Left: Washington Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Shane Lamond leaves the federal courthouse after entering a not guilty plea to charges including obstruction of justice on May 19, 2023, in Washington (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File). Right: Enrique Tarrio and the Proud Boys rally near Freedom Plaza during the Million MAGA March to protest election results on November 14, 2020, in Washington D.C. (Chris Tuite/imageSPACE/MediaPunch /IPX).
A former officer with Washington, D.C.’s police force, who alerted the national leader of the Proud Boys about his upcoming arrest enabling the group’s participation in the January 6th U.S. Capitol riot, is set to spend over a year in jail for aiding the right-wing militant organization as a “double agent.”
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced Shane Lamond, who once led the Metropolitan Police Department’s Intelligence Branch, to 18 months in federal prison, according to court documents.
Lamond was convicted in December following a seven-day bench trial in which Jackson found that the police officer, who was placed on administrative leave in February 2022 and later retired, had been leaking confidential information to Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio. Specifically, Lamond was convicted on charges of obstructing an investigation into the December 2020 destruction of a Black Lives Matter (BLM) banner and for lying to federal authorities about telling Tarrio he was about to be arrested.
During Friday’s sentencing hearing, Jackson said that Lamond’s “entire attitude throughout” the proceedings had been, “How dare they bring these charges,” according to a report from Washington, D.C., CBS affiliate WUSA.
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During the bench trial, Lamond took the stand in his own defense and denied giving Tarrio any confidential information.
Tarrio, who had been serving a 22-year prison sentence for his role in the Capitol riot before being pardoned by President Donald Trump, also testified at Lamond’s trial and denied any wrongdoing. However, Jackson was not remotely convinced, highlighting the string of messages between the two and referring to Tarrio as an “awful witness” and “obnoxious.”
Prosecutors said that on Dec. 18, 2020, Lamond provided Tarrio with information about the investigation of the Dec. 12, 2020, burning of a Black Lives Matter banner at an historic Washington, D.C., church, even though Tarrio was the prime subject in that investigation. Tarrio subsequently disseminated the information to his organization.
Lamond on Jan. 4, 2021, sent Tarrio a “message set to self-destruct” that a warrant for his arrest had been signed as Tarrio was on a flight from Florida to Arlington, Virginia, which is adjacent to Washington, D.C. Shortly after landing, Tarrio was arrested and pleaded guilty to one count of destruction of property in connection with the banner burning.
Despite Tarrio’s arrest, authorities say Lamond continued to lie about their communications.
“On June 2, 2021, during an interview with federal law enforcement, Lamond made at least three false and misleading statements regarding his communications and contacts that formed the basis for the false statements convictions,” prosecutors said. “These false and misleading statements related to (1) whether Lamond had notified Tarrio about the status of the MPD investigation into the banner burning; (2) whether Lamond notified Tarrio about Tarrio’s pending arrest warrant; and (3) the nature and scope of Lamond’s discussion with Tarrio prior to and after January 6.”
WUSA reported that Tarrio was in court for Lamond’s hearing and accused the DOJ of prosecuting Lamond for political reasons, calling on the president to step in on the former officer’s behalf.
“I think the only method of correction is a pardon from the President of the United States,” Tarrio reportedly said.
Jackson ordered Lamond to surrender himself to authorities on or after Aug. 1.
