Daily Archives: June 29, 2022

Washington A group of Proud Boys accused of seditious conspiracy on Wednesday successfully petitioned a judge to delay their trial until at least the end of the year. The move comes less than two weeks after their alleged leadership role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol took center stage in the first House Select Committee public hearing on the riot.

Judge Timothy Kelly said he "reluctantly" agreed to move the trial start date to December, pushing back its previously-scheduled start date of Aug. 8 .

Spearheaded by defendant Joseph Biggs who investigators say is an organizer of Proud Boys events and who is accused of being at the forefront of the far-right group's ascent on the Capitol the group argued the publicity and attention they received during the hearings would make their August trial unfair.

"It is estimated that trial will last from four to six weeks," Biggs' defense attorney argued, "Approximately 20 million Americans, which includes prospective jurors in this judicial district, watched and heard that Thursday evening prime-time production."

The House Jan. 6 select committee alleged in their first in a series of public hearing that hundreds of Proud Boys began marching to the Capitol before then-President Donald Trump's speech at the nearby Ellipse rallying supporters even began. One of the two witnesses who testified in the hearing was Nick Quested, a filmmaker who was with the Proud Boys on Jan. 6.

The defendants argued in court filings that this focus on the accusations against them would inject bias into a Washington, D.C. jury pool that is already likely "overrepresented among the hearing's viewership."

Criminal investigators in the Washington, D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office allege the group, led by Enrique Tarrio, conspired to obstruct and stop the counting of the Electoral College votes by forming a mob to force entry into the Capitol building.

Prosecutors revealed in a court filing late last week that they sent a letter to the House select committee members asking for access to transcripts and relevant evidence that may have been collected to assist in the criminal probe related to the riot. The interview transcripts, which the committee says total over 1,000, are "potentially relevant to our overall criminal investigations" and relevant to specific cases already in process, according to the letter from the Justice Department.

They have attempted to gain access to the Congressional evidence, but have so far failed to do so.

House Jan. 6 committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson said that while the committee is cooperating with the Justice Department and may allow prosecutors to view some of the evidence later this summer, they have their own timetable for releases and would not disclose the transcripts until they deemed fit.

Biggs and some of his fellow co-defendants argued that the pending release of these transcripts and a final report by the committee, which prosecutors said they were told might happen in September, would further lead to "contaminating" the potential jurors tasked with deciding their guilt

"The most shrill and spectacular overtures about the alleged role of the Proud Boys on January 6, 2021 are arguably yet to come and showcased before the nation in the next few days," Biggs' attorney wrote on Tuesday in arguing the trial should be moved until at least December.

Tarrio, the alleged leader of the Proud Boys on Jan. 6, opposed moving the trial date. His attorney told the court Tarrio, "believes that an impartial jury will never be achieved in Washington D.C. whether the trial is in August, December, or next year," adding, "Tarrio is innocent of all the accusations contained in the indictment and every day he spends locked up in jail is a travesty of justice."

Federal prosecutors notably consented to the proposed delay, arguing it was "necessary to avoid the potential Constitutional and due process issues that have been presented in the parties' filings."

The government agreed that the lack of committee interview transcripts and other potentially relevant information could impede the government from providing defendants with all of the information legally required for a fair trial.

"It is reasonably foreseeable that information relevant to the defendants' guilt (or innocence) could soon be released to the parties and the public. The parties' inability to prepare their respective cases to account for such additional information is potentially prejudicialto all parties," prosecutors wrote.

They noted, "Were the trial in this case not continued, the parties in this case could find themselves in the unprecedented position of litigating a criminal trial simultaneous to the release of a Congressional report that is likely to include robust descriptions of the criminal conduct" that would be at issue at trial.

Tarrio, Biggs, and co-defendants Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean, and Dominic Pezzola have all pleaded not guilty to the charges against them and remain in pretrial detention. Charles Donohoe, another alleged leader of the group, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and assaulting and impeding police officers earlier this year and is now cooperating with investigators.

Wednesday's successful calendar shift was not the first time Biggs has worked to change the course of the pending jury trial on account of alleged juror bias from the House Jan. 6 committee hearings.

