The thing about Proud Boys' leader Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, who was arrested last year following his indictment on conspiracy and other charges related to the Jan. 6 insurrection is that he keeps fucking around and finding out.
According to a report, and we have seen cops be friendly with the Proud Boys before, messages that were shown in Tarrio and four associates' trial on Wednesday reveal that a police officer frequently provided the extremist group's leader with internal information about law enforcement operations in the weeks before the Capitol was attacked.
Via the Associated Press:
A federal prosecutor showed jurors a string of messages that Metropolitan Police Lt. Shane Lamond and Tarrio privately exchanged in the run-up to a mob's attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Lamond, an intelligence officer for the city's police department, was responsible for monitoring groups like the Proud Boys when they came to Washington for protests.
Less than three weeks before the Jan. 6 riot, Lamond warned Tarrio that the FBI and U.S. Secret Service were "all spun up" over talk on an Infowars internet show that the Proud Boys planned to dress up as supporters of President Joe Biden on the Democrat's inauguration day.
Justice Department prosecutor Conor Mulroe asked a government witness, FBI Special Agent Peter Dubrowski, how common it is for law enforcement to disclose internal information in that fashion.
"I've never heard of it," Dubrowski said.
In one exchange of messages on Dec. 25, 2020, Lamond told Tarrio that Metropolitan Police Department investigators had asked him to identify the Proud Boys' leader from a photograph. He went on to warn him that the police may be seeking a warrant for his arrest.
On the day of his arrest after the messages, Tarrio commented to other Proud Boys, "The warrant was just signed."
Tarrio's attorneys said before the trial started that Lamond's testimony would be crucial for his defense, supporting the Proud Boys leaders' claims that he was looking to avoid violence.
Here he is:
He's innocent. Innocent, I tell ya'!
Lamond was placed on administrative leave by the police force in February 2022, according to Mark Schamel, an attorney for the officer. Schamel said Lamond aided in Tarrio's arrest for burning the Black Lives Matter banner.
In a statement Wednesday, Schamel said Lamond's job required him to communicate with a variety of groups protesting in Washington and his conduct "was appropriate and always focused on the protection of the citizens of Washington, DC."
Cool, cool, but that doesn't explain Lamond warning Tarrio about an arrest warrant. Ok, if Lamond likes Tarrio that much, maybe they can be cellmates together. How sweet.
