Photo of Arkansas Governor With Convicted Proud Boy Circulates On Social Media

Hours after Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and three other members of the far-right extremist group were convicted of a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol to keep Donald Trump in power after he lost the 2020 presidential election, Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders came under fire for a photo of her with Tarrio.

Sanders, who was elected governor of her home state in November 2022, worked as the press secretary for Trump from 2017 to 2019. She also served as a senior advisor on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump famously said during a presidential debate with President Joe Biden, “Proud Boys — “stand back and stand by.” The comment was widely interpreted as an endorsement of white supremacists and military groups.

As the photo circulated on social media, critics of Sanders doled out comments about her association with Tarrio.

A Washington D.C. jury heard the evidence against the four Proud Boys during a trial that lasted three months and was followed by many who considered it the most serious case stemming from the dramatic attack that unfolded on TV on Jan. 6, 2021.

Seditious conspiracy is defined as two or more people plan or conspire to “overthrow or destroy by force” the United States government. The charge is a Civil War-era charge that is rarely ever used because it is hard to prove. But the FBI and federal government won big on Thursday.

In a statement, the Department of Justice wrote, “The Justice Department will never stop working to defend the democracy to which all Americans are entitled.”

At this point, Sanders has not commented on the photo with Tarrio.