Last week, Biggs' attorney once again asked Kelly to move the criminal trial out of Washington, D.C., accusing the House committee of fomenting "misrepresentations" and "outright lies" about the Proud Boys.

"The good, well-meaning, informed, media-attentive citizenry of the District of Columbia from which jurors are drawn will believe that spectacle as packaged," Biggs' request said, "They trust Congress."

So far, despite over a dozen separate attempts, no Jan. 6 defendant has successfully petitioned a judge to move their criminal cases out of the nation's capital.

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Proud Boys' trial delayed after defendants say Jan. 6 committee ...

Newly revealed video shows Proud Boys leaders calling on members to remain orderly and professional during the Jan. 6, 2021, march that turned into the U.S. Capitol riot.

Enrique Tarrio and some of his top lieutenants met Dec. 30, 2020, for a video conference to found the right-wing paramilitary group's Ministry of Self-Defense, and they told group members to remain in a defensive posture for their march the following week and keep "normies" away from them, but that's not what happened, reported the New York Times.

Were never going to be the ones to cross the police barrier or cross something in order to get to somebody, Tarrio said.

The extremist group's members played an aggressive and apparently coordinated role in breaking into the Capitol, and Tarrio and several other Proud Boys members have been charged with seditious conspiracy in connection with the deadly riot.

Proud Boys members also repeatedly instigated Donald Trump supporters around them in a tactic that members later described in private messages as riling up the normies.

The video conference has been mentioned in court papers but hasn't been widely seen, and the Times obtained a copy recently that had been seized from Tarrio's phone.

Proud Boys lawyers say the video recording shows the Ministry of Self-Defense was not "formed to plan a violent attack on the Capitol," as prosecutors allege, but shows the group was trying to avoid the chaos and violence from a Dec. 12, 2020, march in Washington, D.C., following a pro-Trump rally.

However, the video shows group members using flagrantly misogynistic, homophobic and antisemitic language and rarely mention the Capitol at all, and prosecutors say some of the Proud Boys in that meeting used violent language in private messages ahead of the riot.

Time to stack those bodies in front of Capitol Hill," one of the members posted in a group chat that included other members of the ministry.

What would they do if 1 million patriots stormed and took the Capitol building," said another member in the group. "Shoot into the crowd? I think not.

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New video shows Proud Boys ignored their own orders against violence ...

By WECT

Wilmington, N.C. A Wilmington library that was celebrating Pride month with a reading was disrupted by Proud Boy demonstrators Tuesday.

The Southern Poverty Law Group has designated the Proud Boys as far-right extremists and a hate group.

Some of the families in the library said they were frightened by the protest.

"I definitely felt very unsafe, though," said Emily Jones.

A Pride story-time event at Pine Valley Library on Tuesday started peacefully. But parents said it quickly turned chaotic and filled them with fear when a handful of Proud Boys showed up in the window of their event room.

"They're doing that on purpose, for sure, to intimidate people," said Jones.

Jones was inside with her 1-year-old daughter. She said she takes her daughter to the story-time events often and was especially excited for this one, but her excitement quickly turned to panic.

"When a group of known violent people ... at that point, when those people show up, and they're coming into the library and trying to disrupt the story time, that's when I felt unsafe," said Jones.

The New Hanover County Sheriff's Office had deputies at the event to prevent the Proud Boys from entering the room.

Angie Kahney was in the hallway when the demonstrators walked in. She said the group was loud and disruptive.

But in a statement, the sheriff's office said there was no disturbance.

"They were yelling obscenities about how their tax money was being spent on pornography and drag queens. There was shouting. It was loud their attempt was to intimidate and create a disruption, and that's exactly what they did," said Kahney.

"They definitely disturbed us," said Jones.

The sheriff's office said because it's a public place, there was no need for the Proud Boys to be removed. The sheriff's office declined an on-camera interview with WECT, but did release a statement from Sheriff Ed McMahon saying he "took an oath not to uphold opinions but to uphold the law, which is exactly what my supervisors and deputies did."

The Wilmington library said they were aware the Pride reading might create some controversy. Librarians coordinated with the sheriff's office in advance and brought additional staff and volunteers to help.

