Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, is set to appear as a defense witness for Lt. Shane Lamond, a former officer of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department. Lt. Lamond, who served for 22 years in the MPD’s Intelligence Branch, is currently on trial for federal charges of obstructing justice and providing false information to federal agents. The focus of the trial revolves around Lt. Lamond’s association with Tarrio, who is presently serving a 22-year sentence for his involvement in seditious conspiracy activities linked to the events of January 6, 2021.
During a pre-trial hearing, Tarrio’s attorneys, Sabino Jauregui and Nayib Hassan, alleged that federal prosecutors had threatened to charge the D.C. police lieutenant with obstructing justice as a means to dissuade him from testifying. They argued that Lt. Lamond’s potential testimony could play a crucial role in his defense and might serve to exonerate him. Jauregui contended that if Lt. Lamond could verify that Tarrio and his cohorts had been transparent with law enforcement regarding their plans, it would undermine the basis of the alleged conspiracy to overthrow the government as stipulated in the charges against them.
At the eleventh hour, the defense counsel for Mr. Lamond was informed by the government that they were investigating him for alleged obstruction in relation to Mr. Tarrio, after withholding this information for six months. This shift in strategy was viewed as a tactical move to pressure Lt. Lamond, as the government seemingly lacked evidence to substantiate the conspiracy allegations in court. The question arises: How can charges of sedition stand if the Proud Boys were actively communicating their intentions to law enforcement prior to January 6?
The jury in Tarrio’s and his co-defendant’s case never heard Lamond’s testimony, while it may have been exculpatory. Lamond has since been charged by the DOJ, as previously threatened.
In fact, during his closing arguments, Tarrio’s defense attorney Nayib Hassan defended Lamond, calling the government’s characterization of him “shameful”:
Hassan called the government’s attempt to discredit Lamond “shameful,” highlighting a timeline of communications from Lamond giving other members of law enforcement and his superiors information regarding Tarrio’s plans, from November to January 4th. For clarity, in closing arguments, the defense for the former Proud Boys leader Tarrio took up arguments in defense of a police lieutenant who gave information leading to Tarrio’s January 4 arrest.
