Proud Boy leader Enrique Tarrio complained about the conditions in jail to a Washington, D.C. judge on Nov. 15 and asked to be released.
According to the Associated Press, Tarrio requested to serve the remainder of his time under house arrest.
Tarrio is serving a five-month sentence for burning a Black Lives Matter banner that was stolen from the historical Asbury United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C.
From jail on video, Tarrio told D.C. Superior Court Judge Jonathan Pittman that the living conditions were inhumane at the jail and complained that his cell was repeatedly flooded by the toilet of the cell next to his.
The Proud Boy begged to have his sentence reduced to 90 days or be released under house arrest. He also complained of abusive guards and of a man having a seizure receiving no help for more than 30 minutes.
“This place needs to be shut down immediately,” Tarrio said. “I’ve been to jail before and what I’ve seen here, I’ve never seen anywhere else…. I’m deathly afraid that something is going to happen to me.”
Other complaints included being fed cold food and inedible meals being thrown into his jail cell. Tarrio also complained that he was denied running water in his jail cell. At least 400 prisoners were transferred out of the jail because of the conditions, and the U.S. Marshals Service is working to improve the jail.
The Proud Boy leader was arrested on Jan. 4 after he’d traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally. Tarrio had two large-capacity magazines, which are illegal in D.C., on him when he was arrested for burning the Black Lives Matter flag.
Tarrio’s lawyer, Lucas Dansie, also spoke on his client’s behalf about the jail conditions and claimed that his MAGA client is being intimidated by the guards not to make a complaint.
“Mr. Tarrio has been intimidated and antagonized by correctional staff to dissuade him from making complaints about the horrendous conditions,” said Dansie.
Judge Pittman said that he would make a decision by the week’s end about whether he would decrease the MAGA follower’s sentence to 90 days in jail.
