THE PROUD BOYS IN WASHINGTON PRIOR TO JANUARY 6TH
Within days of the election, dozens of "Stop the Steal" protests were organized around the country.[105] The Proud Boys participated alongside other right-wing extremist groups in some of them, including a November 7, 2020, protest outside of the Pennsylvania State capitol in Harrisburg.[106] The two events in Washington, DC—on November 14, 2020, and the other on December 12, 2020—proved to be especially important for the group's evolution.
The daytime events on both dates passed by without violence or major unrest, but as the sun set, bouts of violence erupted,[107] driven by clashes between far-right extremist groups—chiefly the Proud Boys—and counterprotestors.[108] Among far-right extremists, the Proud Boys had the largest showing in both November and December,[109] with roughly 200 to 300 Proud Boys at the November 14th rally, and the same number or more in December.[110] As discussed in Chapter 8, they mustered about the same contingent for the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The gathering on November 14th provided a chance for Tarrio to socialize with rally leaders and far-right celebrities. In fact, his travel to DC by private jet appears to have been paid for by Patrick Byrne, a businessman who had President Trump's ear in the last weeks of his presidency and encouraged the President to authorize the seizure of voting machines in a December 18th meeting.[111] Tarrio's testimony and photographs from the day show that he met with "Stop the Steal" organizer Ali Alexander that evening, and the pair toasted each other.[112] Tarrio described the event as a "historic" meeting of Trump supporters and celebrated the opportunity to share that platform with Alexander, Jones, and Jones' InfoWars co-host, Owen Shroyer.[113] Shroyer would later be charged with crimes committed during the January 6th attack.[114]
A month later, the Proud Boys returned to the Nation's capital. On the evening of December 11th, hundreds of Proud Boys and friends gathered in downtown Washington, DC to listen to an impromptu bullhorn speech by Tarrio and Nordean, along with Roger Stone and Shroyer.[115] Stone implored the crowd to "fight to the bitter end."[116]
The next day, as the Proud Boys marched in force on the streets, Tarrio teased in a social media post that he had a meeting in the White House.[117] The visit, which was only a public White House tour, appears to have been facilitated by a friend, Bianca Gracia, the head of Latinos for Trump.[118] As the rallies concluded the next day, the Proud Boys took to the streets again. Two key events occurred that evening.
First, members of the Proud Boys tore down a Black Lives Matter banner from a historically Black church in downtown Washington, DC.[119] They
