SYMBOLIC DEFEAT

Proud Boys Lose Their Trademark to Historic Black Church They Attacked

The far-right group’s former leader called the decision a “betrayal of justice.”

The Proud Boys just lost control of their own name—as part of an unusual legal ruling. A Washington, D.C., judge has awarded ownership of the far-right group’s trademark and symbols to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, a Washington, D.C., church that Proud Boys members vandalized on Dec. 12, 2020. The ruling enforces a $2.8 million judgment against the group, blocking them from profiting from merchandise like hats and shirts without the church’s permission. Proud Boys ex-leader Enrique Tarrio blasted the decision, according to The New York Times, and called for the impeachment of Judge Tanya M. Jones Bosier. “Their actions are a betrayal of justice,” he said. “I hold in contempt any motions, judgments and orders issued against me.” Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy as a ringleader of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol but was granted a full pardon last month by President Donald Trump, along with four of his co-defendants, who had their sentences commuted. The lawsuit stemmed from the Proud Boys’ attack on the church, during which they tore down and burned a Black Lives Matter banner. A judge called their actions “hateful and overtly racist.”

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