Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was sentenced Monday to more than five months in prison for burning a stolen Black Lives Matter banner at a church in Washington, DC and for carrying two high-capacity firearms magazines when he was arrested weeks later, the Department of Justice said.
Tarrio pleaded guilty to a felony of destruction of property and attempted possession of a large-capacity ammunition feeding device in July. Tarrio said Monday there was “no excuse” for his actions, adding that he made “a serious mistake” that day.
“I would like to apologize profusely,” he said, adding, “What I did was wrong.”
But DC High Court Judge Harold Cushenberry was not convinced.
“Mr Tarrio has clearly, intentionally and proudly crossed the line of protest and peaceful assembly to dangerous and potentially violent conduct,” the judge said. “Couldn’t have cared less about the laws of the District of Columbia.”
EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI / AFP through Getty
The charges stemmed from a December 12, 2020 incident when a group of Proud Boys members, including Tarrio, stole a banner that said “#BLACKLIVESMATTER” at Asbury United Methodist Church, filled it out of lighter liquid and turned it on, in the United States. The Columbia District Attorney’s Office said.
Tarrio posted a picture of himself with an unlit lighter next to two lighted lighters and admitted he burned the banner on social media and in comments to the media, prosecutors said.
Tarrio era arrested when he returned to Florida from Florida on January 4, 2021, two days before the assault on the United States Capitol. While searching his book bag, police found the two firearms magazines, each of which bore the Proud Boys’ insignia, according to prosecutors. He allegedly told detectives he planned to deliver the magazines to someone in DC. The day after his arrest, Tarrio was he ordered to stay away of DC
Cushenberry sentenced Tarrio to 90 days for the destruction of property charges and 150 for attempted possession of a large-capacity ammunition feeding device, but suspended every day except the 155-day condition with the condition that Tarrio is serving three years of probation, according to the DOJ. He will also have to pay $ 1,000 in fines and $ 347 to the church.