Proud Boys leader who burned BLM flag gets five months in jail

23 August 2021, 20:54

Proud Boys Leader Arrest
Proud Boys Leader Arrest. Picture: PA

Enrique Tarrio told the court he was ‘profusely’ sorry for his actions.

The leader of the Proud Boys extremist group has been sentenced to more than five months in jail for burning a Black Lives Matter banner that was torn down from a historic church in Washington DC.

Enrique Tarrio told the court he was “profusely” sorry for his actions, calling them a “grave mistake”.

“What I did was wrong,” Tarrio said during the hearing held via video conference.

Proud Boys Leader Arrest
Proud Boys leader Henry ‘Enrique’ Tarrio (Allison Dinner/AP)

Tarrio was arrested as he arrived in Washington two days before thousands of supporters of then-president Donald Trump — including members of the Proud Boys — descended on the US Capitol and disrupted the certification of the Electoral College vote.

Tarrio was ordered to stay away from Washington, and law enforcement later said Tarrio was picked up in part to help quell potential violence.

Authorities say Proud Boys members stole the banner that read #BLACKLIVESMATTER from the Asbury United Methodist Church on December 12 and then set it ablaze using lighter fluid and lighters.

Tarrio posted a picture of himself holding an unlit lighter to his Parler account and admitted days later in an interview with The Washington Post that he joined in the burning of the banner.

When police pulled Tarrio over on January 4 on the warrant for vandalising the sign, officers found two unloaded gun magazines emblazoned with the Proud Boys logo in his bag.

Tarrio said, according to a police report, that he sells the clips and the ones he was carrying were purchased by a customer.

Tarrio pleaded guilty last month to destruction of property and attempted possession of a large-capacity ammunition feeding device.

Rev Dr Ianther Mills, senior pastor of the church, told the judge it was an “act of intimidation and racism” that caused “immeasurable and possibly irreparable harm” on the community.

“His careless act of violence and hatred, targeted at a congregation of individuals with a lived history of social and racial injustice, had the presumably desired effect,” she said.

“Asbury was forced to reckon with the very tangible evidence that we continue to live in a world where people radicalise hate based upon race and skin colour.”

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations in Gaza

Israel expands ground attack on Gaza to seize 'large areas' - despite pleas from hostage families

Police said two people died on Palliser Road, Roseneath.

British couple found dead at home in New Zealand - just months after moving to 'begin new chapter'

Virginia Giuffre warned it was a "very bad situation" after she claimed a school bus ploughed into her car

Virginia Giuffre was charged with breaching restraining order days before crash that 'left her with days to live'

Putin continues to reject Trump's peace plan

'We won't accept Ukraine ceasefire while Zelenskyy remains in power,' Russia warns

Virginia Giuffre

Family of Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre hit out at Australian cops over doubts she has 'days to live'

Luigi Mangione is facing the death penalty for the shooting of United healthcare CEO Brian Thompson

US prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Luigi Mangione in healthcare boss murder case

Emergency services at the scene after an explosion at a building thought to be a gas leak, in Via Pio Foà and Via Vitellia, in Rome, Sunday, March 23, 2025.

Scottish tourist dies after sustaining severe burns in Rome gas explosion that destroyed three-storey hotel

Five Israelis have been cleared after the court ruled the British woman's testimony was not credible

Five tourists accused of gang raping British woman in Ayia Napa hotel cleared after charges dropped

An areal view of the volcanic eruption near the town of Grindavik, on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland

Volcanic eruption forces evacuations in Iceland

Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking victim who claimed Prince Andrew sexually abused her given 'four days to live' by doctors

Jeffrey Epstein victim and Prince Andrew accuser issues fresh statement after being given 'four days to live'

President of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) parliamentary group Marine Le Pen

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen vows to fight election ban after embezzlement conviction

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

White House says 'Signal chat case is closed' insisting issue has been 'dealt with'

A Taliban security personnel stands guard.

Taliban ask Russia to lift ban on terrorist organisation

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) shakes hands with Finland's President Alexander Stubb

'The UK is back': Finnish president praises Starmer's leadership announcing two nations are 'tied hip-to-hip on Nato'

Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking victim who claimed Prince Andrew sexually abused her given 'four days to live' by doctors

Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking victim who claimed Prince Andrew sexually abused her given 'four days to live'

France's far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been found guilty of misappropriating EU funds

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen jailed for four years and banned from politics after embezzlement trial