Tarrio argued that Shane Lamond, a 22-year veteran of the DC police, was a key witness who could show that there was no conspiracy by the Proud Boys to overthrow the government because the group shared its plans with a law enforcement officer. But messages shown in court Wednesday reveal just how much the DC police intelligence chief shared with Tarrio in the weeks leading up to the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol.
Lamond was suspended with pay from the DC police a year ago and is under federal investigation for his contacts with Tarrio; he was not charged with a crime. In a statement Wednesday, Lamond’s attorney, Mark E. Schamel, said his client did nothing to help the Jan. 6 rioters and “only communicated with individuals because the mission required it.”
He added that Lamond “was instrumental” in Tarrio’s arrest and “no legitimate law enforcement officer familiar with the facts of this case would have chosen otherwise.”
On the evening of December 30, 2020, Lamond and Tarrio had a call that lasted nearly 15 minutes, during which Tarrio sent a bulletin to Proud Boys leaders calling for an “Emergency voice chat.”
Tarrio made it difficult for investigators to follow the conversation by setting his messages from that time to auto delete, FBI Special Agent Peter Dubrowski testified, but responses from other Proud Boys it appears that Tarrio shared with them that he will be arrested soon.
On January 4, 2021, as he flew to DC from Miami, Tarrio told the other Proud Boys, “The warrant was just signed.” He was pulled over and arrested driving into the city from the airport.
According to court records, at that time Lamond gave Tarrio inside information for at least six months. DC police declined to comment Wednesday on court testimony, citing the ongoing investigation.
That Nov. 7, 2020, when news networks declared Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 election against Donald Trump, Lamond offered a tip on the right-wing social media site Parler.
“Alerts have been sent to law enforcement that Parler’s accounts of your people are talking about mobilizing and reclaiming the country and rousing the people,” Lamond wrote.
Later that day, Lamond added, “You’re only given one head. Let’s keep it between you and me.” Lamond said he and Tarrio needed to talk about an encrypted application.
Prosecutors used Parler’s messages to bolster their case that the Proud Boys incited violence on Jan. 6 — particularly where Tarrio described co-defendant Dominic Pezzola as one of the “Lords of War.” The following week, Pezzola was at the Capitol in front of a mob and was filmed using a police riot shield to break a window of the building.
A week after Lamond’s warning, as members of the Proud Boys gathered for a pro-Trump rally, Lamond warned that the group’s preferred gathering place — a bar called Harry’s — was at risk of close to town, according to Dubrowski. That night, the Proud Boys were involved in violent clashes throughout downtown DC Lamond at one point warned Tarrio, “We’ve got one of your guys locked up at 14th and K.” Then he added, “We cut your man. The victim was not found.”
The following month, after a Trump rally, four members of the Proud Boys were stabbed while others stole and vandalized Black Lives Matter flags hanging outside African American churches. (Tarrio later pleaded guilty to burning the flag and to a charge of attempting to possess a high-capacity ammunition magazine. He was sentenced to five months in prison.) Lamond told Tarrio that a suspect in the stabbing was arrested but Tarrio himself is also under criminal investigation, according to court exhibits.
“Hey bro did you call an anonymous FBI tip claiming responsibility for the flag burning?” Lamond asked on December 18, four days after the incident.
“I did more than that. It’s on my social media,” replied Tarrio.
Lamond volunteered to check with criminal investigators “to see if they had you on video.” He then warned that the FBI and US Secret Service were “all spinning” about a comment Tarrio made on an Infowars show that in the future the Proud Boys would disguise themselves as Joe Biden supporters. “Got an email first thing this morning,” Lamond said, with an emoji of a shocked face.
Tarrio approached Lamond to ask if the flag burning was being investigated as a federal hate crime, subject to higher potential penalties. Lamond told him the case was being handled by the police, not the FBI, and he told investigators the Proud Boys were not racist, according to messages read in court.
Tarrio then shows up to break the news to a leadership group of the Proud Boys.
“We got the jump in the account for the burning of the flag. It may be impossible for them to use the ‘hate crime’ enhancement … according to my contact with DC Metro,” Tarrio wrote in a text message.
Shortly after noon on Christmas Day, Lamond shared that he believed an arrest might be imminent because he was asked to identify Tarrio in a picture from Parler.
“So they may be submitting an arrest warrant” to prosecutors, said Lamond in a text to Tarrio.
Tarrio’s defense attorneys were the first to introduce the conversations between Lamond and Tarrio, arguing that the letters showed the Proud Boys were cooperating with police and had nothing to hide. They sought to put Lamond on the stand but the court said the lieutenant invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
But Judge Timothy J. Kelly said in court Wednesday that the conversations revealed an “intimacy” and “inappropriateness” that undermined Tarrio’s defense. Under questioning, Dubrowski testified that it is not common for law enforcement to share source information on investigations, charges and arrests.
“I’ve never heard of it,” Dubrowski said.
In direct examination, defense lawyer Sabino Jauregui presented Lamond’s relationship as evidence that Tarrio was an asset and ally of the police. In December 2020, Lamond asked Tarrio for help in finding out where Alex Jones planned to talk next because the DC police had heard “conflicting locations.” Jauregui said Tarrio responded with help and also identified Lamond as a woman who was raped on January 6.
“Enrique Tarrio is cooperating with law enforcement,” Jauregui said.
Jauregui suggested that the FBI knew or should have known about these interactions before January 6. Dubrowski responded that he had “no reason to believe that Shane Lamond was coordinating with the FBI.”
Jauregui also accused prosecutors of dragging the name of a highly decorated official “through the mud.” He said conversations not shown in court made it clear that Lamond was sharing valuable information on the Proud Boys with his department, some of which was sent to the US Capitol Police.
It is common for authorities to negotiate a surrender of criminal suspects charged with a warrant, although these instances are usually coordinated by police, prosecutors and defense attorneys. Tarrio said he was held at gunpoint in a traffic stop while he was driving in DC
Tarrio was released the next day to await trial, but was banned from the District, preventing him from the nation’s capital on January 6.
He previously indicated that he knew he would be arrested, including in a videotaped meeting with the founder of the extremist group Oath Keepers. It was unclear as of Wednesday how Tarrio learned about the arrest.
Before his suspension, Lamond headed the DC police intelligence unit. In addition to Tarrio, he spoke with an anti-racism activist who posed as the leader of a neo-Nazi group.
Law enforcement agencies are often in constant contact with members of extremist groups, sometimes covertly to learn about violent or subversive plots, but also openly to plan logistics around demonstrations. Sometimes, those interactions seem friendly. But police experts say any contacts with such groups should be closely monitored and documented, and police should not disclose information about internal policies or operations.
“At no time did Lt. Lamond assist or support the hateful and divisive agenda of any of the various groups that came to DC to protest,” Schamel said in his statement. “Lamond’s conduct was appropriate and always focused on protecting the citizens of Washington, DC”
