D.C. police officer arrested, accused of leaking info to Proud Boys leader
"Lt. Shane Lamond told Henry “Enrique” Tarrio that police had a warrant out for him in advance of his arrest in the burning of a Black Lives Matter flag, prosecutors say
A D.C. police lieutenant was arrested Friday after he was accused of telling the leader of the far-right Proud Boys that he would be arrested for his actions after a December 2020 pro-Trump rally in Washington, obstructing the investigation ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack and lying to federal investigators afterward.
Shane Lamond, a 24-year veteran of the D.C. police and then the department’s head of intelligence, was indicted on one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements and will be arraigned later Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington, prosecutors said.
Lamond, 47, of Stafford, Va., was in touch with former Proud Boys chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, who was arrested on Jan. 4, 2021, for his part in burning a Black Lives Matter flag stolen from a historic African American church weeks earlier. Tarrio and three other Proud Boys leaders were convicted of seditious conspiracy in the Capitol riot earlier this month. In his trial, Tarrio’s defense argued that his communications with Lamond showed the Proud Boys did not conspire to commit violence and that the group had shared its plans with law enforcement.
But Tarrio’s prosecutors and Friday’s indictment cited other messages showing how much Lamond was sharing with Tarrio during the weeks leading up to the attack. Prosecutors alleged in Tarrio’s trial that the Proud Boys’ anger at police deepened when they received advance word that Tarrio would be arrested in Washington and that it contributed to their planning for violence in opposing federal authority, a key element of their convictions.
What to know about the Proud Boys sedition trial
Lamond, who was suspended with pay from the D.C. police a year ago, could not immediately be reached for comment.
His attorney, Mark E. Schamel, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the indictment. Schamel has described his client’s contacts with Tarrio as professional and part of his work to obtain intelligence and prevent clashes between the Proud Boys and other groups. Lamond’s wife had posted on social media that her husband was being criticized for doing his job.
In a statement in February, Schamel said his client did nothing to aid Jan. 6 rioters and “was only communicating with these individuals because the mission required it.” He added that Lamond “was instrumental” to Tarrio’s arrest and that “there is no legitimate law enforcement officer who is familiar with the facts of this case who would opine otherwise.”
The indictment is a black mark against the D.C. police department, which has otherwise been lauded for rescuing the understaffed and unprepared Capitol Police force during the siege. D.C. officers, many in riot gear and many of whom were injured, became the face of the fight to defend the Capitol and lawmakers from the mob. They were among those honored with the Congressional Gold Medal. Chief Robert J. Contee III has said the city’s police force “saved democracy.”
On Friday, D.C. police said in a statement that city officials “understand this matter sparks a range of emotions, and believe the allegations of this member’s actions are not consistent of our values and our commitment to the community.”
The department said it would launch an investigation into the lieutenant’s conduct when the criminal proceedings are complete. It said it had cooperated with the federal investigation from the onset and that Lamond was put on administrative leave in February 2022 after the FBI probe began.
Michael Fanone, a former D.C. police officer who was seriously injured when he was pulled into a crowd and beaten at the Capitol on the day of the riot, said Friday that he is hurt by the indictment.
Fanone, who became the public face of police who fought the mob, resigned in December 2021 after he said fellow officers turned on him for being outspoken. He said of the charges against Lamond: “This wasn’t just ineptitude and poor decision-making. There was a level of betrayal.”
The former officer publicly excoriated lawmakers and others who downplayed the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. He said it appears that the lieutenant may have failed to follow proper procedures in running sources. Fanone noted cardinal rules to never meet sources alone and to record every contact. From the indictment, he said, it appears “Lamond was giving out as much information as he was receiving.”
He added that the alleged actions by Lamond might help explain “why I felt I had to leave the police department in the manner that I did.”
According to the indictment, beginning in July 2019 and continuing to at least January 2021, Lamond and Tarrio were in regular contact regarding the Proud Boys’ planned actions in Washington and that Lamond began using Telegram to provide law enforcement information to Tarrio as early as at least July 2020.
For instance, on Dec. 18, 2020, Lamond revealed information about the investigation into the burning of the Black Lives Matter flag after a Dec. 12 Trump rally in Washington. Tarrio later pleaded guilty along with attempted possession of a high-capacity ammunition magazine upon his return to Washington three weeks later.
“Hey brother did you call in an anonymous tip to FBI claiming responsibility for the banner burning?” Lamond wrote.
“I did more than that. It’s on my social media,” Tarrio replied.
Lamond volunteered to check with the criminal investigators “to see if they have you on video.” He then cautioned that the FBI and U.S. Secret Service were “all spun up” about a comment Tarrio had made on a show on Infowars that in the future Proud Boys would disguise themselves as supporters of Joe Biden.
U.S. prosecutors alleged in the indictment that Tarrio shared Lamond’s information with other Proud Boys members and took action based on what Lamond had said.
On Christmas Day, for example, Lamond shared that he believed an arrest might be imminent because he had been asked to identify Tarrio in a photograph on the social network Parler, prosecutors said. On Jan. 4, as Tarrio was on a flight from Miami to Reagan National Airport, Lamond sent Tarrio notice that a warrant had been signed.
“#F — ktheblue,” other Proud Boys wrote in a group chat after Lamond’s first warning, and “Agree, they chose their f-----g side so let’s get this done.” Prosecutors said Proud Boys discussed storming the Capitol, overwhelming police and rallying “normies” to join their side in violence on behalf of President Donald Trump’s push to overturn the 2020 election.
Prosecutors said that after the second warning from Lamond, as Tarrio was being pulled over by D.C. police when he entered Washington from the airport, Proud Boys leaders repeated in Telegram and elsewhere “Nuke chats.”
Tarrio exchanged a 129-second phone call with co-defendant Joe Biggs, who was also convicted of seditious conspiracy, prosecutors said. After the call, Tarrio texted: “Whatever happens … make it a spectacle.”
Biggs replied in a word, “Yup.”
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