Proud Boys Lose Trademark Rights in Court Battle with Historically Black Church

Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, leader of The Proud Boys, attends a protest showing support for Cubans demonstrating against their government, in Miami, Florida on July 16, 2021. EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP via Getty Images

The Proud Boys have lost the legal right to use their own name, logos, and emblems after a judge awarded control of the group’s trademark to a historically black church in Washington, D.C. The ruling stems from a lawsuit over the Proud Boys’s destruction of Black Lives Matter banners during clashes between supporters of President Donald Trump and counter-demonstrators in December 2020.

Judge Tanya Bosier of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia ruled on Feb. 3 that Proud Boys chapters across the United States cannot legally use the organization’s name or symbols without the consent of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church (Metropolitan AME).

Bosier awarded full ownership of the Proud Boys trademark to the church, permanently enjoining Proud Boys International, LLC (PBI) from selling, transferring, or licensing the name or symbols without the church’s consent or court approval. The ruling also imposed a lien on the trademark, further restricting its use.

Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio took to social media to denounce the court’s decision, calling it a “betrayal of justice” and claiming he and the group were denied due process. Tarrio was recently freed from prison, where he had been serving a 22-year prison sentence for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. He was pardoned by Trump as part of the president’s decision to issue pardons or sentence commutations for roughly 1,500 Jan. 6 detainees.

Metropolitan AME, a church attended by figures such as Oprah Winfrey and former President Barack Obama, sued the Proud Boys in January 2021 after the street clashes the previous month. Tarrio pleaded guilty to the act in July 2021 and was later sentenced to 155 days in jail for related offenses.

In 2023, the church won a judgment of over $1 million against PBI, but the group failed to pay. To enforce the ruling, Metropolitan AME filed a new lawsuit in 2024, leading to Monday’s decision that transfers the Proud Boys trademark to the church.

Metropolitan AME’s lawsuit included multiple claims, all of which the court upheld, including declaratory and injunctive relief, actual fraudulent transfer, and conspiracy to commit civil fraud.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Metropolitan AME with a request for comment on the ruling.

The Proud Boys, founded in 2016, describe themselves as defenders of Western civilization and masculinity, and opponents of political correctness. The group supports free speech, gun rights, legalization of drugs, minimal government, strong borders, and traditional gender roles.