A police officer had frequently fed internal information about law enforcement to a Proud Boys leader in the weeks leading up to the Jan 6 Capitol insurrection, a court has heard.
Jurors in the trial of Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and four associates on Wednesday were presented with a string of privately exchanged messsages between Shane Lamond, an intelligence officer for the Washington DC police, and Mr Tarrio.
On 25 December 2020, Mr Lamond warned Mr Tarrio that police officers may be seeking a warrant for his arrest and said Metropolitan police investigators had asked him to identify the Proud Boys member.
On the day of his arrest, Mr Tarrio had posted a message to other Proud Boys leaders that said: “The warrant was just signed”.
The Proud Boys member was arrested in Washington just two days before the US Capitol insurrection and charged with burning a Black Lives Matter banner taken from a historic Black church during a protest in December 2020.
Mr Tarrio was released from jail before the riots unfolded and was not reported to be in Washington on 6 January.
FBI special agent and government witness Peter Dubrowski, on being asked about the messages by Justice Department prosecutor Conor Mulroe, said he had “never heard” of a situation where it was common for law enforcement to disclose internal information in such a fashion.
Sabino Jauregui, Mr Tarrio’s attorney said that, according to the other messages, the national chairman of the Proud Boys routinely cooperated with police and shared useful information with Mr Lamond, who was tasked with monitoring groups like the Proud Boys when they came to Washington for protests.
Mr Jauregui said prosecutors “dragged [Mr Lamond’s] name through the mud” and falsely insinuated he was a “dirty cop” who had an inappropriate relationship with Mr Tarrio.
Mr Tarrio’s lawyers also accused the prosecutors of bullying Mr Lamond into keeping quiet by warning the officer he could be charged with obstructing the investigation into Mr Tarrio.
The prosecutors have refuted that claim.
