Proud Boys leader received information from officer ahead of Jan. 6

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Metropolitan Police Lt. Shane Lamond was accused of frequently providing internal information to Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio.
• Lamond’s attorney argued that the communication was part of his job to monitor groups that protest in Washington.
• Tarrio’s attorney also argued that his client was routinely cooperating with police by providing useful information.

The trial of Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four associates on Wednesday revealed that a police officer was frequently providing him with internal information on law enforcement operations in the weeks leading to the Capitol attack.

A federal prosecutor showed messages between Tarrio and Metropolitan Police Lt. Shane Lamond, an intelligence officer for the city’s police department. Lamond was supposedly responsible for monitoring groups like the Proud Boys during protests in Washington.

Less than three weeks before Jan. 6, Lamond told Tarrio that the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI were “all spun up” over online talk that the Proud Boys were planning to dress up as supporters of President Joe Biden on his inauguration day.

On Dec. 11, 2020, Lamond asked Tarrio whether he should share information about the whereabouts of antifascist activists with uniformed police officers. Two days later, Lamond suggested “an in-person conversation over a beer” when Tarrio asked the police’s “general consensus” about the Proud Boys.

On Dec. 18, 2020, Lamond told Tarrio that investigators asked him if the Proud Boys are racist, but he told them that the group had Black and Latino members, “so not a racist thing.” The officer added that the investigation did not involve the FBI.

Later that day, Lamond asked if Tarrio called in an anonymous tip about the flag burning. Tarrio replied, “I did more than that. It’s on my social media.”

On Dec. 25, 2020, Lamond warned Tarrio that Metropolitan Police Department investigators had asked him to identify Tarrio from a photograph, adding that they may be seeking an arrest warrant. On the day of his arrest, Tarrio messaged other Proud Boys leaders, “The warrant was just signed.”

Two days before the Capitol attack, Tarrio was arrested for allegedly burning a Black Lives Matter banner taken from a historic Black church during a protest in December 2020. He was released before the riot but was not in Washington on Jan. 6.

One of Tarrio’s attorneys, Sabino Jauregui, said that the messages show his client routinely cooperating with police by providing Lamond with useful information. He accused prosecutors of falsely insinuating that Lamond was a “dirty cop” who had an inappropriate relationship with Tarrio.

The police force placed Lamond on administrative leave in February 2022.

Lamond’s attorney, Mark Schamel, argued on Wednesday that Lamond “does not condone the hateful rhetoric or the illegal conduct on January 6th and was only communicating with these individuals because the mission required it.” He added that the officer helped in Tarrio’s arrest for burning the Black Lives Matter banner.

Proud Boys members, who describe themselves as “Western chauvinists,” have been known to engage in rallies and protests for years before the Capitol attack. Tarrio and his four lieutenants are charged with seditious conspiracy in relation to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Source: Associated Press