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A gathering of anti-Trump conservatives in Washington DC was evacuated on Sunday after receiving what officials with the organization called a “credible bomb threat” they said was sent in by an account claiming to represent Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the Proud Boys.
Video of attendees being evacuated was posted to Twitter along with a statement from summit organizers. An initial version of the statement identified Tarrio — who’d been at the summit on Saturday “harrassing” families of officers who defended the Capitol on January 6, per organizers — as having sent in the threat.
“Hotel security, private security, and MPD have made the decision to evacuate Summit floor so that the area can be secured. We intend to reconvene and continue with the Summit once the area has been secured,” read the statement from the summit’s organizers on Sunday afternoon.
It was edited within a few minutes to say that the threat was sent by an account “claiming” to represent Tarrio, who was also arrested this weekend at the Capitol after allegedly assaulting a counter-protester.
The Independent has reached out to convention organizers for more information on the account where the bomb threat originated.
A bomb threat claiming to be the Proud Boys disrupted the #PrinciplesFirst Summit today—an event dedicated to democracy, character, & the rule of law.
Violence and intimidation have no place in our politics.
We will not be silenced or intimidated. We will keep fighting for… pic.twitter.com/7HgOpseOFn
— Reed Howard (@ReedHowardVA) February 23, 2025
Tarrio himself responded with an apparent threat to sue for defamation in a tweet: “They literally edited their tweet. Too late you f—ing scumbags. You don’t get to retract now. PRESERVE YOUR F—ING DOCUMENTS.”
The summit was attended by numerous high-profile opponents of Donald Trump and the MAGA wing of the Republican Party. It’s also known as a sort of “CPAC alternative”, given that it is held the same weekend as the three-day CPAC gathering in National Harbor, just across the river from downtown DC.
Guests this year included hosts and writers from The Bulwark, an anti-Trump conservative publication, including Sarah Longwell, J.V. Last and Tim Miller, as well as the remnants of the Republican Party’s anti-Trump circles. Other speakers included George Conway, attorney and ex-husband to Kellyanne Conway, and former RNC chairman Michael Steele, now an MSNBC host, as well as billionaire Mark Cuban.
Former CNN reporter Jim Acosta posted an image of the alleged bomb threat to Twitter; the image names Cuban, Fanone, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and other attendees, whom the author says “deserve to die.”
The statement posted by Acosta refers to multiple explosive devices. Police have not yet authenticated the threat, and the image does not mention Tarrio or any social media accounts by name.
Police officers who gained national prominence for speaking out about the assault on the Capitol and what they witnessed that day, including Michael Fanone, Harry Dunn and Aquilino Gonell also attended the conference. They testified in the wake of the attack to hearing racist and extremely violent rhetoric hurled at them by protesters — including the hundreds pardoned by Donald Trump after his inauguration — while battling rioters in the halls of Congress.
On Friday, they traded insults with Tarrio as he followed them through the lobby of the Marriott in downtown DC, where the Principles First summit was held this weekend.
“You’re a traitor to this country,” an angry Fanone told Tarrio as the former Proud Boys leader attempted to instigate a verbal showdown.
DC has been slightly on edge all weekend, thanks to the arrival of the MAGA influencer sphere for the CPAC conference. Protesters hurled abuse at partygoers attending a DOGE “appreciation party” in northeastern DC on Saturday, while some January 6 rioters/social media stars were thrown out of CPAC itself, clashing with host Matt Schlapp in the process.
