Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the right-wing group The Proud Boys, has been ordered to stay away from Washington, DC after he arrested on charges of vandalism and weapons. The ruling comes a day before pro-Trump demonstrations are scheduled in Washington, as Congress meets count the votes of the Electoral College ahead of the president-elect Joe Bideninauguration on January 20.
Tarrio was released on Tuesday, but Judge Renee Raymond ordered him to stay out of Washington. Raymond said the government’s request for Tarrio to stay away was reasonable given his earlier statements about the burning of something related to Black Lives Matter. Raymond also ordered that Tarrio should not own a firearm or ammunition while in Washington.
Tarrio was arrested Monday after arriving in Washington on charges of destroying a Black Lives Matter banner in a historically black church. He was found to be in possession of several high capacity firearms as a result of felony.
Trump has urged his supporters to gather in Washington to protest the election results, and he tweeted that he will be there. Congress will meet on Wednesday for a joint session to count the votes of the electoral college, the final formal step before Mr. Biden is sworn in.
The National Guard was sent to Washington at the request of DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. Firearms are not allowed in the city, police chief Robert Contee said Monday.
The original charge against Tarrio, who came to Washington from Miami, stemmed from a Dec. 12 incident at Asbury United Methodist Church, which is on the District of Columbia Register of Historic Places and is the oldest black church on the original location has remained. The church said the Black Lives Matter flag was chipped and burned at pro-Trump rallies.
Tarrio told The Washington Post days after the incident that he had participated in the burning of the flag, but insisted he had not participated in a hate crime. He said he would surrender to the authorities, plead guilty to property destruction, and pay the church the cost of the banner.
“So let me make this simple. I did it,” he said on December 18.
The Asbury United Methodist Church replaced the stolen banner on Dec. 18 and then held a prayer service outside the church, according to The Washington Post.
Tarrio said the Proud Boys responded to the stabbing of four members of the group outside a nearby bar. Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, another historically black house of worship, also said a Black Lives Matter sign had also been taken. That church on Monday filed a lawsuit against Tarrio for the destruction of the flag.