DC judge gives control of Proud Boys’ trademark to Black church attacked by far-right group

The Proud Boys lost control of their trademarked name on Monday after a judge in Washington, DC, ruled that it be handed over to a Black church that was attacked by members of the far-right group four years ago.

The Proud Boys lost control of their trademarked name on Monday after a judge in Washington, DC, ruled that it be handed over to a Black church that was attacked by members of the far-right group four years ago. The decision from Judge Tanya M. Jones Bosier is meant to fulfill a $2.8 million default judgment entered against the Proud Boys by a different judge in DC in 2023 to get back damages incurred by the church during the December 2020 attack. The two-page ruling says that all the group’s interests in the “Proud Boys” trademark will be transferred to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church and that the organization and people associated with it must first get consent from the DC church to use the mark or sell any merchandise containing it. It also means that any money the group makes from using the trademark must be paid to the church to help satisfy the multi-million-dollar default judgment. “The Church has a long history of standing up for justice and against all forms of hate,” the church’s leader, Rev. William H. Lamar IV, told CNN. “We are determined to hold the Proud Boys accountable and we will continue this fight.” Enrique Tarrio, the group’s former chairman, said in a lengthy statement posted to X that the church “must be subjected to a thorough audit, and its non-profit status revoked immediately.”