More protests by pro-Trump groups are planned in downtown D.C. on Jan. 6.
Wearing their signature black and gold colors, large numbers of the group spent much of the afternoon of Dec. 12 drinking openly and chanting on the street in front of the hotel. They ranged in age from late teenagers to 50- and 60-year-olds, though most appeared to be in their 30s and 40s. Others filled the outdoor patio at Harry’s, the hotel bar, where they had gathered on previous protest weekends and on the Fourth of July. Harry’s closed midafternoon, but the patio and street in front of it remained crowded throughout the night.
The repeated and growing presence of Proud Boys at the bar and hotel has unnerved some guests and workers, many of whom are Black and Hispanic and were intimidated by their presence, according to two employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
In the past three months, Harry’s has been cited three times for violating social distancing and mask regulations. The violations occurred on weekends when large numbers of Proud Boys and other pro-Trump supporters, in town for demonstrations, were in the bar.
For the hotel and the bar, there seems to be uncertainty about what steps they can or should take. Ann Terry, the general manager of the hotel, declined to comment. During a brief phone call, John Boyle, the owner of Harry’s, declined to comment other than to say that the bar closed early on Dec. 11 and 12 because of concerns over not being able to maintain coronavirus social distancing guidelines. The bar’s website announced that it will be closed on Jan. 5 and 6.
Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys, said in an interview, that in the past, the group’s members have stayed at the Harrington and frequented Harry’s because it was accessible to downtown D.C. and close to the Trump hotel and the White House.
He said the corner in front of the hotel and bar has remained a gathering point for the Proud Boys, but that the group had outgrown Harry’s because it was not big enough to accommodate all of its members who attended the most recent protest, which he said numbered around 1,000.
Tarrio said the group’s members would not stay at the hotel or go to the bar if the businesses asked them to stay away.
“Of course not. I wouldn’t want to go somewhere, a private business where I’m unwelcome,” he said. “There’s many other options.”
Tarrio said he was not aware of reported incidents of Proud Boys refusing to wear masks at the bar or the hotel, but he said “for the most part we’re not big on masks.”
Since opening in 1914, the 250-room Harrington has billed itself as an affordable tourist hotel, hosting tens of thousands of visitors to the city over the past 106 years. It was also a family business. Charles McCutcheon, the owner of the hotel until he died this year, was the grandson of the hotel’s cofounder. Many employees of the hotel have been there for generations.
For some of them, a longtime employee said, there is a fear that the hotel’s reputation is being tarnished by the Proud Boys repeated presence at the hotel and its bar.
“It’s sad that they feel so comfortable here, because obviously nobody who works here supports this stuff,” the employee said.
As dark approached on the night of Dec. 12, members of the Proud Boys donned Kevlar helmets, bulletproof vests, protective forearm coverings, and large rucksacks. Many carried long poles, long-handled black flashlights, and collapsible batons. Some carried cases of beer. They departed the hotel in packs and began marching through downtown D.C., chanting, “Whose streets? Our streets!” and “f--- antifa!”
The group tried to approach Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House, where they hoped to encounter a smaller number of antifascists and others who had gathered to voice their opposition to Trump and keep his supporters from removing signs or artwork critical of the president and memorializing Black people killed by law enforcement.
D.C. police spent much of the night trying to keep the groups apart and at one point established a police line. Unable to break through the barrier, a group of Proud Boys doubled back to the hotel, carrying a Black Lives Matter banner from a nearby church. They carried it in front of the Harrington and lit it on fire as members circled the flames, yelling and hooting.
City officials later said four churches in downtown D.C. had Black Lives Matters signs removed and damaged. Tarrio told The Washington Post that he was among those responsible for tearing down and burning the signs.
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December 28, 2020 at 11:25PM
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Proud Boys settle in at D.C.’s oldest hotel and bar - The Boston Globe
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