{"id":1132,"date":"2026-05-29T10:01:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T10:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1132"},"modified":"2026-05-29T10:01:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T10:01:18","slug":"ex-proud-boy-leader-wants-millions-for-trying-to-destroy-our-democracy-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1132","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Proud Boy leader wants millions for trying to destroy our democracy | Opinion"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>As I read the headline in last Wednesday\u2019s Herald, \u201cProud Boys leader expects \u2018tens of millions\u2019 from Trump\u2019s anti-weaponization fund,\u201d I couldn\u2019t help but think that our president \u2013 the one called to protect and serve the American people \u2013 might actually pay the people who assaulted our nation\u2019s Capital on Jan. 6, 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1130\">Planning a weekend trip? Gas is down in South Florida. Check prices in your area<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>And with BIG money, too.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>That day is still etched in my mind. It was my brother Adam\u2019s birthday. I had called him to sing \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d to him and tease him about getting old.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>As we laughed and talked, the regular TV programming was interrupted with \u201cbreaking news.\u201d I couldn\u2019t believe what I was seeing: The images of violent men and women filled my TV screen.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>I yelled through the telephone for my brother to turn on his television. And we watched, in disbelief, as Americans broke windows, invaded and rampaged the U.S. Capitol. And we watched as a lone police officer tried to lead our country\u2019s lawmakers down a corridor to safety.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A woman rioter, Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old U.S. Air Force veteran, was fatally shot that day by a Capital police officer as she tried to climb through a barricaded and broken window that led to the Speaker\u2019s Lobby. Rioters attacked Brian D. Sicknick, a Capitol Police officer, with a chemical substance. He suffered multiple strokes and died the next day.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Four other responding officers from the Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police departments in Washington died by suicide in the months that followed the insurrection. In addition, 140 other police officers were injured.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>And the man responsible for the violence, the man who started it all, was Donald Trump, who was unseated as president after losing the 2020 presidential election to Vice President Joe Biden. Only he didn\u2019t believe he lost the election and somehow convinced thousands of others he had won.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>But wasn\u2019t this the same man who was sworn into office on Jan. 20, 2017, to protect our nation?<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Yet, on Jan. 6, 2021, the defeated President Trump forgot his presidential promises to protect our democracy. On that day he acted like a crazed maniac, who had let the thought of taking back the presidency blind him to the truth.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Only he wasn\u2019t brave, like his followers thought. He did what my mom used to say about cowards \u2014 he threw a [symbolic] stone and hid his hands. In other words, he watched from a safe space as his henchmen, Enrique Tarrio and the Proud Boys and thousands of others, led an insurrection that could have undone our nation\u2019s democracy, a democracy that had taken nearly two centuries to build.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>There was even a makeshift noose slung loosely over a post that was supposed to be the place where Vice President Mike Pence would be hung because he wouldn\u2019t go along with Trump\u2019s plan to rig the results of a free and honest election.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>I could hardly believe what I was seeing. Right there on national television \u2014 and picked up internationally \u2014 were the images of an angry mob, made up of ordinary American people, clamoring to take down our government. It was a sad day in America \u2013 a day I never thought I would live to see. People died that day in our Capitol. Scores of others were injured, including more than 140 law enforcement officers.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1129\">Miami-Dade commission candidate: I\u2019m shut out of places that welcome the incumbent<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison. He served three years before President Trump pardoned him in 2025, along with about 1,500 people who stormed the Capitol that day.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>One of those found guilty \u2013 Pamela Hemphill, known as the \u201cMEGA Granny,\u201d apologized to the Capitol police officers who were assaulted during the insurrection. She spoke before a House hearing commemorating the fifth anniversary of the riot.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A former addiction counselor, Hemphill served two months in federal prison for her involvement. She rejected the presidential pardon, saying accepting the pardon meant denying the events of Jan. 6, 2021. She admitted her guilt and said she was stepping away from the conspiracy theories that she said had \u201cbrainwashed\u201d her.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Hemphill did the right thing. But because she took a stand, her life and the lives of her family have been threatened.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Now, Tarrio says he will seek millions of dollars from the $1.8 billion fund the Justice Department set up to pay people who claim they were persecuted by Justice Department under the Biden Administration. Critics have called it a \u2018\u2019slush fund\u2019\u2019 for Trump\u2019s allies, including the Jan. 6 rioters.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Tarrio believes the fund applies to him. How do you like that? A person can lead an insurrection on our nation\u2019s Capital, where people are killed or are critically injured, including police officers, and can expect to be paid for doing what they should be spending the rest of their life in prison for.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t get it, America. What\u2019s going on here? If Tarrio is allowed to collect \u201ctens of millions\u201d for nearly destroying our democracy, what message are we sending to our youth? They are watching, you know.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>These are sad times in America. Many people seem to love the darkness that is being slung in our faces, rather than seek the light and the truth. These thoughts come to mind as we talk about living on the moon and Mars. I am concerned that we haven\u2019t done a good job of living together right here in these United States of America, not to mention other places on planet Earth. Let\u2019s clean up the mess we\u2019ve already created before moving on to cleaner spaces.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, just so you know, I believe in prayer and its wonder-working power. I know that many of you believe, too, because your emails tell me so.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Let us continue in prayer for President Trump and all who are in authority. Pray for the lord to touch the heart of those who are in power, that they will seek the wisdom of God as they lead our nation.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1127\">No charges for Miami-Dade sergeant after high-speed chase ends in fatal shooting<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Enrique Tarrio, Proud Boys\u2019 ex-head, says he will seek millions from Trump\u2019s new $1.8 billion fund, saying he was politically persecuted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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