February 5, 2025
The judge’s ruling means the Proud Boys, including the people associated with it nationwide, can no longer use their own name or the group’s traditional symbols without permission from Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church.
The Proud Boys no longer own the rights to its name. A Washington, D.C. judge awarded the Proud Boys’ trademarked name to the Black church the far-right group vandalized four years ago. Judge Tanya M. Jones Bosier’s ruling fulfills a $2.8 million default judgment against the group by a different judge in 2023 so the church could recover damages incurred during a 2020 attack.
Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, and several other of his followers attacked the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in a night of violence during a pro-Trump rally in December 2020.
“The Church has a long history of standing up for justice and against all forms of hate,” the church’s pastor, Rev. William H. Lamar IV, told CNN. “We are determined to hold the Proud Boys accountable and will continue this fight.”
Bosier’s two-page ruling says the Proud Boys’ trademark will be transferred to the church. Her ruling means that the organization, including the people associated with it nationwide, can no longer use its own name or the group’s traditional symbols. The church has to give the group permission to use it. The New York Times reported that the ruling also prohibited the Proud Boys from selling any merchandise with its name or symbols without consent.
Bosier’s ruling also allows the church to seize money from the Proud Boys if they sell merchandise with the name or familiar logos. To no surprise, rather than accountability for his actions, Tarrio calls for the church to revoke its nonprofit status. He also says the judge should be impeached.
“This organization, masquerading as a church, must be subjected to a thorough audit, and its nonprofit status revoked immediately,” Tarrio wrote on X.
“The judge’s conduct in this case necessitates impeachment and investigation.”
Tarrio, who claims to follow Jesus Christ, adds, “I hold in contempt any motions, judgments, and orders issued against me.”
The former Proud Boys leader was serving a 22-year prison sentence for seditious conspiracy before Trump pardoned him last month, along with other Jan. 6 rioters.
Judge Neal E. Kravitz described the December 2020 attack on the Black church as “highly orchestrated” that featured “hateful and overtly racist conduct” from Proud Boys members, CNN reported.
According to Kravitz, several Proud Boys members leaped over the church’s fence and headed directly to a Black Lives Matter sign. The judge said they then broke the zip ties that held the signs in place, tore the sign down, and stomped on it while loudly celebrating.
RELATED CONTENT: Former Jan. 6 Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie G. Thompson Condemns Trump’s Pardon Of Violent Rioters
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