WASHINGTON — A retired Washington, D.C., police officer charged with lying about his private communications with former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio testified Friday that he never leaked sensitive police information to the far-right extremist group leader.
Taking the witness stand at his federal trial, former Metropolitan Police Department Lieutenant Shane Lamond said he was upset that a prosecutor labeled him as a Proud Boys “sympathizer” who acted as a “double agent” for the group after Tarrio burned a stolen Black Lives Matter banner in December 2020.
“I don’t support the Proud Boys, and I’m not a Proud Boys sympathizer,” said Lamond, whose bench trial started Monday and continues next week.
Tarrio, who testified Thursday as a witness for Lamond’s defense, is serving a 22-year prison sentence for his role in a plot to use force to keep Donald Trump in the White House after the 2020 election. Tarrio previously was sentenced to more than five months in jail for burning the banner stolen from a historic Black church in downtown Washington and for bringing two high-capacity firearm magazines into the district.
Lamond said Tarrio never confessed to him that he burned the banner. He also denies tipping off Tarrio that a warrant for his arrest had been signed before he arrived in Washington on January 4, 2021 — two days before other Proud Boys joined a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Lamond’s indictment says he and Tarrio exchanged messages about the January 6 riot and discussed whether Proud Boys members were in danger of being charged in the attack.
“Of course I can’t say it officially, but personally I support you all and don’t want to see your group’s name and reputation dragged through the mud,” Lamond wrote.
Lamond said he considered Tarrio to be a source, not a friend. But he said he tried to build a friendly rapport with the group leader to gain his trust.
Justice Department prosecutor Joshua Rothstein pointed to other messages that suggest Lamond provided Tarrio with “real-time updates” on the police investigation of the December 12, 2020, banner burning.
Lamond is charged with one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson will decide the case after hearing testimony without a jury.
Lamond, who met Tarrio in 2019, had supervised the intelligence branch of the police department’s Homeland Security Bureau. He was responsible for monitoring groups like the Proud Boys when they came to Washington.
The men exchanged hundreds of messages across several platforms, with Lamond frequently greeting Tarrio as “brother.” However, Lamond acknowledged that he only sent encrypted messages to Tarrio or met him in person after the banner burning.
On the day of his arrest, Tarrio posted a message to other Proud Boys leaders that said, “The warrant was just signed.” Tarrio testified Thursday that he didn’t confess to Lamond or receive any confidential information from him.
After the banner burning but before Tarrio’s arrest, Lamond told him that the FBI and U.S. Secret Service was “all spun up” by chatter that Proud Boys planned to dress up as supporters of President Joe Biden for the Democrat’s inauguration in January 2021.
“I’m just going to let them get all freaked out. They’re idiots,” Lamond wrote of his federal colleagues.
“Lol,” Tarrio responded.
Lamond, 48, of Colonial Beach, Virginia, retired in May 2023 after 23 years of service to the police department.
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