Proud Boys fined over $1 million for vandalizing sign at Black church

Members of the Proud Boys organization were ordered by a judge to pay over $1 million for vandalizing a "Black Lives Matter" (BLM) sign at a predominantly Black church in Washington, D.C., in 2020.

DC Superior Court Judge Neal E. Kravitz approved the default judgement in an acute order against members Joseph R. Biggs, Enrique Tarrio, Jeremy Bertino and John Turano, along with the group's limited liability corporation after they failed to show up to court to defend themselves, according to the Associated Press.

Kravitz ruled that the Proud Boys rally following former President Trump’s failed 2020 reelection bid was an “attack” on the church that “resulted from a highly orchestrated set of events focused on the Proud Boys’s guiding principles: white supremacy and violence." He also claimed their conduct was “hateful and overtly racist."

The judge, in a 34-page ruling, ordered the organization to pay the church $1.03 million.

In addition, he barred any member of the Proud Boys from coming near the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church or making threats or defamatory remarks against the church or its pastor for five years.

On Dec. 12, 2020, members of the far-right, neo-fascist group set fire to the sign on the Metropolitan AME property and removed a BLM banner owned by the Asbury United Methodist Church.

Metropolitan AME then sued the Proud Boys for trespassing and destroying religious property, alleging that they violated D.C. and federal law. They also sought damages to replace the sign and cover additional security that officials said was needed since the incident, The Washington Post reported.

The church filed an amended complaint in 2022, the post reported.

The Hill has reached out to the Metropolitan AME for comment.