Next on the Neo-Fascist Chopping Block: Henry ‘Enrique’ Tarrio

The Proud Boy leader expected to be charged with burning the Black Lives Matter banner taken from a historically Black church. But the convicted felon had high capacity firearm magazines on him. He’s screwed.

WASHINGTON, DC – Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, the self-styled head of the neo-Fascist Proud Boys has been arrested Monday as he was coming into town to participate in a rally for Donald Trump on Wednesday on suspicion that he helped take down a Black Lives Matter banner from a historically Black church and set it on fire along with other Proud Boys during a rally last month where they also attacked and fought those opposing them as well as random persons. He was also charged with possession after police found two high capacity firearm magazines, which are illegal in the city but also can spell more trouble for Tarrio who is a convicted felon. This comes on the same day another historically church they attacked that night announced a lawsuit against Tarrio and the Proud Boys for that attack.

According to the New York Times, the Metropolitan Police Department confirmed Tarrio, 36, had been arrested on charges of destruction of property, stemming from December 12 rally in downtown Washington. Upon his arrest he was found to be in possession of two high-capacity firearm magazines and charged accordingly with possession. Tarrio boasted in a Washington Post interview that he was responsible for the burning and will plead guilty if charged, but video shows several other Proud Boy associates participating in the act at Asbury United Methodist Church. In 2013, Tarrio was sentenced to thirty months in federal prison, of which he served 16, for rebranding and attempting to sell diabetes test strips.

In the past two months, the Proud Boys have placed the harshest light on themselves after rallies in November and December where they spend the evening attacking persons in the District. Tarrion was seen in a November 12 video bragging about how he took a radio from someone, but he has not been charged with any crime stemming from that possible incident. Because of these recent attacks, they have been become pariahs as yet another pro-Trump rally on Wednesday is set to take place as the Electoral College results are certified. The Hotel Harrington, which is the hotel the Proud Boys frequent when they are in town announced that they will close for the days around the rally dates.

Meanwhile, Metropolitan AME church, one of the churches targeted by the Proud Boys on Dec. 12 for their support for Black Lives Matter announced that they have filed a lawsuit against the group and Tarrio, “for engaging in acts of terror and vandalizing church property in an effort to intimidate the Church and silence its support for racial justice,” according to the suit. The address the suit lists for Tarrio is the same used for Warboys, LLC a corporation established in July that names Proud Boys Joe Biggs and Ethan Nordean as managers. Proud Boys International, LLC is also named with Jason Van Dyke as their registered agent. Despite the claim from Proud Boys that they are against Nazism and racism, Van Dyke, a Texas-based attorney, attempted to joined the neo-Nazi terrorist group the Base, but was considered too much of a liability with his repeated death threats and legal entanglements [https://www.vice.com/en/article/wx8xp4/a-proud-boys-lawyer-wanted-to-be-a-nazi-terrorist]. Before he was named in the lawsuit, the Proud Boys had said he was no longer involved with the group.

BREAKING: We are suing the Proud Boys and their members for the racist attack on Metropolitan AME church in Washington DC. This attack was one of several levied against churches targeted for their support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Proud Boys are NOT above the law. pic.twitter.com/CB53Upi9wH

— Kristen Clarke (@KristenClarkeJD) January 4, 2021

The Proud Boys were founded in 2016 by Gavin McInnes, who said he left the group in 2018 in the wake of several members getting arrested on assault and rioting charges in New York City outside a speech he was giving, but he has participated in events with the Proud Boys since and in October during the first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump where he told the group to “Stand back and stand by,” he declared that he ran the Proud Boys.