The leader of the Proud Boys extremist group was arrested on Tuesday on a conspiracy charge over his role in the attack on the US Capitol last year. 

Henry “Enrique” Tarrio was indicted on conspiracy and other charges along with five others from the organisation, Matthew Graves, the US attorney for the District of Columbia and who is leading the investigation into the riots on January 6 last year, said.

Also Read | Donald Trump could face ‘criminal conspiracy’ charges for January 6 riots

The federal prosecutors won a conviction on all charges in the first trial of a rioter since the attack. 

Tarrio, 38, did not physically breach the US Capitol along with thousands of Donald Trump supporters after the former preisdent’s fiery speech ahead of a joint session of the Congress to ratify Joe Biden’s electoral victory. 

The 38-year-old “led the advance planning and remained in contact with other members of the Proud Boys during their breach of the Capitol,” according to the indictment, news agency AFP reported. 

Tarrio was arrested in Washington on January 4 on charges of vandalising a Black Lives Matter banner at a church during a protest in December 2020.  

A judge had ordered Tarrio to stay out of Washington a day before the Capitol Riots. However, he didn’t leave town as he should have, the indictment said.

Instead, he met with Oath Keepers founder and leader Elmer “Stewart” Rhodes and others in an underground parking garage for approximately 30 minutes.

“During this encounter, a participant referenced the Capitol,” the indictment says.

Also Read | Capitol Riots probe: Biden orders release of Trump White House logs to Congress

The indictment is a further proof of how far the Justice Department is going to prosecute the leaders of extremist groups whose members are suspected to have planned and attacked the US Capitol, even if they weren’t in attendance themselves.

The latest conspiracy charge zeroes in on organized groups that plotted in advance — as federal prosecutors distinguish them from hundreds of other supporters of then-President Donald Trump who were at the scene that day and were charged.

Also read | Most Americans believe Vladimir Putin wouldn’t have attacked Ukraine during Donald Trump presidency

Tarrio is the second extremist leader arrested over the Capitols Riots. Rhodes, 56, and 10 others from the Oath Keepers group were arrested on January 13 this year and charged with seditious consiracy – the most serious of all charges filed in the connection with the riots so far.

So far, over 775 people have been arrested in connection with inserruction that shook America and the world.