The Proud Boys had been established in the course of the 2016 US election by Vice Media co-founder. (File)
Washington/Los Angeles:
President Donald Trump, requested if he would denounce white supremacists and militia teams throughout Tuesday evening’s U.S. presidential debate, advised the right-wing group the Proud Boys to “stand again and stand by.”
Who Are The Proud Boys?
The Proud Boys had been established in the course of the 2016 U.S. election by Vice Media co-founder and Canadian-British right-wing activist Gavin McInnes, who has since distanced himself from the group.
The group possible has a number of hundred members with chapters in most states and another international locations, in keeping with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an anti-hate group. They drew media consideration in late 2018 after a violent confrontation with left-wing protesters in New York Metropolis, and returned to the highlight throughout protests in current months.
They describe themselves as a male-only membership of “Western chauvinists” who “refuse to apologize for creating the trendy world.” The group, whose membership is multiracial, has been known as out for misogynistic, anti-Muslim and anti-immigration rhetoric by advocates who monitor extremism.
Group members have a tendency to stick to an ideology that rejects overt white supremacy however embraces chauvinism, in keeping with the ADL.
Final yr, two members of the group had been sentenced to 4 years in jail for his or her position in a violent 2018 brawl with anti-fascist protesters following a speech by McInnes at a Republican membership in New York Metropolis.
Why Had been They Talked about Throughout The Debate?
Debate moderator Chris Wallace requested Trump if he was prepared to sentence white supremacists and militia teams and inform them to “stand down” and never add to violence throughout current protests in U.S. cities similar to Portland, Oregon, and Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Trump agreed to try this, asking, “Who would you want me to sentence?” Biden interjected: “The Proud Boys.”
Trump then urged the Proud Boys to “stand again and stand by,” however shortly turned the dialog to antifa, a left-wing anti-facist ideology, whose adherents he has blamed for violence at protests in current months.
In a Proud Boys channel on the messaging app Telegram, members shared a model of their brand that included the phrases “stand again, stand by” following Trump’s remarks.
Joe Biggs, a Proud Boys member, celebrated the group’s point out on the social media platform Parler, saying: “President Trump advised the proud boys to face by as a result of somebody must cope with ANTIFA…effectively sir! we’re prepared!!”
On Wednesday, Trump walked again his remarks on the White Home, telling reporters he was not accustomed to the Proud Boys, however that the group ought to let legislation enforcement do its work.
How Are The Proud Boys Tied To Current U.S. Protests?
The group has clashed violently with Black Lives Matter and antifa demonstrators in Portland and different cities in current months. At rallies, members are sometimes clad in black and yellow polo shirts, put on physique armor, and carry weapons, together with firearms, paintball weapons and baseball bats.
Earlier than a Proud Boys rally in Portland final Saturday, Oregon’s Democratic Governor Kate Brown declared a weekend state of emergency for town, citing an imminent danger of civil disturbance that threatened damage or lack of life.
The rally, which attracted a whole bunch of Proud Boys supporters, was largely peaceable, however police and left-wing protesters later clashed in downtown Portland.
Are The Proud Boys A Hate Group?
The Southern Poverty Legislation Heart (SPLC), one other anti-hate advocacy group, labeled the Proud Boys a hate group in 2018. McInnes sued the group over the hate designation in February 2019, saying it was “purposefully deceitful” and meant to harm his repute.
The case remains to be ongoing and attorneys for each events didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Oregon’s Governor Brown criticized the Proud Boys in a tweet on Wednesday. “Let’s be clear: The Proud Boys are white supremacists,” she stated. “Racism and hate should not types of patriotism.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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