A judge recently ruled in favor of a historic Black church located in Washington, granting it control over the Proud Boys trademark after the far-right group failed to comply with a substantial $2.8 million judgment.
The decision, issued on Monday by D.C. Superior Court, transfers the rights to the Proud Boys’ name and associated trademarks to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), effectively prohibiting the organization from marketing any products featuring their name or symbols without the church’s explicit approval. Furthermore, this ruling enables the church to pursue any financial gains generated from the sale of Proud Boys merchandise.
The church initiated legal action in an effort to recover damages stemming from vandalism committed by Proud Boys members following a pro-Donald Trump rally in December 2020. During that event, Black Lives Matter banners were destroyed and set ablaze at two different churches, including the Metropolitan AME. The evening also saw violent confrontations among opposing protest groups, which led to multiple arrests.
Enrique Tarrio, who was the leader of the Proud Boys at the time, admitted to involvement in these acts of vandalism and later received a sentence exceeding five months in jail for those actions, in addition to other charges. More severely, Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for his role in orchestrating the violent riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
On his first day in office, then-President Donald Trump offered pardons and commutations, as well as pledging to dismiss cases against over 1,500 individuals charged in connection to the January 6 insurrection, including Tarrio.
In posts shared on X, Tarrio expressed dissatisfaction with the judicial process, claiming that the presiding judge had denied him and the other defendants their right to a proper defense. He also suggested humorously that the Proud Boys consider rebranding themselves, proposing the name “African Methodist Episcopal Boys,” and solicited ideas for alternative names.
Legal filings indicate that the lawsuit was delivered to Tarrio while he was incarcerated in federal prison at the time it was initiated. Other addresses linked to him and another Proud Boys member also received the lawsuit. The Metropolitan AME termed the actions that occurred on December 12, 2020, as “acts of terror,” aimed at intimidating church members.
By June 2023, a default judgment had been granted to the church due to the lack of response or payment from the Proud Boys or their representatives. Subsequently, in December, the church’s legal team filed a motion seeking the trademark rights after the far-right group remained unresponsive.
An attorney representing the church has yet to respond to inquiries regarding the case, while Tarrio’s lawyer, Nayib Hassan, also declined to comment.
