By Marco Bello and Sarah N. Lynch
MIAMI (Reuters) -A U.S. magistrate judge in Miami on Tuesday ordered former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio be detained while he awaits trial on charges stemming from the riots at the U.S. Capitol, a Justice Department spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington, D.C. confirmed.
The ruling came a day after federal prosecutors filed a motion asking the judge to detain Tarrio, saying he poses a flight risk and also a risk of obstructing justice in the case.
In a 21-page court filing on Monday, the Justice Department said it had damning encrypted messages between Tarrio and other Proud Boys who were invited to participate in a new chapter Tarrio created in December 2020 called the "Ministry of Self Defense" or "MOSD."
Following the hearing, Tarrio's attorney Nayib Hassan told reporters outside the courtroom that Tarrio left Washington, D.C. on Jan. 5, 2021 - a day before the attack on the Capitol.
"It's our estimation as far as what we have reviewed right now that the evidence is weak," Hassan said.
Tarrio, 38, is among the most high-profile of more than 775 people criminally charged for their roles in the assault on the Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump in an effort to keep Congress from certifying Joe Biden's election victory.
Police arrested Tarrio on Jan. 4, 2021, for burning a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic African-American church in December 2020, a charge for which he later served four months in jail.
Prosecutors said Tarrio maintained an active leadership role behind the scenes on Jan. 6, forcefully telling his followers on social media not to leave the Capitol, and later, in the encrypted chat, telling them: "We did this."
Hassan said more than nine Tarrio family members and friends were present at Tuesday's detention hearing in Miami, which was held in-person, to show their support for his client, and they also offered to put up bond to have him released.
He said that since the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Tarrio has posed "no danger to the community whatsoever," but the judge in Miami disagreed.
Hassan said Tarrio will appear in court again in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.