A leader of the Proud Boys is claiming credit for tearing down and burning a Black Lives Matter banner belonging to a local church last weekend.
The Proud Boys is a far-right organization identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group and classified by the FBI as having white nationalist ties. The group has a history of violence, including during recent rallies in Portland, Ore., and D.C.
Enrique Tarrio, the chairman of the organization, told DCist/WAMU he was responsible for destroying the banner. His comments echo claims he made in a post on the social media site Parler, which is popular among fringe groups and on an episode of War Boys, a podcast affiliated with the Proud Boys, that aired Thursday.