Washington DC Metro Police intel division Lt Shane Lamond has been placed on leave as the department, FBI, and DOJ investigate alleged improper contacts between Lamond and former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio during protests in 2020, the Washington Post reports.

DC Police Chief Robert J Contee did not name Lamond at a Wednesday press conference, however Tarrio confirmed to the Post it was indeed Lamond, telling the Post he and Lamond would exchange texts during protests about the locations of counter-demonstrators for the Proud Boys to go and confront. “[Lamond] was just a liaison officer for when we held rallies,. They’re just trying to get anybody at this point,” Tarrio said of the investigation. “I only told him, ‘We’re coming into town and we’re going to hold this protest.’ That’s as far as the relationship went.”

This would not be the first time others have alleged a friendly relationship between the DC police and Proud Boys. “I’m hearing more and more politicalization of policing, and our law enforcement is in the middle. We want them to act accordingly to maintain the civil rights of our community, and when they don’t, they need to be held accountable. When there is a perception that there is a side being taken, then our job is to mitigate that perception,” then-Interim DC Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Dr Roger Mitchell Jr, MD told the Post back in December 2020 in response to reports of Proud Boys and cops posing for pictures together amid violent clashes between MAGA protestors and counter-demonstrators in the aftermath of Trump’s loss… and before whatever friendly relationship there had been ended acrimoniously the very next month.