Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
- Proud Boys Chairman Enrique Tarrio was banned from DC ahead of this week’s “wild” pro-Trump rally.
- A superior court judge included a stay away order as a condition of release for Tarrio’s recent arrest on charges that he burned a Black Lives Matter flag.
- The judge said it was the least-restrictive measure, as Tarrio had posted on Parler that he would burn another Black Lives Matter flag.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The Proud Boys chairman has been banned from Washington, DC, ahead of this week’s pro-Trump rally.
Henry “Enrique” Tarrio was arrested Monday night on a destruction of property warrant stemming from a mid-December protest that involved the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner belonging to a historically Black church in the nation’s capital
When Tarrio was taken into custody, police found two high-powered magazines branded with the Proud Boys logo in his bag, according to DC Superior Court documents viewed by Insider.
The devices were unloaded, and Tarrio told law enforcement he intended to sell them to someone he was meeting in DC at the rally.
DC Superior Court documents.
Tarrio pleaded not guilty to destruction of property and possession of a high-capacity ammunition feeding device charges Tuesday afternoon from his holding cell at the metro police station.
Magistrate Judge Renee Raymond ordered Tarrio, who was held overnight, to be released on the condition that he stay out of the District of Columbia.
Raymond said she was imposing the condition because Tarrio recently posted a meme on the encrypted chat platform Parler indicating he would burn another Black Lives Matter flag.
The Proud Boys leader also posted about burning the church's banner on social media.
The flag burning took place during the Dec. 12 Trump rally, for which Tarrio previously told Insider he was overseeing security.
Tarrio, who is Cuban-American, has maintained to Insider that Proud Boys - a recognized hate group linked to street fights and violence around the US - is not racist or white supremacists by nature, while recognizing that some members hold those beliefs.
"Given there are a lot of Black Lives Matter placards, banners, and alike in the District of Columbia, this will be the least restrictive condition" of release, Judge Raymond said.
At the time of his arrest, Tarrio was arriving ahead of a pro-Trump rally planned to take place in the city this week. The demonstration is intended to coincide with Congress formalizing the presidential election results on Wednesday.
Donald Trump, who continues to fuel conspiracy theories that President-elect Joe Biden's electoral victory was fraudulent, recently tweeted that the rally would be "wild."
The National Guard has been activated to handle crowd control this week.
Tarrio is scheduled to return to court on June 8.
Read more:
- The Cuban-American leader of the Proud Boys has said the group isn't explicitly for white supremacists, but a previously ousted underling tried to stage an unhinged, anti-Semitic, racist coup
- The Proud Boys chairman says members of the extremist organization are running for office - and you might not know if you're voting for one
- What to know about the Proud Boys, the extremist group that Trump name-checked during the first presidential debate
- What happens to QAnon after Trump leaves the White House?
- Members of the far-right, including a Proud Boys leader, were reportedly stabbed during an altercation in Washington, DC