Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys, pleaded guilty on Monday (July 19) to burning a Washington, D.C. church’s Black Lives Matter banner. According to the Department of Justice, the 37-year-old pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to one count of destruction of property and a local weapons charge.
Each of the offenses carries a maximum sentence of 180 days in prison and/ or the payment of a $1,000 fine. Tarrio is set to be sentenced for the crimes on Aug. 23 and he’s been ordered to stay away from D.C. until then.
As reported by REVOLT, Tarrio and a group of Proud Boys stole the Black Lives Matter banner from the Asbury United Methodist Church during a pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” rally last December. The banner also displayed the logo and website for the church, which is the oldest Black Methodist church in D.C.
In his plea, Tarrio took responsibility for burning the banner and posting photos of himself holding it up to a lighter. The Proud Boys leader previously admitted to the crime on Parler, where he wrote, “Against the wishes of my attorney I am here today to admit that I am the person responsible for the burning of this sign.”
Tarrio was arrested for burning the banner in D.C. two days before the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. During his arrest, police confiscated two high-capacity firearm magazines, both with the Proud Boys insignia. Tarrio told detectives that he was planning to “transfer the magazines to a customer” who was in the city, the Department of Justice said.
While Tarrio was not present for the Capitol riot, several Proud Boys members have since been arrested and charged for their roles in the deadly insurrection. Back in March, four leaders of the far-right extremist group were charged with conspiracy for participating in the attack.