The leader of the right-wing Proud Boys group has been ordered by a D.C. judge to stay away from the city until his next court hearing on charges that he took and destroyed a Black Lives Matter banner from a historically Black church last month.
Enrique “Henry” Tarrio has also been charged for possessing two high-capacity firearm magazines, which police recovered from his backpack when he was stopped by police after arriving in D.C. on Monday.
His first court hearing took place on Tuesday afternoon, when a D.C. judge released him from custody but ordered him out of the city. The judge also rejected a request from his attorney that he only be banned from Black Lives Matter Plaza, saying that there were other Black Lives Matter banners on properties in the city.
Tarrio’s next hearing is in June, and he could be rearrested if he remains in D.C. for Wednesday’s pro-Trump protests.
Tarrio, 36, of Miami, Florida, previously claimed responsibility for the burning of one BLM flag from the Asbury United Methodist Church. He told the Washington Post that he would plead guilty to destruction of property if he were faced with a criminal charge.
D.C. Police were investigating both incidents as hate crimes. A Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson told the Washington Post that it would “be up to prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in the District to determine whether to file hate charges, which could increase the penalty.”
In an interview with DCist/WAMU in December, Tarrio said he decided to come forward after seeing the burning characterized as a possible hate crime by law enforcement officials.
“That kind of made me angry, to be honest with you,” he said. That term, he said, implies the act was motivated by factors like race, cultural background, or religious affiliation, when, he said, it wasn’t.
In affidavits submitted by D.C. police to the court, investigators said that video evidence did not clearly show whether Tarrio had set the fire, but they also did not rule it out. They said they decided to charge him after his admission on social media and to multiple media outlets that he did set the banner on fire. When they first contacted him, he claimed his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Tarrio was stopped by police on Monday afternoon, shortly after flying into a nearby airport. When he was searched, they found the magazines.
The magazines were not loaded, and Tarrio told authorities he had sold them online. Tarrio, who operates the Miami-based 1776.shop, said the magazines had been returned because of a wrong address, and he brought them to D.C. to hand-deliver them to his customer. The magazines, which are emblazoned with the Proud Boys logo, are listed for $30 on Tarrio’s site.
It is illegal to possess high-capacity magazines in the District.
The Proud Boys is a far-right organization identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group and classified by the FBI as having white nationalist ties. The group has a history of violence, including during recent rallies in Portland, Ore., and D.C.
Tarrio and the Proud Boys were also sued for unspecified damages by one of the churches on Monday.
Councilmember Elissa Silverman applauded Tarrio’s arrest as a “strong message” sent by new MPD Chief Robert Contee.
The group is returning to D.C. on Wednesday to protest the results of the presidential election. According to Jim Acosta, CNN’s White House correspondent, President Trump is expected to speak at the rally on Wednesday.
This story has been updated with correct information about the timing of Tarrio’s court appearance.
Jordan Pascale
Ally Schweitzer
Martin Austermuhle