In a surprising turn of events, a Black church in Washington DC has gained control over the use of the Proud Boys name and symbols. This development stems from a December 2020 incident  when members of the extreme right-wing group vandalized the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal church and burned a Black Lives Matter banner. The far-right extremist group has a history of targeting and assaulting on churches and minority groups.

        Tension started growing in the country during the closing days of Donald Trump's first term. The civil trial linked the damage to the church vandalism and ultimately led to a verdict costing the church. The judgement was a whopping 2. 8 million dollars. This would be paid by members of the far-right group, but the church has battled to receive this payment.

        The Proud Boys, who were involved in several violent acts in Washington, failed to make good on 2. 8 million dollars judgement due to the Washington DC court.  This was because the members of the white supremacist group attempted to flee from their legal responsibilities by renaming their entity and giving up trademark rights. The court was not swayed by this shady tactic, however. Ultimately, this decision has resulted in a substantial shift in power, allowing the church to have control over the Proud Boys' name and symbols. This creates an  interesting way the church can recoup any losses from this incident.

        So, what does the church hope to achieve with this new power? Could it be a way to hold the Proud Boys accountable for their actions? Will it take on the financial assets from the far right group?  This remains to be seen.

        The court did not stop there. In a separate April 2023 court case, several high-profile members of the Proud Boys, including leader Henry "Enrique" Tarrio and fellow members John Turano, Joseph Biggs and Jeremy Bertino, were convicted of horrifying acts when they attacked the church. Former President Donald Trump pardoned Tarrio and other participants.

        The lowest low is that Tarrio was able to organize the attack on the Capitol Building but could not flee the punishment of his crimes and was imprisoned for 22 years. Tarrio was not a participant of the attack on the Capitol Building. Tarrio is a repeat offender and was acquitted of conspiracy to defraud the United States in June 2023 because he was attending the attack on the building. He was monitored from a hotel during the attack.  Reporters tried to get an interview about the attack on the black church but Tarrio was not interested.

        The far-right group is not happy with the turn of events. Tarrio, who has been vocal about his displeasure with the legal system, even called for the impeachment of the judges involved in the case. Legal disputes between the church and the group still loom, but the church's new power over the Proud Boys' brand could potentially help them gather any damages.

The Power Shift: Church Takes Control of Proud Boys' Brand

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