Proud Boys leader reportedly worked undercover with law enforcement to prosecute 13 people after 2012 arrest

Enrique Tarrio.
(Image credit: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the far-right Proud Boys, worked undercover with local and federal law enforcement after a 2012 arrest for fraud, providing authorities information that led to the prosecution of 13 people in cases involving drugs, human smuggling, and gambling, court transcripts from 2014 obtained by Reuters reveal.

In an interview with Reuters, Tarrio denied he cooperated in the cases and, when asked about the transcript, he said he didn't "recall any of this." But the former federal prosecutor in his case, Vanessa Singh Johannes, reaffirmed the transcripts — which show Johannes, an FBI agent, and Tarrio's own lawyer describing his undercover work — were accurate. Tarrio eventually had his sentence reduced.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.