PROUD BEFORE A FALL

Proud Boys Leader Arrested in D.C. Ahead of Electoral College Protest

Enrique Tarrio said in December that he would plead guilty if charged in the destruction and burning of a Black Lives Matter sign in D.C.

The leader of the white nationalist Proud Boys organization was arrested in Washington, D.C., on Monday, The New York Times reported. Enrique Tarrio, 36, was arrested on charges of destruction of property for allegedly burning a “Black Lives Matter” banner hanging outside one of the oldest Black churches in the nation’s capital during a protest last month, a police spokesperson told the Times. In December, Tarrio told The Washington Post that he helped steal and burn the banner outside Asbury United Methodist Church. Tarrio told the Post that if charged, he would plead guilty to the crime. “So let me make this simple. I did it,” he told the Post, against the advice of his lawyer. The leader of the far-right group had arrived in Washington to protest Congress’ expected certification of the Electoral College on Wednesday.