EXTREMISMDC Police Officer Indicted for Leaking Information to Proud Boys Leader

A District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Lieutenant was arrested Friday on an indictment charging that he obstructed an investigation into the 12 December 2020 destruction of a Black Lives Matter (BLM) Banner and made false and misleading statements to federal law enforcement about having done so, including that he leaked to Enrique Tarrio, the leader of “The Proud Boys,” the fact that law enforcement had an arrest warrant for him related to that offense.

Shane Lamond, 47, of Stafford, Va., was indicted by a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements.  Lamond will be arraigned today before Judge Zia Faruqui, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division.

According to the indictment, Lamond worked as the supervisor of the Intelligence Branch of MPD’s Homeland Security Bureau.  Beginning in July 2019 and continuing to at least January 2021, Lamond and Tarrio were in regular contact regarding Proud Boys planned activities in the District of Columbia. The indictment alleges that, as early as at least July 2020, Lamond began using Telegram to provide information to Tarrio about law enforcement activity relating to Proud Boys’ activities in Washington, D.C. 

For instance, the indictment alleges that beginning on 18 December 2020, Lamond gave Tarrio confidential law enforcement information into the investigation of the 12 December 2020 burning of a banner that read “#BLACKLIVESMATTER.”  As set forth in the indictment, Tarrio would then pass this information along to other Proud Boys members and take action based on the sensitive information. On or about 4 January 2021, following the issuance of an arrest warrant for Tarrio in connection with the burning of the BLM banner, while Tarrio was on a flight from Miami, Florida to Arlington, Virginia, Lamond, using Telegram, sent Tarrio a notification that a warrant had been signed for his arrest in the District of Columbia. After arriving in Arlington, Virginia and driving into the District of Columbia, Tarrio was arrested on the warrant and subsequently pleaded guilty to one count of destruction of property in connection with the burning of the banner.

As the indictment alleges, on 2 June 2021, during an interview with federal law enforcement, Lamond made false and misleading statements regarding his communications and contacts with Tarrio.  These false and misleading statements related to: (1) the methods by which Lamond and Tarrio would communicate; (2) whether Lamond had provided Tarrio with sensitive law enforcement information; (3) whether Lamond had notified Tarrio about the status of the MPD investigation into the banner burning; (4) whether Lamond notified Tarrio about his pending arrest warrant; and (5) the content and extent of Lamond’s discussion with Tarrio prior to and after January 6.

The obstruction of justice charge carries a statutory maximum of 30 years in prison. Each charge for making a false statement carries a statutory maximum of 5 years in prison.