A lieutenant from the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., who was in charge of overseeing the intelligence branch, has been indicted this week. The lieutenant, named Shane Lamond, faces charges of obstruction of justice and making false statements. Lamond is accused of tipping off Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, about an impending arrest warrant just before the attack on the U.S. Capitol that took place on January 6.

Enrique Tarrio, who previously served as the chair of the Proud Boys, has already been found guilty of seditious conspiracy in connection with the Capitol attack, along with other members of the far-right group. However, Tarrio was not present in Washington on January 6 as he had been arrested earlier in connection with the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner. A judge had banned him from entering the city on the day before the attack.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the indictment states that between July 2019 and January 2021, Tarrio and Lamond communicated extensively through various encrypted messaging platforms, including Google Voice, Apple iMessages, and Telegram. They exchanged approximately 500 messages during this period, with around 145 messages sent through a secret chat function on Telegram that automatically erased the messages.

The indictment further reveals that Lamond obstructed the investigation into the burning of the Black Lives Matter banner, which occurred on December 12, 2020, during a pro-Trump event in Washington. It is alleged that Lamond was in communication with Tarrio regarding the banner investigation and informed him that he had spoken to another unit within the police department in an attempt to convince them that the Proud Boys were not a racist organization. Lamond’s message, included in the indictment, stated that the burning of the banner should be classified as a hate crime, similar to the actions of Antifa.

Additionally, Lamond sent a similar message to an official from the U.S. Capitol Police, stating that if they charged Tarrio with a hate crime, they should also charge what he referred to as “Antifa hate crimes.” It is worth noting that there is no federal law classifying politically motivated attacks as hate crimes, although Washington law allows for a sentencing enhancement if a locally charged crime can be proven to be based on the “political affiliation of a victim.”

The indictment also mentions that Tarrio received information about his impending warrant from Lamond while they were both on a flight from Miami to Washington on January 4, 2021. Tarrio was subsequently arrested upon his arrival in Washington on that same day.

Following the January 6 attack on the Capitol, Lamond and Tarrio continued their communication. According to another message cited in the indictment, Tarrio expressed his belief to Lamond that he could have prevented the entire incident.

In yet another message, Lamond expressed his hope on January 8 that none of the Proud Boys would be arrested. He voiced his personal support for the group and stated his desire to prevent any damage to their name or reputation.

Shane Lamond is scheduled to be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui on Friday, where he will face the charges