Proud Boys hit with million-dollar fine; Jan. 6 suspect arrested near Obama's home

Will Carless, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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Leaders of the extremist street gang the Proud Boys were ordered to pay more than $1 million in damages to a historic Black church in Washington D.C. that they vandalized during a demonstration in December 2020. Meanwhile, a Jan. 6 defendant was arrested last week near the home of former president Barack Obama and accused of threatening to detonate explosives. And June saw a spike in arrests of Jan. 6 suspects, but scores more who have been identified to the FBI by volunteers remain free.

It's the week in extremism.

Members of the Proud Boys, including Joe Biggs of Ormond Beach, third from right, and other right-wing demonstrators march across the Steel Bridge on Aug. 17, 2019, in Portland, Oregon. Biggs had organized an "End Domestic Terrorism" rally there as an anti-Antifa rally.
Members of the Proud Boys, including Joe Biggs of Ormond Beach, third from right, and other right-wing demonstrators march across the Steel Bridge on Aug. 17, 2019, in Portland, Oregon. Biggs had organized an "End Domestic Terrorism" rally there as an anti-Antifa rally.

Proud Boys ordered to pay $1 million

On Saturday, Washington, D.C., judge Neal Kravitz ordered leaders of the Proud Boys to pay more than $1 million in damages to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church. The judgment resulted from a lawsuit filed against named and unnamed members of the extremist street gang by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, on behalf of the church.

  • Members of the Proud Boys tore down a Black Lives Matter banner from the church on Dec. 12, 2020, following a violent demonstration.

  • The judge issued a default judgment, since none of the defendants in the action appeared in court. Several are currently incarcerated, having been found guilty for their roles in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

  • “The attack against Metropolitan A.M.E. was an attempt to silence the congregation’s voice and its support for Black life, dignity, and safety," said  Damon Hewitt, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee. "It represents just the latest chapter in a long history of white supremacist violence targeting Black houses of worship. These attacks are meant to intimidate and create fear, and this lawsuit's aim was to hold those who engage in such action accountable."

Former U.S. president Barack Obama waves to spectators before a discussion at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), in Athens, Greece, Thursday, June 22, 2023. Obama is visiting Athens to speak at the SNF Nostos Conference focused on how to strengthen democratic culture and the importance of investing in the next generation of leaders.

Jan 6 suspect arrested last week poses 'ongoing threat'

Taylor Taranto, a 37-year-old from Washington state, wanted on charges related to Jan. 6, was arrested last week in the upscale Washington, D.C., neighborhood that is home to former President Barack Obama and his family. In a new court filing this week, prosecutors claim Taranto is delusional and poses an ongoing threat to the public.

  • As my colleague Josh Meyer reported this week, prosecutors claim Taranto threatened to detonate explosives in the van he was apparently living in while parked at a federal building in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

  • Taranto went to Obama's neighborhood after former President Donald Trump posted Obama's address on Truth Social, prosecutors said.

Insurrections loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Paul Lovely, a former National Security Agency employee, has been sentenced to two weeks of imprisonment for storming the U.S. Capitol with associates described by authorities as fellow followers of a far-right extremist movement.
Insurrections loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Paul Lovely, a former National Security Agency employee, has been sentenced to two weeks of imprisonment for storming the U.S. Capitol with associates described by authorities as fellow followers of a far-right extremist movement.

June sees a spike in Jan. 6 arrests

After months of relative quiet, June saw a sudden surge in the number of arrests of participants in the Jan. 6 insurrection. According to a USA TODAY analysis, 31 new arrests were made in June, more than were made in the preceding three months. See our full database of Jan. 6 arrests here.

  • As we reported in March, more than 100 suspects on the FBI's wanted list for Jan. 6 have already been identified to the FBI, but have not been arrested. The suspects were identified by volunteer online researchers.

  • The June arrests included Taranto and Hollywood actor Jay Johnston.

Stat of the week: 82 percent

That's how much of the online document written by Payton Gendron, who shot and killed 10 people in a Buffalo supermarket last April, was plagiarized from the writings of other racist mass killers, according to a new peer-reviewed study published in the Journal for Deradicalization last week. The study concludes that Grendron's writing was "profoundly informed by and copied from radical content online."

Contributing: Dinah Voyles Pulver

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Proud Boys fined; Jan. 6 suspect arrested near Obama house