Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio targets Florida's women and children with new 'political organization'

The leader of the Proud Boys intends to focus on local politics in Florida following his release from jail.

In July, Tarrio pleaded guilty to setting a "Black Lives Matter" banner on fire following December 2020 rally in Washington, D.C. by Trump supporters seeking to overturn the 2020 election. He also pleaded guilty to a gun charge for the attempted possession of a large-capacity ammunition feeding device.

"Owing to his ties to the organization and loyalty to its members, Tarrio says he'll never fully leave the Proud Boys, but aside from day-to-day member business, his life post-incarceration will be focused on broader political activism at a local-government level," the Miami New Timesreported Wednesday. "He wants to specifically target youth and women, —demographics that were not always reachable from the confines of an ostensible men's drinking club."

The weekly newspaper spoke with Tarrio ahead of his Jan. 14 release from jail.

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"I have a vision of what I'm going to do next, and I'm dying to get started. We've been federal protesters for a long time and I want to get us hyperfocused at a local level," Tarrio said, although the newspaper described him as "intentionally vague about the specifics of his plan."

"Moms are a very, very strong force. They count for about 80 to 90 percent of protesters at the school board," Tarrio explains. "I want to get people who wanna go door-knocking, who wanna run for office, people who think the same and just want to grab a sign and a bullhorn and get them organized."

Tarrio previously worked as state director and chief of staff for Latinos for Trump.

Read the full report.