Members of the Proud Boys plan to blend in with other people attending protests being held for President Trump next week in Washington, D.C., the leader of the controversial men-only group said Tuesday.
Enrique Tarrio said members of his group will be dressed in disguise in D.C. on Jan. 6, the day Congress counts Electoral College votes and affirms Mr. Trump’s loss to President-elect Joseph R. Biden.
“We will not be wearing our traditional Black and Yellow. We will be incognito and we will spread across downtown DC in smaller teams,” Mr. Tarrio, chairman of the Proud Boys, said on social media.
“And who knows….we might dress in all BLACK for the occasion,” Mr. Tarrio posted on the social media service Parler. “The night calls for a BLACK tie event.”
Hundreds of uniformed Proud Boys participated in pro-Trump protests held earlier this month in D.C. on the heels of the Republican president losing his race for reelection to his Democratic challenger.
Those protests culminated in several people being stabbed, as well as notably the destruction of a “Black Lives Matter” sign that was stolen from a historic Black church in D.C. and then set on fire.
Mr. Tarrio, a former Republican congressional candidate, has said he was among several Proud Boys who set fire to a “BLM” banner shortly after it was stolen. He had been at the White House hours earlier.
The Metropolitan Police Department in D.C. has said it is investigating the destruction of the sign as a potential hate crime.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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