A report from BBC News says that the leader of the right-wing group The Proud Boys has been charged with trespassing on the grounds of a Black church in Washington, D.C. before stealing its Black Lives Matter banner and burning it.
Enrique Tarrio has been sued by the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church for allegedly burning the church’s banner on December 12, the same day that three other Black churches in D.C. were similarly vandalized. Tarrio admitted responsibility in now what is being labeled by the police as hate crimes.
“At the time of his arrest, he was found to be in possession of two high capacity firearm magazines. He was additionally charged with possession of high capacity feeding device,” says D.C. police.
In a press release, the Metropolitan AME Church said it, “suffered from the defendants’ coordinated acts of violence when Proud Boys members climbed over a fence surrounding the church, came on to church property, tore down and destroyed a large Black Lives Matter sign the church was proudly displaying in what constituted clear acts of trespass, theft, and destruction of property.”
