Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, followed Michael Fanone, Harry Dunn and Aquilino Gonell, former police officers who defended the Capitol, through the lobby of a Washington hotel that was hosting the Principles First summit, harrassing them and posting a video of the confrontation on X.
One of the officers received a “profile in courage” award at the event.
“You were brave on Twitter,” Tarrio said to one of the officers as he continued to follow them. “You guys were brave at my sentencing when you sat there and laughed when I got 22 fucking years. Now you don’t want to look in my eyes, you fucking cowards.”
Fanone, former Capitol Police offers tells Tarrio, “You’re a traitor to this country.”
Gonell was receiving a profile in courage award from Principles First, which is considered a center-right, anti-Trump alternative to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
“A few moments ago, we were upstairs, and Enrique Tarrio and the Proud Boys were upstairs,” Gonell told conference attendees, prompting surprised gasps from the crowd. “How they got into the building, I don’t know, but it’s insane that we had to be subjected to their harassment now because they feel emboldened and empowered because of the pardons that they received. We shouldn’t be harassed for doing the right thing, for telling our story, for telling the truth, for speaking against them in court and in public. They’re the traitor. They’re the one who attacked the Capitol.”
Fanone described far-right groups like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, who played an instrumental role in executing the January 6 attack, as “Donald Trump’s personal brownshirt militia.”
“They are operating under the assumption that, if they commit violent criminal acts on Donald Trump’s behalf, that he will pardon them for future violence,” Fanone said. “These are insurrectionists, let’s be very clear.”
As an audience member in agreement with Fanone called Tarrio a traitor, Fanone said, “Yes, fucking traitors. That is what we are up against: the indecency, the cruelty, the inhumanity of this movement that needs to be purged – purged – from America.”
