Attorneys for Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and his co-defendants on Friday said federal prosecutors threatened to charge a D.C. police lieutenant with obstruction of justice to prevent him from testifying as a key defense witness at their upcoming seditious conspiracy trial in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
D.C. police Lt. Shane Lamond could provide “very important” and exculpatory testimony indicating Tarrio and the Proud Boys “told police exactly where they were going to be” before their events in Washington, including the Jan. 6 demonstrations supporting president Donald Trump, Tarrio’s attorneys Sabino Jauregui and Nayib Hassan said at a pretrial hearing. There can be no conspiracy to overthrow the government, as Tarrio and others are charged of, if they were openly telling police their plans, Jauregui said.
The lieutenant, a 22-year veteran in the intelligence branch, was put on leave in February amid an investigation into whether he had improper contacts with Tarrio. Details of those contacts have not been divulged, though Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) has said they involve the Jan. 6 insurrection.
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Lamond’s job in 2020 was to gather information from protesters before actions including social justice demonstrations and marches supporting Trump, which the Proud Boys joined. Activists complained that D.C. police enjoyed a cozy relationship with the right-wing group, but department officials have said officers were trying to keep warring sides...
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