Proud Boys Leader Pleads Guilty To Burning Black Lives Matter Banner
Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio has reportedly pleaded guilty to two charges – one of which is related to the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner.
On Monday (July 19), the 37-year-old resident of Miami pleaded guilty in D.C. Superior Court to destruction of property – for burning a banner stolen from a Washington church – and attempted possession of a large-capacity ammunition feeding device.
According to USA Today, the pleas were announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips and Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee III. Tarrio faces a maximum of six months in prison and a $1,000 fine for each offense. Sentencing is scheduled for August 23.
Tarrio was arrested on January 4, two days before the Capitol Siege, on weapons charges and was ordered to stay out of Washington.
According to CNN, Tarrio, who identifies as a first-generation Cuban immigrant, was also arrested for burning a Black Lives Matter banner taken from a Black church on December 12. That same day, two Black churches in Washington D.C., whose histories stretch back to the pre-Civil War era, were also vandalized.