Proud Boys leader pleads guilty to burning DC church’s Black Lives Matter banner

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Enrique Tarrio appeared in DC Superior Court to plead guilty to destroying property for burning a Black Lives Matter banner that belonged to a historic DC black church. He also pleaded guilty to attempted possession of a high capacity magazine, a violation of local gun control laws.

He will be sentenced next month and could face up to a year in prison, although defendants rarely get the maximum sentence. The charges were laid in local DC court and are separate from the sprawling federal investigation into the Jan.6 Capitol uprising – in which dozens of Proud Boys stormed the building and have since been charged with conspiracy and other crimes.

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“Nothing in this plea deal is intended to prevent the government from bringing different and additional charges against your client based on his conduct on January 6, 2021 or any other time,” prosecutors wrote in the deal. four-page plea signed by Tarrio. Monday.

Tarrio was not near the Capitol that day as he was arrested earlier in the week on charges of destroying weapons and local property and ordered to stay out of DC. Federal officials later said his arrest was intentionally choreographed to keep him off the streets on January 6.

There is no indication in the agreement that Tarrio is cooperating with the investigation into the insurgency against members of the Proud Boys. (He previously admitted he was an informant for the FBI and other agencies after being convicted in a federal fraud case about a decade ago.)

During a brief hearing on Monday, Tarrio claimed he was unaware that the Black Lives Matter banner belonged to a church, the historic Asbury United Methodist Church in downtown DC.

“If I had known that the banner was from a church, it would not have been burned,” Tarrio told Judge Harold Cushenberry. “I would never consider doing anything at a church myself.”

He has already said he was “fucking proud” to have burned the Black Lives Matter banner.

The incident occurred after a rally in support of Trump and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. There were heavy clashes and stabbing in the streets of DC after the protest, in this that many now see as a precursor to January 6.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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