Officer fed information to Proud Boys leader, jury hears in testimony
LA TimesA police officer frequently provided Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio with internal information about law enforcement operations in the weeks before other members of his far-right extremist group stormed the U.S. Capitol, according to messages shown Wednesday at the trial of Tarrio and four associates. Less than three weeks before the Jan. 6 riot, Lamond warned Tarrio that the FBI and U.S. Secret Service were “all spun up” over talk on an Infowars internet show that the Proud Boys planned to dress up as supporters of Joe Biden on the Democrat’s inauguration day. Later, on the day of his arrest, Tarrio posted a message to other Proud Boys leaders that said, “The warrant was just signed.” Before the trial started in January, Tarrio’s attorneys said Lamond’s testimony would be crucial for his defense, supporting Tarrio’s claims that he was looking to avoid violence. Two days later, Tarrio asked Lamond what the Police Department’s “general consensus” was about the Proud Boys. “That’s an in-person conversation over a beer.” Tarrio’s co-defendants are Proud Boys chapter leader Ethan Nordean of Auburn, Wash.; Joseph Biggs of Ormond Beach, Fla., a self-described Proud Boys organizer; Zachary Rehl, who led a Proud Boys chapter in Philadelphia; and Dominic Pezzola, a group member from Rochester, N.Y. Associated Press reporter Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston contributed to this report.