Proud Boys Leader Apparent Past As A Police Informant Uncovered

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The leader of the right-wing extremist group denies being an informer for law enforcement after paperwork was uncovered.

The leader of the right-wing extremist group was an alleged informer for law enforcement agencies, both local and federal. In documents obtained by Reuters, leader of the Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio was alleged to be a "prolific" informant. He denied any knowledge of these allegations to the publication. "I don't know any of this," he said. "I don't recall any of this." 

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Reuters obtained paperwork revealing that the former federal prosecutor of Tarrio's 2014 case, Vanessa Singh Johanne, stated on file that he worked with authorities "in the prosecution of those running other, separate criminal enterprises, ranging from running marijuana grow houses in Miami to operating pharmaceutical fraud schemes." 

During the hearing, Tarrio's attorney and the prosecutor struck a deal to get a reduced sentence for Tarrio and the two co-defendants. This was largely pushed by the fact his information helped prosecute 13 people in total on federal charges. It's also alleged that he helped local officials in an investigation regarding a gambling ring.

His lawyer at the time argued that Tarrio helped in many investigations as an undercover informer, being described as a "prolific" cooperator. One case where he took helped take down tree grow houses. Another case involving steroids, and a third case surrounding "wholesale prescription narcotics." He also assisted in human smuggling takedown operations. 

"The information I provided to the court was based on information provided to me by law enforcement and the prosecutor," his lawyer said regarding the case. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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