his post read: "January 6th is D day [sic] in America."[143] In private, on the Proud Boys' leadership group message, planning continued. One MOSD leader, John Stewart, floated a plan that centered around "the front entrance to the Capitol building."[144] At 7:10 p.m. on January 3rd, Stewart wrote to the MOSD leaders:
I mean the main operating theater should be out in front of the house of representatives. It should be out in front of the Capitol building. That's where the vote is taking place and all of the objections. So, we can ignore the rest of these stages and all that shit and plan the operations based around the front entrance to the Capitol building. I strongly recommend you use the national mall and not Pennsylvania avenue though. It's wide-open space, you can see everything coming from all angles.[145]
