A Metropolitan Police Department lieutenant was indicted Friday for leaking confidential information to Enrique Tarrio, leader of right-wing extremist group The Proud Boys, as he faced an arrest warrant for burning a Black Lives Matter banner in D.C.

Shane Lamond, a 24-year veteran of the department, was indicted by a grand jury on one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Matthew Graves  announced Friday.

News of an investigation into Lamond’s ties to the Proud Boys — a group of self-described “Western chauvinists”  and identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group —  was first reported in February of 2022. At the time, Lamond was placed on leave. Outgoing Police Chief Robert Contee did not share many details regarding the investigation into Lamond, who supervised the intelligence branch of MPD’s homeland security bureau.

The indictment details a series of conversations between Lamond and Tarrio between July 2020 and January 2021 — a period in which the Proud Boys and other extremists groups like the Oath Keepers descended on D.C., espousing baseless claims of a stolen 2020 election and stoking violence. One person was stabbed during a rally in November 2020, and during a separate pro-Trump demonstration in December, Tarrio stole and burned a BLM flag from Asbury United Methodist Church. According to court documents, between 2019 and 2021 the two spoke at least 500 times — about both Tarrio’s arrest warrant in D.C. and the Proud Boys’ involvement in the January 6 insurrection.

For example, on July 8, 2020, Lamond gave Tarrio a heads up that a bar “frequented by Tarrio and members of the Proud Boys” could be facing sanctions for violating D.C. Alcohol Beverage and Control violations. The indictment does not name the bar, but Harry’s downtown is a known watering hole for pro-Trump crowds. (In 2019, the Proud Boys received a police escort to Harry’s after an altercation in front of the White House.) According to the indictment, Lamond warned Tarrio of the potential sanctions: “I’m working on finding out what sanctions might be imposed. As soon as I found out I will let you know.”

In another exchange on Nov. 7, after news broke that Joe Biden had won the presidential election, Lamond messaged Tarrio: “Hey brother, sad, sad news today. You all planning anything?” Tarrio responded: “yep.” Later that same day, Lamond said they should switch to encrypted messaging, and informed Tarrio that social media accounts “belonging to your people are talking about mobilizing and taking back the country.” Tarrio responded with an audio message, and Lamond replied: “Got your voice messages, please keep this between you and me.”

Lamond and Tarrio were also in contact before and on Dec. 12, 2020, the day the Proud Boys held a rally in D.C. and Tarrio burned the Black Lives Matter banner.

On Dec. 18, Tarrio told DCist/WAMU that he was responsible for burning the BLM flag, echoing claims he made on a Parler post admitting to lighting the flag on fire.  That same day, Lamond and Tarrio exchanged various messages regarding MPD’s investigation into Tarrio and whether or not he could be facing hate crime charges. In one message, after Tarrio asked if MPD would “make a stink of it,” Lamond replied that he was in contact with the MPD’s criminal investigations division, and then shared that MPD didn’t have images of Tarrio burning the banner. Tarrio copied the messages and sent them to other members of the Proud Boys, according to the indictment, and over Telegram told one individual: “So I just got word… we’re in the clear on the banner.” The next day, Lamond told Tarrio MPD wanted to wanted to “talk to him about the banner.”

In the following days, Lamond exchanged a phone call and messages with Tarrio regarding an arrest warrant issued for him by MPD, including a screenshot of a message Lamond had received from an MPD detective assigned to the case. According to the indictment, Tarrio began messaging other group chats on Telegram about the arrest warrant, meanwhile Lamond was sending messages to a member of the Capitol Police Department about Tarrio’s potential arrest.

On January 4, 2021, while flying from Florida to Virginia, Tarrio shared more information he’d received from Lamond with a Telegram chat, writing to an unnamed person: “Warrant was just signed.” The other person replied: “OMG” and “Babe :/” That day, Tarrio was arrested on a warrant by D.C. police, and in July 2021 pleaded guilty to destruction of property and other weapons charges. In August he was sentenced to five months in jail.

The indictment also describes a series of communications between Tarrio and Lamond regarding Proud Boys’ involvement in the January 6 insurrection. Lamond allegedly used law enforcement contacts to obtain a list of individuals identified as subjects in the FBI’s investigation of the insurrection, and informed Tarrio if a certain person he knew was on it. (Tarrio was also convicted earlier this month of seditious conspiracy for his involvement in the plan to attack the Capitol on the 6th.)

The indictment goes on to describe how Lamond allegedly lied to U.S. Attorney’s Office investigators about his communications with Tarrio regarding the BLM flag burning incident and January 6 insurrection, misrepresenting the nature of their relationship and telling investigators he did not inform Tarrio of his arrest warrant.

“We understand this matter sparks a range of emotions, and believe the allegations of this members actions are not consistent of our values and our commitment to the community,” a spokesperson for MPD said in a written statement Friday, adding that the department will complete an internal investigation into Lamond. “Our intentions are to remain transparent while affording a fair process to the involved member.”

During a press conference on Friday, Contee said Lamond has been served with paperwork that would place him on an indefinite unpaid suspension, which Lamond could appeal.

“The charges are what they are. Based on the things in the indictment, those are things I took in consideration when I took the forward step to put him in the status he’s in now,” Contee said. “There are times when we have people who don’t live up to the oath, and when they don’t, we have to hold them accountable.”

Friday’s indictment comes on top of other evidence that police departments across the country maintain ties with hate groups and white supremacist militias. (When the Proud Boys were escorted to Harry’s in 2019, an officer was seen fist-bumping one of them.) In D.C., activists have noted that when extremists and white supremacist groups stage demonstrations, they enjoy police protection while anti-racist groups are met with brutality.  An investigation in 2021 also found that MPD’s intelligence bureau closely watched Black-led anti-racist groups for years while failing to investigate threats of far-right groups.

Lamond’s charges carry a maximum of 30 years in prison.