Proud Boys Leader Sentenced to 155 Days in Jail for Burning BLM Banner

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US authorities sentenced Proud Boys leader Henry Tarrio to 155 days in jail after being found guilty on firearms charges and the destruction of a Black Lives Matter (BLM) banner from a historically black church in Washington, DC, the US Justice Department said on Monday.

Tarrio admitted on social media and to media outlets that he, alongside other members of the right-wing group Proud Boys, stole a BLM banner from the Asbury Methodist Church and then burned it using lighter fluid and lighters.

"Henry ‘Enrique’ Tarrio, 37, of Miami, Fla., was sentenced today to a total of 155 days of incarceration on charges stemming from two cases, including one involving the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner stolen from a historically prominent Black church in downtown Washington," the Justice Department said in a release.

The Justice Department said officers recovered two high-capacity firearms magazines from Tarrio’s bookbag during a search conducted at the time of his arrest in Washington on January 4. Tarrio claimed that he intended to transfer the magazines, which both had the Proud Boys insignia on them, to a customer who was coming to the city.

Tarrio was sentenced to 90 days for the destruction of property charge and 150 days for the ammunition offense. However, Judge Harold Cushenberry suspended all but 155 days of the sentence, conditional on Tarrio successfully completing three years of probation and paying $1,347 in fines and restitution.