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Proud Boys disrupt Pride event at Wilmington library

Kathryn Vargas wasnt sure whether she would take her kids to the Pride Month Family Storytime event on Saturday at a public library in McKinney, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas.

The straight mom of three young boys, who lives in nearby Plano, wants to raise her children to be open-minded and accepting, but having seen similar Pride events become targets for confrontation around the country she had some reservations. There was already chatter of protesters showing up to this event, and with her firefighter husband at work, it would just be her with the kids.

Still, she felt compelled.

We decided that sometimes being an ally is just showing up, Vargas said. And so we decided that we would still show up and that it was important.

But when she arrived at the Roy and Helen Hall Library, she was greeted by an unexpected sight: a huge group of counterprotesters had completely outnumbered the right-wing demonstrators.

Wearing Pride rainbows and carrying signs to support the library and the LGBTQ community, these counterprotesters were on a mission to drown out the hate and make those attending feel welcome.

The word went out on the internetand people showed up, said Michael Phillips, a historian and senior research fellow at Southern Methodist University, who was among the counterprotesters. It was pretty well organized to make sure that the families bringing their children to this event weren't harassed, werent harangued basically to form a human shield.

We formed a corridor that families could pass through, Phillips added.

Courtesy of Michael Phillips

As an unusual Pride Month draws to an end, LGBTQ activists around the country have been disturbed by an increase in political and legislative attacks on the community, which have in turn compelled some on the far right to attend Pride events in order to intimidate people or cause mayhem.

On June 12, Idaho police arrested 31 white nationalists including seven from Texas in Coeur d'Alene, accusing them of seeking to disrupt a Pride event in a city park. On the same day in Alameda County, California, Proud Boys interrupted a Drag Queen Story Hour at a Bay Area library, shouting anti-gay and anti-transgender slurs. One of the men was wearing a T-shirt with an image of an AR-15 and the text "Kill your local pedophile." And just this weekend in Sparks, Nevada, Proud Boys also turned out to protest at a Drag Queen Story Hour event at a library on Sunday. Police were on scene, but had reportedly left by the time one of the men approached the library while carrying a gun, sending counterprotesters fleeing inside.

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Texas has been a hotbed for much of the anti-gay sentiment. In February, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state workers to investigate families who provide gender-affirming care for their trans children as potential child abusers however, this has been temporarily blocked by state courts. Abbott has also said he intends to prioritize a Texas version of Floridas Dont Say Gay bill, which would restrict mentions of LGBTQ topics in classrooms. Just this month, Abbotts Republican Party in Texas inserted anti-gay language into their official platform, calling homosexuality an abnormal lifestyle choice and opposing any special legal status for LGBTQ people or penalties for people who oppose the community, among other things.

We are the Republican Party of Texas, not the Westboro Baptist Church, one Republican delegate who opposed the changes told the crowd before he was met with boos.

Multiple LGBTQ events have also been targeted in the Dallas area by right-wing extremists, as Salon reported last week. These have included a family drag show at a local gay bar, an adults-only drag brunch, and a city council hearing that had passed a proclamation in support of Pride Month. A couple in McKinney have also called on school officials to remove almost 300 books they believe do not promote a healthy lifestyle.

Saturdays library event in McKinney came one day after another Pride event at a local clothing store was also threatened by protesters.

Denise Lessard, a spokesperson for the city of McKinney, told BuzzFeed News the Pride Month Storytime was in keeping with other library events that celebrate the communitys diversity. In honor of Pride Month each year, we display age-appropriate literature throughout the library and host programming that celebrates our LGBTQIA+ community, Lessard said. Our programs are clearly marketed so residents can choose what activities they want to attend. All are welcome.

Patrick Cloutier, a McKinney City council member at large, told BuzzFeed News he had apprehensions about the books that would be read at the event, so had visited the library on Friday to read them for himself. Objecting to mentions of the words queer and drag queen, he said he let other council members know he was concerned and wouldnt want his 2-year-old granddaughter exposed to such things.

But attending himself on Saturday, Cloutier said he was pleasantly surprised. The event was held in a room that wouldnt disturb other patrons who hadnt bought tickets or who didnt want to hear the readings. And the woman who read the books who was not a drag performer was engaging and made the children smile, Cloutier said.

