Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio speaks to members of the media as he leaves the D.C. Central Detention Facility where he had been held since September 2021, in Washington, U.S., January 14, 2022.
Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio speaks to members of the media as he leaves the D.C. Central Detention Facility where he had been held since September 2021, in Washington, U.S., January 14, 2022. Reuters / EVELYN HOCKSTEIN

A U.S. magistrate judge in Miami on Tuesday ordered that former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio should 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 risk of flight 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 by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.

"It's our estimation as far as what we have reviewed right now that the evidence is weak," Hassan said.

He added that Tarrio will appear in court again in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.