WASHINGTON — The leader of the far-right Proud Boys was sentenced Monday to more than five months in jail after admitting that he burned a Black Lives Matter banner taken from a historic Black church in Washington during a pro-Trump demonstration in December.
The Proud Boys and other groups marched in a raucous rally through downtown.
The banner was stolen from Asbury United Methodist Church, one of the oldest Black churches in Washington.
Tarrio, 37, of Miami, also pleaded guilty to attempting to possess a high-capacity gun magazine, which is illegal in Washington.
Tarrio told the judge Monday that he made "a grave mistake" by burning the banner.
But prosecutors said that video taken during the December demonstration showed that he was on and around the church property as other members of the Proud Boys stole the banner.
"He surely knew where he was and where the banner he burned — which had Asbury's name printed on it — had come from.". »
