Judge awards Black church $1 million after BLM banner burned by Proud Boys during protest #Judge #awards #Black #church #million #BLM #banner #burned #Proud #Boys #protest

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge on Friday awarded more than $1 million to a Black church in downtown Washington, D.C. that sued the far-right Proud Boys for tearing down and burning a Black Lives Matter banner during a 2020 protest.

Superior Court Associated Judge Neal A. Kravitz also barred the extremist group and its leaders from coming near the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church or making threats or defamatory remarks against the church or its pastor for five years.

The ruling was a default judgment issued after the defendants failed to show up in court to fight the case.

Washington Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Shane Lamond departs federal court after pleading not guilty to obstruction of justice and other charges, Friday, May 19, 2023, in Washington. Lamond is accused of lying about leaking confidential information to a leader of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group and obstructing an investigation after group members destroyed a Black Lives Matter banner in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

A police officer has been arrested on charges that he lied about leaking confidential information to a leader of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group and obstructed an investigation after group members destroyed a Black Lives Matter banner in the nation’s capital.

FILE - People identifying themselves as members of the Proud Boys join supporters of President Donald Trump for pro-Trump marches, Nov. 14, 2020, in Washington. Two supporter in the center are wearing hats with red lettering that read “RWDS,” which is short for “Right Wing Death Squad.” The gunman who killed eight people on Saturday, May 6, 2023, at a Dallas-area mall was wearing a “RWDS” patch. The phrase has been embraced in recent years by far-right extremists who glorify violence against their political enemies. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

The shooter who killed eight people at a Dallas-area mall was wearing a patch that read “RWDS,” short for “Right Wing Death Squad.”

The seditious conspiracy convictions of former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and three lieutenants bolsters the Justice Department’s high-profile wins in its historic prosecution of the Capitol attack.

FILE - Proud Boys leader Henry "Enrique" Tarrio wears a hat that says The War Boys during a rally in Portland, Ore., Sept. 26, 2020. Tarrio and three other members of the far-right extremist group have been convicted of a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol in a desperate bid to keep Donald Trump in power after Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. (AP Photo/Allison Dinner, File)

Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and three other members of the far-right extremist group have been convicted of a plot to attack the U.S.

Two Black Lives Matter banners were pulled down from Metropolitan AME and another historically Black church and burned during clashes between pro-Donald Trump supporters and counterdemonstrators in December 2020.

The destruction took place after weekend rallies by thousands of people in support of Trump’s baseless claims that he won a second term, which led to dozens of arrests, several stabbings and injuries to police officers.

Metropolitan AME sued the Proud Boys and their leaders, alleging they violated D.C. and federal law by trespassing and destroying religious property in a bias-related conspiracy.

Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, of Miami, publicly acknowledged setting fire to one banner, which prosecutors said was stolen from Asbury United Methodist Church.

In July 2021, Tarrio pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor criminal charges of property destruction and attempted possession of a high-capacity magazine.

He was sentenced to more than five months in jail.

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