The Proud Boys, the right-wing militia group that has supported Donald Trump and committed acts of violence and vandalism to push its agenda, suffered an ironic legal setback. A predominantly Black church targeted by the the group has been awarded the trademark for the Proud Boys name and logo, giving the church control over the group’s merchandise and profits.
Church gets control over Proud Boys name, logo
The ruling from D.C. Superior Court Judge Tanya M. Jones Bosier is a follow-up to a lawsuit won by the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church against the Proud Boys over a December 2020 attack against the church. The Metropolitan AME Church won a more than $1 million default judgment against the Proud Boys in 2023, and Bosier ruled that the church would be given control over the Proud Boys name, logo and merchandise profits as a way of fulfilling this judgment. Under the judge’s orders, the Proud Boys International LLC must seek permission from Metropolitan AME for any commercial use of its name and logo, and profits from its merchandise are to go to the church.
Church attacked weeks before Jan. 6 insurrection
On Dec. 12, 2020, the Proud Boys held a massive and violent rally in D.C., which included the group vandalizing local churches, tearing down and even burning Black Lives Matter signs. Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was arrested for the action. He eventually entered a guilty plea for two misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to 155 days in prison for the church attack. Although Tarrio’s arrest led to him being kept out of Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, he and others were convicted of their role in planning the Jan. 6 attacks, with the Proud Boys leader sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Proud Boys and Trump support one another
Tarrio and various other Jan. 6 defendants were recently pardoned by President Donald Trump. Tarrio has since rejoined the Proud Boys and threatened that those who sent him to prison “need to pay for what they did” and should themselves be jailed. Trump’s pardoning demonstrates the mutual support that the president and the far-right militia have showed each other for years, dating back to Trump’s first presidency; Trump infamously called on the militia to “stand back and stand by” during a presidential debate in 2020.
Even with the president’s backing, however, it looks like the Proud Boys will at least pay a financial cost for their destructive activities. And the fact that the group’s name and logo will now help fund one of the very institutions that they attacked is an ironic development for the right-wing militia.
