Enrique Tarrio, leader of the far-right all-male Proud Boys group in the United States has been sentenced to nearly six months in jail for burning a stolen Black Lives Matter flag in December.
Tarrio, 37, pleaded guilty to burning the flag – he apologised and said there was ‘no excuse’ for his actions – and to attempted possession of a large-capacity ammunition feeding device, according to the BBC.
He is to begin his 155-day sentence on 6 September.
Prosecutors said that Tarrio and other members of the Proud Boys removed the Black Lives Matter banner from the historically black Asbury United Methodist Church in downtown Washington on 12 December last year. The second charge related to Tarrio’s bringing two high-capacity firearm magazines into Washington shortly before the pro-Donald Trump demonstration at the Capitol on 6 January. Local police took Tarrio into custody two days before the event.
Founded in 2016 by Canadian-British right-wing activist Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys is a far-right, anti-immigrant, all-male group with a history of street violence against left-wing groups. Tarrio became a national leader in 2018.
[Image: Colin Lloyd on Unsplash]