A federal judge sentenced a Washington, D.C. police officer to 18 months in prison on Friday for obstructing justice and lying about his relationship with the former leader of the right-wing group, Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio.
A jury found Lt. Shane Lamond guilty in December last year of leaking details to Tarrio about an investigation into the burning of a Black Lives Matter flag during a protest in D.C. He was convicted of one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements.
Amy Berman Jackson, the judge in the case, said Lamond had a close relationship with Tarrio and undermined his police department with “entirely unauthorized” communication with the Proud Boys leader. Tarrio was convicted in 2023 for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and was sentenced to 22 years in prison before Trump pardoned him and other rioters.
Lamond’s lawyers refused to say he impeded the investigation into the Black Lives Matter flag burning.
“Mr. Lamond’s police intel work certainly strayed from the ideal,” his lawyers said. “But he did not impede the investigation in any way, and was the most significant source of information used to successfully prosecute Mr. Tarrio.”
His lawyers said Lamond was seeking intelligence from Tarrio that could stop protesters from coming to D.C. after the 2020 election.
The 18-month mark is well below the 4 years prosecutors had argued for, saying Lamond “used his access and power in pursuit of his own personal agenda,” and lied about his relationship with Tarrio multiple times.
The prosecutors pointed to a private message from Lamond to Tarrio, which appeared to show his support for Tarrio.
“Of course I can’t say it officially,” he wrote in one message, “But personally I support you all and don’t want to see your group’s name or reputation dragged through the mud.”
Prosecutors wrote a memo before the sentencing, saying that despite “being a sworn member of law enforcement, Lamond’s reaction was to cover up the facts and protect himself at the expense of his fellow officers and the public.”
PROUD BOYS SUE DOJ FOR $100 MILLION OVER JAN. 6 CHARGES
Tarrio was at the sentencing on Friday and called on the Justice Department to “step in and correct the injustice that I just witnessed.”
On the same day, he said members of the Proud Boys who were convicted in the riots were bringing a $100 million lawsuit against the government.