A judge order members of the Proud Boys organization to pay over a $1 million to a predominately black church in Washington, D.C., for vandalizing a “Black Lives Matter” sign back in 2020.

The fine was apart of a civil suit involving destruction of property to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church. DC Superior Court Judge Neal E. Kravitz on Friday approved the judgement against Proud Boys members Joseph R. Biggs, Enrique Tarrio, Jeremy Bertino and John Turano, according to CNN.

Moreover, the group’s limited liability corporation will also be fined after failing to defend themselves in court.

The vandalism to the BLM sign took place in December 2020 during former President Donald Trump’s bid to overturn the 2020 election results. Members of the far-right group set fire to the sign on the Metropolitan AME property as well as tore down a BLM banner owned by another Methodist church.

Kravitz called the “attack” on the black church “highly orchestrated” and “hateful and overtly racist conduct.” As part of his 34-page ruling, the organization must pay the church $1.03 million.

“For generations, the leaders of Metropolitan AME and the members of its congregation have vocally and publicly supported movements for civil rights and racial justice,” Kravitz wrote, adding the Proud Boys “incited and committed acts of violence against members of Black and African American communities across the country. They also have victimized women, Muslims, Jews, immigrants, and other historically marginalized people.”

The post ‘Hateful & Overtly Racist’: Judge Orders Proud Boys To Pay Over $1 Million For Vandalizing Black Lives Matter Sign first appeared on Mediaite.

from Mediaite https://ift.tt/xbEQDNT