Members of the Proud Boys have been ordered to pay the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church $1.03 million for vandalizing a “Black Lives Matter” sign in 2020.
The Proud Boys is a white supremacist group that aligns itself with former President Donald Trump. The organization was formed in 2016 during Trump’s first presidential election.
In addition to the fine, the Proud Boys are also banned from going anywhere near the church or making threats against the institution or its pastors for at least five years.
Those involved declined to show up to court to defend their actions on June 30. D.C. Superior Court Judge Neal E. Kravitz approved a default judgment and cited their actions as “hateful and racist” in his 34-page ruling.
The senior pastor of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. William Lamar IV, praised the decision in a statement.
“Our church is rooted in the theological vision that humankind is one family. Institutions like ours must continue to lead the way toward a new narrative and white supremacist institutions must be an erased element,” he said.
