Former Proud Boys chief Enrique Tarrio had a guide to infiltrating the U.S. Capitol using "covert sleeper" staff and plotted ways to tie up traffic so additional police and defense couldn't get to the Capitol to protect it.
The New York Times reported the name of the person that Tarrio got the document from, a Miami promoter named Eryka Gemma. She's a well-known crypto activist who "may have played a role in the Capitol attack," the Times said.
The report focused on a kind of pre-2020 attack that happened in Florida in 2018, which involved both Roger Stone and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). Gaetz has been part of an ongoing probe into former local tax collector, Joel Greenberg, who is now cooperating with the government.
As it turns out, another issue that Greenberg is discussing is: “A significant aspect of Mr. Greenberg’s cooperation has been his assistance in matters involving efforts to subvert the democratic process.” It was the comment given by Greenberg's lawyer Fritz Scheller when asked about the 2018 incidents. There was no confirmation that Gaetz was linked to the Proud Boys investigation, however.
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"The 2018 demonstrations in Florida did not come close to the scale or intensity of the assault on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, but the overlap in tactics and in those involved was striking enough to have attracted the attention of federal investigators," said the Times. They were calling it the "Brooks Brothers 2.0," harkening back to the 2000 riot of angry Republican operatives that stormed the building where the recount in Florida was happening.
The 2018 event drew together many of Roger Stone's allies, including 2020 organizer Ali Alexander and Joseph Biggs, another Proud Boys leader. Stone denied he was part of the 2018 event, but he also denies he had any role in the 2020 events too.
Prosecutors are looking into who could have authored the "1776 Returns" document and whether there is a similar document from 2018 for the "Brooks Brothers 2.0" riot.
According to the federal indictment of Tarrio, the person who gave him the "1776 Returns" document said afterward, "The revolution is more important than anything." It's now thought to be Gemma. She was not the author of the document, however, and the investigation continues into those behind the document.
