The naming rights of The Proud Boys now belong to a historically Black church in Washington D.C. that the far-right extremist group attacked following the 2020 presidential election.
According to The New York Times, Judge Tanya M. Jones Bosier ruled that the group’s trademark name now belongs to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, which means that the Proud Boys can no longer use their organization’s name, logo, or insignia without the church’s permission.
The decision also paves the way for the church to seize any proceeds from the sale of merchandise featuring the group’s name.
The ruling comes after The Proud Boys failed to pay the $2.8 million default judgment the church was awarded in June 2023 in its civil suit against the group, alleging that the attack amounted to “acts of terror” and was intended “to intimidate the church and silence its support for racial justice.”
When The Proud Boys didn’t turn over the money, attorneys for the church argued that the matter could begin to be satisfied if the church took control of the trademarked name, which would prevent the group from “selling, transferring, disposing of or licensing” any merchandise using the words “Proud Boys” or any of the organization’s symbols.
Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who President Donald Trump recently pardoned from serving a 22-year sentence for plotting and directing the Jan. 6 insurrection, condemned Bosier’s decision.
“Their actions are a betrayal of justice,” he told The Times. “I hold in contempt any motions, judgments and orders issued against me.”
Tario added in his lengthy quote, “Though the corrupt judicial system unjustly confined me two weeks ago, my faith in Jesus Christ has set me free. I pray for their sake they do not suffer the same fate as Pharaoh. However, let it be known: retribution is inevitable.”
The Metropolitan AME Church has no plans to back down. “This is our time to stand up, to be very clear to the Proud Boys and their ilk that we came here fighting, that we have never ever capitulated to the violent whims of White supremacist groups,” Rev. William H. Lamar IV told CBS Moneywatch. “If they thought we would be afraid, they were wrong. There are many people with us and who stand with us.”
Tarrio and other Proud Boys members targeted and vandalized Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal nearly a month before the deadly U.S. Capitol attack.
During a pro-Trump rally on Dec. 12, 2020, a violent clash between Trump supporters and counter protesters broke out and the group jumped a fence surrounding the church, then tore down and burned a Black Lives Matter flag the church erected following the death of George Floyd. They also burned down banners at Asbury United Methodist Church, another historically Black church.
Tarrio pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor criminal charges of property destruction and attempted possession of a high-capacity magazine and was sentenced to more than five months in jail.