'Beaches,' But Make It A Crooked Cop And A Proud Boy

Not that anyone ever asked for that.

 Friendship. Friendship. It's the perfect blendship. When other friendships have been forgot, ours will still be hot. Da da da da da da dit dit dit. — Cole Porter 

This week, 47-year-old Washington DC police lieutenant Shane Lamond learned the difficult lesson that making the leader of the Proud Boys your ride or die is the kind of thing that comes with consequences . Consequences like a federal grand jury indicting you on several counts related to trying to protect Enrique Tarrio and the Proud Boys from experiencing their own consequences related to the January 6 insurrection, the destruction of a Black Lives Matter banner, and other activities. He also had a habit of hepping Tarrio to police activity that might put him or the group at risk of getting in trouble.

From 2019 onward, Lamond and Tarrio communicated "at least 500 times using cloud-based messaging services, including Google Voice, Apple iMessages, and Telegram, an encrypted messaging application."

"For example," reads the indictment, "on July 8, 2020, using Telegram, LAMOND notified Tarrio that a bar in Washington, D.C. frequented by Tarrio and members of Proud Boys might be subject to sanctions after an Alcohol and Beverage Control violation was reported. LAMOND informed Tarrio, “I'm working on finding out what sanctions might be imposed. As soon as I find out I will let you know.”

In December of 2020, when Tarrio tore a Black Lives Matter banner off of a church and burned it , Lamond did his best to come in for the assist.

LAMOND: Hey brother, did you call in an anonymous tip to MPD claiming responsibility for the banner burning?

TARRIO: I did more than that. It's on my social media.

LAMOND: I gotcha. Someone called in an anonymous tip saying that you claimed responsibility for it.

TARRIO: This wasn't a hate crime. And I want to see it play out.

LAMOND: I'm curious to see what happens too. I will check with our CID [Criminal Investigations Division] people if they have you on video.

In their conversations, Lamond gave Tarrio confidential information related to the investigation and also let him know that there was a warrant out for his arrest. Although the conversation about the warrant was deleted, investigators could tell that one took place just before Tarrio told his fellow Proud Boys that he was about to be arrested.

When Tarrio asked him if he thought the banner burning was going to be a big deal or if law enforcement was going to "make a stink about it," Lamond told him about all the free PR he'd been giving the Proud Boys around the department.

“No, a bit of the opposite. I've been talking to CID about it," Lamont wrote. "They wanted to know what I know about your group and if think you all are racist. I told them you are made up a lot of Latinos and blacks, so not a racist thing. If anything said it’s political but then I drew attention to the Trump and American flags that were taken by Antifa and set on fire. I said all those would have to be classified as hate crimes too. Is not being investigated by FBI though. Just us (MPD).”

To be clear, it is still very much legal to burn an American flag. The issue with the Black Lives Matter banner was that it was stolen from a church. Had they brought their own Black Lives Matter flag to burn, it would have been gross, but it would have been legal. It's not legal to steal someone's stuff and then burn it, even if you're doing so because, as Tarrio claimed on Parler, you just really hate communism.

"I'm here to tell you that no hate crime was committed," Tarrio wrote on the now defunct-ish social media site, according to the indictment. "The only hate there i in my heart is for communism and an authoritarian government. BLM is a Marxist movement. It isn’t about the color of someone's skin. Against the wishes of my attorney I am here today to admit that I am the person responsible for the burning of this sign. And I am not ashamed of what I did because I didn’t do it out of hate... I did it out of love. Love for a country that has given my family SO MUCH. The burning of this banner wasn’t about race religion or political ideology it was about racist movement that has terrorized citizens of this country. I will not standby [sic] and what them burn another city. So let me make this simple. I did it. Come get me if you feel like what I did was wrong. We'll let the public decide. Forever PROUD. Enrique.”

The public, in the form of a jury, did in fact decide that what Tarrio did was wrong. 

Tarrio and Lamond also discussed the January 6 insurrection both before it happened, with Lamond asking him if he and the other Proud Boys planned to be there, and after it happened, with Lamond telling Tarrio that he personally supported the group.

LAMOND: Looks like the feds are locking people up for rioting at the Capitol. Hope none of your guys were among therm.

TARRIO: So far from what I'm seeing and hearing we're good

LAMOND: Great to hear. Of course I can’t say it officially, but personally I support you all and don’t want to see your group’s name or reputation dragged through the mud

TARRIO: One of my guys did get arrested in Hawaii. But he was just in there behind people. Recorded the whole thing for his YouTube. No damage.

Lamond then later lied to officials about his communications with Tarrio, saying that Tarrio never tried to get any information out of him and never got any and claiming that they never talked about the banner, which they obviously did.

Lamond has now been charged with one count of obstruction of justice, for warning Tarrio about the warrant, and three counts of making false statements in his lies about the communications he had with Tarrio.

Perhaps, if they are lucky, they will get assigned to the same prison and get started on a remake of The Shawshank Redemption that no one has ever wanted or asked for.

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