Enrique Tarrio/Photo courtesy of WUSA9
Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to five months in jail for burning a Black Lives Matter (BLM) banner back in January.
Describing his actions as a “grave mistake,” Tarrio apologized to the court for his actions, reported the Associated Press.
“What I did was wrong,” Tarrio said during his hearing on the matter.
He was arrested in Washington, D.C., just two days before thousands of right-wing Trump supporters descended
upon the Capitol building and engaged in vandalism, theft, and other high crimes at the suggestion of former President Donald Trump.Tarrio has an interesting history considering that he was the leader of a designated hate group.
In late January, Reuters reported that Tarrio was a longtime informant for federal and local law enforcement after being arrested in 2012 for participating in a scheme to resell diabetic test strips.
He aided officials in prosecuting more than a dozen defendants in drugs, gambling and human smuggling cases.
On December 12, 2020, Tarrio and members of the Proud Boys removed a BLM banner from the Asbury United Methodist Church and set it on fire. True to the nature of his group, he then posted about the crime on social media.
At the time, he faced a fine and a maximum sentence of 180 days in jail.
In the case, Judge Harold Cushenberry, the jurist, had some stern words for Tarrio ahead of his sentencing.
“Mr. Tarrio has clearly — intentionally and proudly — crossed the line from peaceful protest and assembly to dangerous and potentially violent criminal conduct,” he said.
The judge also decided that Tarrio deserved more than the three months in jail that prosecutors were seeking, although they never filed additional hate crime charges against him.
Federal officials have identified about 36 people charged in the Capitol riot as Proud Boys members or associates. Those cases are still pending.