I was appreciative that people who were voluntarily there got what they wanted and what they were looking for, Cloutier said. The way she engaged the kids and the words that came out of her mouth, I saw nothing wrong with when I was in there.

But outside, protesters had gathered. Initially, there had been a mix of people wearing Trump gear or religious insignia. Soon, suspected members of the Proud Boys and Three Percenters hate groups showed up, some armed and wearing body armor, others wearing face coverings from rest stop chain Buc-ee's that has become part of the Proud Boys uniform.

It was clear that they were there to intimidate, to scare, said Jesse Ringness, a documentary journalist in nearby Frisco who is running for state office as a Democrat.

Sisters Josie and Mallie, who asked that their last names not be published out of fear they might be targeted, said the militia members soon began making crude and hateful comments in attempts to agitate the counterprotesters.

They started kind of saying different things, calling us groomers, pedophiles. They were fat-shaming people, they were calling other women whores and just horrible things, Josie said. You could tell that they wanted to incite some type of violence. They just wanted to make us get angry so they could have something to use against us.

I was just thinking about how scared little tiny kids would be seeing masked people with big vests on wearing black, Mallie said. Like, that would be scary, just walking out in the library.

Four counterprotesters who spoke with BuzzFeed News said they purposefully tried not to pay any heed to the rhetoric, for fear of inflaming the situation. Instead, their goal was to try to counteract the hate with love.

When the kids started walking out from Pride storytime, they were booing them and kind of yelling different comments at them. So we just kind of cheered louder, Josie said. And people walked in front of the kids so they wouldn't see them.

It wasn't about fighting the other side. It wasn't about getting some viral clip. It was 100% about supporting those that were there for a free public event, Ringness said. And it's really disheartening to see a public library youth event for families drawing out armed militiamen. What did those armed militiamen expect to do with guns and pepper spray? I don't understand.

Given the expected protesters, officers were on hand to supervise, said McKinney Police Department spokesperson Carla Marion Reeves: We were not called to the scene, but were nearby, monitoring and keeping an eye on things to make sure the event was peaceful.

There were no arrests, but police issued one citation for assault by contact to someone who pushed another person an incident that appeared to be caught on camera and shared by Steven Monacelli, who first reported on the protests on Twitter.

Vargas, the mom who took her sons to the event, said she had felt uneasy by the right-wing protesters. Her oldest son had wanted to explore the library during the storytime event, but she insisted that he stay close in case LGBTQ opponents crashed the event.

There's nothing that can quite prepare you for just a deeply unsettling feeling of seeing armed hate groups close to your small brown children, Vargas said.

But when her family exited the event, any hateful chants were drowned out by cheers from LGBTQ supporters. One person even walked them to their car while blocking out hateful signs using an umbrella. Vargas said she felt extremely grateful, but also heartbroken that LGBTQ people had to protect an event that was designed to celebrate them.

There were protesters there that held up signs about protecting kids, but it was members of the LGBTQ community and allies that shielded my brown boys from these hate groups, Vargas said. They were the actual targets on Saturday. And yet, they absolutely would not flinch when hatred stared at them.

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Proud Boys Showed Up To A Pride Month Library Event But Were Met With A ...

Twice in two weeks, at libraries in North Carolina and in California, members of the Proud Boys have crashed Pride Month events for kids in angry pursuit of storytellers in large wigs and very high heels.

"Bring out the drag queens!" witnesses say members of the Cape Fear chapter of the extremist group chanted on Tuesday, outside a locked reading-room door at a library three miles south of Wilmington, North Carolina as a half-dozen frightened preschoolers and their parents listened inside.

"It wasn't even a drag queen event," Emily Kaufman of the Anti-Defamation League told Insider. "It was Pride Storytime, and they were reading 'Heather has two Mommies' and 'Daddy & Dada.'"

No matter.

Even the rumor of Drag Queen Story Hour was enough for seven or eight men in Proud Boys regalia to try to enter the room and to lead other demonstrators in demanding to "see the drag queen," according to WHQR.

The New York City-based program brings drag queens to schools, libraries, and bookstores around the country, to read to kids in a celebration of books and diversity.

