"I'd like to profusely apologize for my actions. His attorney asked the judge to sentence Tarrio to community service instead of incarceration. apparently looking for trouble" through the streets of DC, adding, "in our opinion, this was an act of intimidation and racism."ĭuring the hearing, Tarrio apologized directly to the church's pastor and said he "made a grave mistake" by burning the Black Lives Matter banner and later gloating about it on social media. She said Tarrio led a "marauding band of angry white men. Mills, also spoke passionately during Monday's sentencing hearing about the long-term impact of Tarrio's actions, condemning them as brazenly racist. In a letter to the judge ahead of sentencing, the church's senior pastor said the flag-burning incident traumatized many of her congregants and brought back "visions of slavery, the Ku Klux Klan (and) cross burnings." He was arrested when he returned to DC on January 4, shortly before the Capitol insurrection, and was found with two high-capacity magazines that are banned under DC's strict gun control laws.Īfter his arrest, he was released but ordered to stay out of DC - a move that senior Justice Department officials later said was intended to tamp down potential violence on January 6.
The flag-burning incident occurred at the Asbury United Methodist Church, a historically Black church, on December 12, after Tarrio and other Proud Boys attended a pro-Trump rally in Washington that later led to violent clashes. Federal prosecutors had asked the judge to give Tarrio three months in jail.
Tarrio, who has led the far-right extremist organization since 2018, pleaded guilty in July to the two misdemeanors. Tarrio's conduct in these criminal cases vindicate none of these democratic values. "This court must respect the right of any citizen to peacefully assemble, protest, and make his or her views known on issues," Cushenberry said.