DC police officer convicted for Proud Boys leaks sentenced to more than year in prison

A District of Columbia police lieutenant convicted of tipping off Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio that he was being investigated, and who later lied about their communication, was sentenced Friday to 18 months in prison.

Former Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Lt. Shane Lamond was found guilty last year on one count of obstructing justice and three counts of making false statements to federal law enforcement officials.

Federal prosecutors accused him of warning Tarrio, then national chairman of the right-wing extremist group, that D.C. law enforcement had an arrest warrant for him related to the destruction of a Black Lives Matter banner. 

They also said he lied to law enforcement when pressed on the nature of his relationship with Tarrio, suggesting it was “one-sided.”

Lamond told U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Friday that he “respectfully disagrees” with her finding of guilt but, “in retrospect,” agrees he made several errors throughout his communications with Tarrio.  

He said that he believed that building rapport with Tarrio was part of doing his job but described his efforts as “sloppy,” lamenting that his conviction had now upended his career and life.  

“Frankly, I’m broken at this point,” the former law enforcement officer added.  

Jackson said the idea Lamond could have done better when communicating with the Proud Boys leader was “quite the understatement.” His conduct was not consistent with police practices “unless you twist them until they’re unrecognizable,” she said.  

Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of four years in prison. The government’s sentencing memorandum was submitted under Ed Martin, who was President Trump’s first pick for U.S. Attorney in D.C. but ultimately moved into another Justice Department post when his Senate confirmation seemed unlikely.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Ross called Lamond a “trusted leader” who used his reputation to “insert himself” into the investigation of Tarrio. 

“MPD was able to bring Tarrio to justice not because of the defendant but in spite of the defendant,” she said.  

At trial, prosecutors said Lamond’s communications with Tarrio grew more secretive and frequent as pressure to arrest him mounted in 2020.

Both Lamond and Tarrio took the stand at the week-long bench trial. Lamond said he never passed sensitive police information along to Tarrio.

Tarrio as a witness in Lamond’s defense said he never received any confidential information from the lieutenant.

Lamond attorney Mark Schamel told Jackson they “fundamentally disagree” on the facts of the case and urged her to give him a sentence without incarceration, instead asking for probation and suggesting that the police officer’s ruined career and reputation in the media is punishment enough.  

“Shane Lamond has been destroyed,” he said.  

Schamel also indicated that a pardon from Trump was not likely. Jackson rejected the notion that the potential for future clemency could sway her decision.  

The judge called the government’s 48-month sentencing request “excessive” but said that probation would “not suffice.”  

She acknowledged that, until the incident regarding Tarrio, Lamond performed his job with “honor.” Letters from his family painted a picture of a dedicated father, partner and son.  

However, that cuts both ways, Jackson said, and the then-officer “should have known better than this.” 

“You repeatedly dishonored the badge,” the judge added.

Tarrio was arrested over the incident on Jan. 4, 2021, and ordered out of the nation’s capital. He wasn’t in Washington two days later, when a mob of Trump’s supporters — including dozens of Proud Boys — stormed the Capitol in aim of stopping the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

The Proud Boys leader was sentenced to 22 years in prison after being convicted of seditious conspiracy but was pardoned by Trump when he returned to the White House.

Tarrio was in the courtroom Friday, alongside Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and Ivan Raiklin, a Trump supporter who has deemed himself “Secretary of Retribution.”

Outside the courthouse, the former Proud Boys leader said Lamond is “worthy” of a pardon from Trump. Rhodes, who was sentenced to an 18-year prison term for sedition that was commuted to time-served by Trump, called Lamond a “J6er” for how he has been treated over the incident, a term of endearment for those who participated in the Capitol riot.

“This has to be corrected,” Tarrio said.  

Updated at 1:10 p.m. EDT.