In a scathing ruling against Proud Boys International LLC, Judge Neal E. Kravitz of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia ordered damages of $1,036,626.78 be awarded to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church of D.C.
On page 10 of Judge Kravitz’s memorandum, he states, “The December 12, 2020 attack on Metropolitan AME resulted from a highly orchestrated set of events focused on the Proud Boys’ guiding principles: “white supremacy and violence.”
In contradiction to Judge Kravitz’s claim, however, the daylight hours prior were filled with little violence and even less white supremacy.
At 11:01 AM, I snapped a photo of a copy of the Proud Boys Tenets — just one of the hundreds of sheets being distributed all around town.
I quickly posted the photo to my Facebook account, and it was promptly removed. Mark Zuckerberg said the tenets promoted hate speech and hit me with a 30-day ban.
Later that evening, confrontations between BlackBloc ANTIFA and Proud Boys escalated substantially. Several stabbings occurred, clouds of pepper spray seasoned the air, and Proud Boys exhibited frustration with DC Metropolitan Police.
12/12/20 6:27PM. A visibly intimidated Metro Police Officer is confronted about alleged disrespect shown to a Proud Boy. Proud Boys continue to voice disdain for the apparent inequity with which which law and order is enforced in the District of Columbia. pic.twitter.com/tuYqOiXX19
— Shawn Bradley Witzemann (@ShawnWitzemann) February 22, 2022
Under the guise of protecting DC residents, Metro Police provided cover for rogue movements of ANTIFA agitators while they freely attacked otherwise peaceful MAGA demonstrators who were in town for a rally.
But you won’t read about that in The New York Times.
Neither will you read how under the direction of Mayor Muriel Bowser, DC Metro Police failed miserably in keeping the peace. As night set in, opposing groups spread across the city and hunted one another — looking for violent opportunities.
It was an absolute disaster.
After an earlier altercation between a line of DC Metro Police and an agitated group of Proud Boys, I asked National Geographic Reporter Louie Palu if he’d seen any animals.
12/12/20 6:37PM. I have a brief chat with who I believe to be veteran National Geographic photographer @loupalu about whether or not he’s seen any animals on the streets of DC. pic.twitter.com/z6k1iPtdPE
— Shawn Bradley Witzemann (@ShawnWitzemann) February 22, 2022
For anyone present, the evening of December 12, 2020, remains unforgettable — indelible in the mind like black ink on an otherwise boring tablecloth.
The Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church was just six blocks north of the Asbury United Methodist Church, where a similar banner was on the same evening also taken by Proud Boys.
Proud Boys later burned the Asbury BLM banner within view of Hotel Harrington at the intersection of 11th and E Streets NW.
12/12/20 11:53PM. A random Proud Boy from Chicago is kind enough to take over my stream while I have a beer. Unknown (at the time) paraphernalia is burned in the intersection. That fire would ultimately be used as the impetus for the arrest and incarceration of Enrique Tarrio. pic.twitter.com/LdJLk81mWa
— Shawn Bradley Witzemann (@ShawnWitzemann) March 9, 2022
Only a few minutes afterward, an altercation began and DC resident Philip Johnson (who many still believe was a leftist agitator) stabbed Proud Boy Jeremy Bertino.
Criminal charges against the man who stabbed Bertino were dropped, and the FBI investigated banner burning as a hate crime.
But positively identifying the person who lit fire to the banner never seemed much of a concern.
In what now seems all too obvious, the FBI’s action was all about precedent.
Enrique Tarrio saved them some trouble. He took responsibility for the burning and issued a statement through Parler on December 17.
But much of America took responsibility in spirit.
The evening of December 12, 2020, was marked by what now seems like an absurd sense of victory in the raucous crowd assembled in the streets outside of Hotel Harrington.
The burning of the banner represented a fleeting moment of retribution against the forces of Marxism after an entire summer filled with covid-excused totalitarianism and violent BLM riots.
That was when the MAGA nation had no problem with being Proud Of Your Boy.
Strange how sentiments changed since December 2020.
Two-and-a-half years later, Tarrio, Biggs, and Nordean each await sentencing for federal convictions of Seditious Conspiracy associated with January 6, 2021.
The same men who nearly half of the country placed upon a pedestal now struggle to raise funds for appeal.
As for the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church of DC, it’s unlikely that damages for the “hate crimes” of December 12, 2020, will ever be satisfied.
“I doubt the church will see a dime,” Joe Biggs’ attorney, Norm Pattis, reportedly said in an email to The New York Times, “None of the defendants appeared to contest the case…I don’t think anyone is losing any sleep over this.”
But while the obscene inequity in justice increases division through thousands of DoJ prosecutions and biased rulings of the DC Judiciary, perhaps more Americans should be losing sleep.
During his August 2021 sentencing for the banner burning at Hotel Harrington, Enrique Tarrio reportedly told the court he was “profusely” apologetic for what he then described as a “grave mistake.”
Still, some remain inclined to argue:
Proud Boys Did Nothing Wrong.