"During storytime we entered the library to ensure the children were not subject to a drag queen or age-inappropriate behavior from the staff," the "Official Cape Fear Proud Boys" posted later on Tuesday, on Telegram.

"If this is happening in your town let them know you're watching."

It was the second incident in as many weeks.

On June 11, a Saturday, some 10 men in Proud Boys regalia barged into a reading room of a library in San Lorenzo, California, where Bay Area drag queen Panda Dulce was reading to children.

The men made white power hand gestures and shouted "Who brought the tranny?" and "It's a groomer. It's a pedophile," Dulce told ABC.

"One of the Proud Boys at the scene wore a T-shirt displaying an image of an assault rifle," said Kaufman. "Alongside the phrase, 'Kill Your Local Pedophile.'"

The Alameda County Sheriff's Office has opened a hate crimes investigation into the incident, NBC News reported.

"The Proud Boys are incredibly transphobic," Kaufman said of the group, which has some 119 chapters in 46 states recognized by its national organization.

"But this month, many chapters have decided to celebrate quote-unquote Western Pride Month instead," said Kaufman.

"Several chapters have committed to posting anti-LGBTQ-plus rhetoric every day during Pride Month," she said.

"This is the most intense rhetoric I've seen from the Proud Boys since I've been monitoring them for the last two years," she added. "It's been so heinous and awful."

So why are the Proud Boys so obsessed with drag queens?

Jonathan Hamilt is the executive director for Drag Queen Story Hour, which has 50 chapters throughout the US and 20 more overseas.

Hamilt thinks the rabid opposition from extremists of all stripes has to do with ignorance and misinformation the very things that his organization strives to abolish through inclusiveness and play.

"We're challenging the patriarchy and challenging the binary. We're challenging societal norms and forced gender roles and stereotypes that have been in our culture literally forever."

As for the Proud Boys themselves, "We're trying not to say their names in interviews or call attention to it because they're getting enough air time," Hamilt said.

"It's Pride Month and we're trying to focus on being proud of who we are and doing our programming," he explained.

"We have a great community that loves us and wants us there. That's always been way greater than any opposition," he added.

And like the extremist group whose name he won't mention, "We are defiantly loud and very organized as well," he said.

"Just with glitter."

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Why Are the Proud Boys so Afraid of Drag Queens?

Lisa Gialdini Schurr| Sarasota Herald-Tribune

A collective sigh of relief was exhaled by many when they read the recent Herald-Tribune article reporting thatSarasota County School Board candidate Robyn Marinelli had finally decided to skip a meet-and-greet eventthat was to be hosted, for her benefit, by local Proud Boy James Hoeland his wife Kathy.

But if you believeMarinelli deserves a standing ovation for doing the right thing, you may want to sit back down.Marinelli has continued to claim that she did not know Proud Boy Hoel, but that is clearly not the case.

Marinelli met and spoke with Hoel at The Hollow in Venice on Dec.3, 2021, during an event sponsored by Unmask Freedom, a Proud Boy front group. In a video that was livestreamed and publicly posted by Unmask Freedom, Hoel and Marinelli are clearly shown having a one-on-one chat and after their discussion, Marinelli appears to give Hoelher business card.

Hoel was the emcee at the Hollow event, where current School Board Member Karen Rosewas a featured speaker.Roses appearance with the Proud Boys was detailed in a Dec. 28, 2021 Herald-Tribune guest column thatI co-authored. But at that time we were unaware that Marinelli had also attended the event.

Publicly available Florida incorporation records indicate that Hoel and his wife established Unmask Freedom as a nonprofitshortly before the event at The Hollow.The other incorporators were Proud Boy Nicholas Radovich, and his wife, Melissa Radovich. Unmask Freedom was used as a front group for these Proud Boys to hold events and make social media posts.Numerous photos have been publicly postedshowing Hoel and Radovich at various events and protestswhile wearing Proud Boy gear andwaving Proud Boy flags.

Hoel and the Radovichs, along with other Proud Boys and their followers, are frequent disruptors at Sarasota County School Board meetings and they sometimes weartheir Proud Boy gear. During aDecember 2021 SchoolBoardmeeting, Nicholas Radovich directly addressed Board Member Bridget Ziegler and stated the group's support for her. In case anyone is curious, Ziegler has never publicly repudiated the Proud Boys support.

