Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the ‘Proud Boys’ group, was sentenced to 300 days in jail for bringing a loaded rifle magazine into Washington, DC and burning a Black Lives Matter sign on fire outside a church.
Tarrio was sentenced to 240 days in jail, 90 of which were suspended, as well as a fine for illegally possessing the magazine and another 60 days for damaging the banner.
The punishment was handed down by DC Superior Court Judge Harold L. Cushenberry Jr. on Monday.
“What I did was wrong,” Tarrio told the court in a video conference session, adding that he was “profusely” remorseful for acts he deemed a “grave mistake.”
According to police, Proud Boys members stole the Black Lives Matter flag from Asbury United Methodist Church on December 12 before dousing it with lighter fluid and lighting it on fire.
Tarrio shared a photo of himself holding an unlit lighter to the banner on social media, later admitting to The Washington Post that he had helped set it on fire.
According to CNN, Cushenberry stated before the sentence, “This court must recognize the freedom of any person to peacefully gather, demonstrate, and express his or her opinions on issues.”
“However, Mr. Tarrio’s actions in these criminal cases uphold none of these democratic ideals.
Mr. Tarrio’s conduct, on the other hand, betrayed them.”
Tarrio’s acts, according to the church’s senior pastor, Rev. Dr. Ianther Mills, were an “act of intimidation and racism” that caused “immeasurable and potentially permanent injury” to the community.
“His reckless act of violence and hatred, directed against a gathering of people with a history of social and racial injustice, had the apparently anticipated impact,” Mills said.
“Asbury was forced to confront the very visible facts that we still live in a world where individuals radicalize hatred based on race and skin color.”
He is likely to go to the same DC jail where hundreds of others arrested in connection with the January 6 incident at the US Capitol are presently being detained.
