Former Proud Boy maintains Florida Republican executive committee seat
Chris Barcenas, a former member of the far-right Proud Boys group, kept his seat on the Miami-Dade County Republican Executive Committee, but he lost his state committeeman post.
Kevin Cabrera defeated Barcenas for the District 12 committeeman seat, overseeing a portion of Little Havana in the south Florida county.
The Miami New Times reported Wednesday that Barcenas scored more than 32 percent of the vote in the district race, but Cabrera reached 33 percent.
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"A real estate agent from Cooper City, Barcenas was one of several members of the far-right extremist group previously revealed to have infiltrated the Republican Party's local governing body," the report said.
He confessed to the role while testifying before the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building. He says that he is no longer part of the group.
The New Times recalled a 2022 New York Times report citing "at least a half-dozen current and former Proud Boys, some of whom were later convicted of storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, had secured seats within the 125-member Miami-Dade Republican Executive Committee."
It was part of an effort by the militant organization to shape local politics around the country with the goal of a "destabilized and dramatically reshaped" Republican Party.
The New Times was given a list of the members of the Proud Boys on the Miami-Dade roster from a source and Barcenas' name was included.
There are a total of 80 committeemen and 80 committeewomen on the panel.
Miami Proud Boy Enrique Tarrio once led the group.