None of these facts are secret; this information is widely available.Unfortunately, what may not be as widely known is how involved the Proud Boys, their affiliated front groupsand their assorted followers have become in local elections, particularly in supporting School Board candidates Ziegler, Marinelli and Tim Enos.

Nor has it been widely reported that the Sarasota County Republican Party, through precinct captains Jim and Sally Nista, were planning to take an active role at the Proud Boy-sponsored event at the Island Organics Caf in Venice.

The Proud Boys have worked through several other front groups over the last six months, as have their wives and supporters. And whenever their cover is blown, they simply move on to another front group.

Lately, they seem to be working through a group called Sarasota Freedom Friends,"which appears to be an unincorporated organization.You may soon find them showing up at your front door or at your church or synagogue handing out campaign literature.

Are Ziegler, Marinelli and Enos as well as Sarasota County's Republican Party willing to accept support and backing from a known hate group like the Proud Boys? Do they support the hatred and oppression that is espoused by the Proud Boys? And, perhaps more importantly, what is it about these candidates and their platforms that the Proud Boys and their front groups find so appealing?

There comes a point in time where wemust draw a line in the sand on this issue.But in addition to drawing thatline,we must also erect a barricade against the toxicrhetoric espoused by the Proud Boys and other hate groups. And that's why the time has come for all of the candidates running for the Sarasota County School Board to loudly and publicly denounce the Proud Boys.

This challenge is not just for the School Board candidatesit also appliesto our localRepublican and Democratic parties. Our community must say it loudly and clearly: Hate has no home in Sarasota County!

Lisa Gialdini Schurr is a retired international tax attorneywho spent 20 yearsliving and working in Russia, Kazakhstan andthe Baltic states.She has resided in Sarasota since 2011.

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Sarasota school board candidates must openly condemn the Proud Boys - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

JEFFERSON COUNTY, W.Va. (DC News Now) Tricia Jackson, a Jefferson County Commissioner, is under fire after a photo surfaced on social media, showing her posing with two Proud Boys.

The Facebook post shows Jackson in a photo with two proud boys who are holding up a white power sign.

Residents in Jefferson County say hate doesnt belong in their community.

These are people who attacked our capital. They attacked our democracy, the very core of what makes us Americans. She should resign, said Ronda Lehman.

The Jefferson County Chapter of the NAACP is calling for her resignation.

She represents the entire county. She has a great responsibility and messing around with one organization is detrimental to our community, said George Rutherford, president of the Jefferson County chapter of the NAACP.

Jackson declined our request for an interview, but in a statement, she says: I have no intention of resigning over what is an innocent photo that was taken at a local establishment at the request of two gentlemen. This is nothing more than a smear campaign by the left and some of the volunteer fire departments to stop the county from restructuring and improving ems service.

Some residents arent buying that saying Jackson is offering that up merely as a distraction.

Not only is she hanging out with insurrectionists, shes hanging out with insurrectionists clearly flashing a white member symbol of pride. That doesnt belong here, doesnt belong in our community.

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NAACP calls for Jefferson County Commissioner Jacksons resignation after posing with Proud Boys - WDVM 25

About two years before D.C. Police Lt. Shane Lamond was suspended, in February 2022, for accusations of improper communication with the right-wing extremist group the Proud Boys, he was accused of time theft, according to information provided to City Paper and confirmed by the Metropolitan Police Department.

Director Carolyn Montagna, Lamonds direct supervisor, was also accused of approving overtime for him, according to information from multiple sources familiar with the allegations, who provided details on the condition that they not be named. These sources also allege that Montagna and Lamond were in a romantic relationship at the time.

Internal Affairs Division Sergeant David Chumbley investigated some, but not all, of these allegations and left several key questions unanswered, according to the sources information. Chumbley, one of the officers involved in a separate complaint around a t-shirt with racist implications, requested that his superiors cancel the inquiry. It is unclear from the information provided to City Paper whether Chumbleys supervisors agreed with his recommendation and what, if any, further investigation occurred.

