On a Sunday morning, Dec. 13, 2020, Reverend William Lamar, pastor of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., was home preparing to livestream for his virtual congregation, who were among the thousands forced indoors in the throes of the Covid pandemic. “As I was going down to my basement to go live, my phone began to vibrate and it was people offering their support saying they were sorry about what happened. I was unaware but then someone sent me a link.”
The link was a video of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group known for violence, entering his church’s yard the previous night, tearing down the Black Lives Matter banner that hung within a metal frame and cutting it into pieces with knives. The pro-Trump organization was rallying through D.C., facing off with any and all antifa and Black Lives Matter activism, be it people or…
