NewsU.S. and the World

Actions

Judge denies early release request from jailed 'Proud Boys' leader

Enrique Tarrio
Posted at 11:15 AM, Nov 24, 2021
and last updated 2021-11-24 13:15:58-05

Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the right-wing extremist group the Proud Boys, has been denied a request for an early release from a five-month jail sentence.

The Washington Post and The Guardian report that Superior Court Judge Jonathan H. Pittman denied Tarrio's request in a ruling issued on Friday.

The "appropriate remedy for unconstitutional conditions of confinement is correction of the unconstitutional conditions of confinement, which are experienced by all inmates, not just the defendant," Pittman wrote, according to The Guardian.

Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported that Tarrio had requested an early release from jail, claiming he was being held under "inhumane conditions." In his request, he cited abusive guards, smoke-filled hallways, medical neglect and multiple instances where his cell was flooded with "dirty toilet water."

In August, Tarrio was sentenced to five months in jail after he was convicted of tearing down a Black Lives Matter banner from a historically Black church in Washington, D.C. and setting the flag on fire. He was also convicted for bringing two high-capacity firearm magazines into the nation's capital on Jan. 4.

The Proud Boys were started in 2016 as an online political group that described themselves as "western chauvinists" out to spread "anti-political correctness." However, in the years since, the group has at times embraced political violence and has clashed with leftists and self-described anti-fascists at various protests.