MPD spokesperson Dustin Sternbeck confirms that MPD opened an investigation and says it is now closed. Sternbeck would not provide any further details. Chief Robert Contee did not respond to an email that requested an interview and contained a list of the details City Paper intended to publish. The department generally does not provide the public with details of personnel matters, which can be embarrassing for individual officers and for the department. Neither Lamond nor Montagna responded to City Papers emails seeking comment.

Contees silence stands in stark contrast to the special access to investigatory details MPD recently gave to the Washington Post. In May, the Post published a detailed account of MPDs search for the person who fired more than 200 rounds at Edmund Burke School and the surrounding area. Post reporter Peter Hermann was granted early and exclusive access to MPDs investigation, according to the article, a move that angered members of the local press corps.

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In June of 2020, four MPD employees noticed an irregularity in the departments timekeeping database with Lamonds overtime. They reported to the internal affairs division that Montagna and Lamond were stealing time, according to the sources information. Montagna is Lamonds supervisor and the civilian director of MPDs Joint Strategic and Tactical Analysis Command Center, a hub of information responsible for providing crime alerts to MPDs command staff and to the public. The center also gathers and analyzes information, including from social media, to assist MPD investigators and coordinates with federal agencies.

The four MPD employees alleged that Montagna entered 99 hours of overtime for Lamondan excessive amount compared to others in his unit, the four employees told MPDs internal affairs division. The four employees also alleged that Lamond and Montagna consistently left work for long periods of time while on duty and that their relationship was common knowledge among command center staffers, according to information from City Papers sources.

The complainants told an internal affairs agent they suspected Montagna had abused her authority by entering Lamonds overtime given their alleged relationship.

Screenshots of MPDs internal timekeeping database, which another source shared with City Paper, indicate that for the pay period ending June 6, 2020, Lamond was paid for 80 hours of regular work, 99.99 hours of overtime, and eight hours of CT or comp time. The screenshots show one other employee with 99.99 hours of overtime, but most others range from 20 to 45 hours.

The timekeeping database tracks which employees enter or alter overtime, and the screenshots provided to City Paper indicate that over the course of five days, from June 3 to 7, Montagna modified Lamonds timesheet 14 times.

About a month after the internal affairs division received the complaints, Chumbley requested the investigation be canceled and that no further action be taken, according to the sources.

In his request, Chumbley described the investigative work he did to arrive at his conclusion. According to sources, Chumbley only interviewed two of the four complainants, who were unable to provide direct evidence to support their allegations of time fraud other than the outsized overtime.

Chumbley then reviewed Lamonds overtime hours and noted that for the pay period in question, Lamond was paid for 87.9 hours of overtime related to the George Floyd protests, 26.6 hours of overtime for callback for intelligence cases, and 11.3 hours of overtime for COVID-19 screening, according to information provided by City Papers source.

Chumbley noted that Lamonds 125.8 overtime hours was consistent with other members of the department who were integral in the response to the George Floyd protests and he found nothing suspicious or irregular, according to the source. He also noted that it is within MPD policy for supervisors to enter subordinates time and attendance.

But nowhere in Chumbleys request to cancel the investigation does he say that he looked into the allegations that Montagna and Lamond are in a romantic relationship or that they regularly disappeared for extended periods of time while on duty, according to the source.

There is also no indication that Chumbley interviewed Lamond or Montagna.

Multiple sources familiar with MPDs internal investigations say that the request to cancel an investigation is unusual, especially without speaking to the accused or interviewing all complainants. Its unclear what steps MPD took after Chumbley passed the case to the assistant chief, whether there was further investigation, or how the case was resolved. MPD will not provide those details. Chumbley did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Lamond is still suspended while hes under investigation by MPD, the FBI, and the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly communicating with former Proud Boys leader Henry Enrique Tarrio. The Post quoted Tarrio saying he communicated with Lamond when the Proud Boys planned to be in D.C. Tarrio told the Post that his contact with Lamond was professional and that Lamond would tell him where counterprotesters were located in order to avoid conflict. But, the Post noted, a night of violent confrontations involving the extremist group in 2020 calls that into question.

Link:

Shane Lamond, MPD Lieutenant Under Investigation For Ties to Proud Boys, Accused of Time Theft Two Years Ago - Washington City Paper