The former leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, was found in possession of a nine-page document titled “1776 Returns,” which contained details of a complex plan for Trump supporters to invade and occupy at least seven House and Senate office buildings and the Supreme Court on January 6.
The document featured five sections: infiltrate, execution, distract, occupy and sit-in.
The plan called for the recruiting of at least 50 Proud Boys and other Trump supporters to enter and occupy each building, “causing trouble” for security personnel who tried to stop them.
The document recommends the protesters to appear unsuspecting and not tactical inside the seven buildings, and then open the doors for others to enter.
Once inside, the instructions stated, the activists would be encouraged to chant slogans such as “We the People” and “No Trump, no America”. Supporters unable to gain access to the buildings would be encouraged to distract law enforcement and other authorities by “pulling fire alarms at nearby stores, hotels and museums”.
In the days preceding January 6, Proud Boys were assigned to surveil roads near the seven buildings to report on obstacles or road blocks.
Prosecutors are not accusing Tarrio of using the document to guide the actions that played out on January 6, but the existence of the document lends context to the DOJ’s decision to charge Tarrio with conspiracy. In his endictment, the DOJ states that Tarrio “nonetheless continued to direct and encourage the Proud Boys prior to and during the events of 6 January 2021” and later “claimed credit for what had happened on social media and in an encrypted chat room during and after the attack”.