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Proud Boys is a far-right organization that admits only men as members and promotes political violence. It has a presence in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. It was started in 2016 by Vice Media co-founder and former commentator Gavin McInnes. Proud Boys emerged as part of the alt-right, but in early 2017, McInnes began distancing himself from the alt-right, saying the alt-right's focus is race while his focus is what he defines as "Western values". This re-branding effort intensified after the Unite the Right Rally. The organization has been described as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and NPR's The Takeaway. While the group claims it does not support white supremacist views, its members often appear at racist rallies and events. The organization glorifies violence, and members participate in violence at events it attends; SPLC has called it an "alt-right fight club." According to the Washington State police the FBI has classified the Proud Boys as an extremist group with ties to white nationalism.

The group takes its name from the showtune "Proud of Your Boy," a song cut from the Disney film Aladdin, in which the title character apologizes to his mother.

The organization

Gavin McInnes co-founded Vice Magazine in 1994 but was pushed out in 2008 after several years of turmoil following a New York Times interview in which he talked about his pride in being white. After leaving, he began "doggedly hacking a jagged but unrelenting path to the far-right fringes of American culture", according to a 2017 profile in The Globe and Mail.

The Proud Boys organization was launched in September 2016, on the website of Taki's Magazine, a far-right publication for which Richard Spencer was executive editor. It existed informally before then as something like a McInnes fan club, and the first gathering of the Brooklyn chapter in July 2016 resulted in a brawl in the bar where they met. The name mocks the song Proud of Your Boy from the soundtrack for the film Aladdin, which had become a running theme on McInnes' podcast hosted by Anthony Cumia's Compound Media. McInnes had heard the song at a children's talent show in December 2015 and took immediate dislike to the perceived "fake, humble, and self-serving" nature of the lyrics.

The organization has been described as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and NPR's The Takeaway, and Spencer, McInnes, and the Proud Boys have been described as hipster racists by Vox and Media Matters for America. McInnes says victim mentality of women and other historically oppressed groups is unhealthy: "There is an incentive to be a victim. It is cool to be a victim." He sees white men and Western culture as "under siege" and described criticism of his ideas as "victim blaming".

In early 2017, McInnes began distancing himself from the alt-right, saying their focus is race and his focus is what he calls "Western values"; the rebranding effort intensified after the Unite the Right Rally. In 2018, McInnes was saying that the Proud Boys were part of the "new right".

The organization glorifies political violence against leftists, re-enacting political assassinations, wearing shirts that praise Augusto Pinochet's murders of leftists, and participating directly in political violence. McInnes has said "I want violence, I want punching in the face. I'm disappointed in Trump supporters for not punching enough." Heidi Beirich, the Intelligence Project director for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said that this form of intentional aggression was not common among far-right groups in the past; she said: "'We're going to show up and we're intending to get in fights,' that's a new thing." In August 2018, Twitter shut down the official account for the group, as well as McInnes' account, under its policy prohibiting violent extremist groups; at the time, the group's profile photo was a member punching a counter-protestor. According to the Washington State police the FBI has classified the Proud Boys as an extremist group with ties to white nationalism.

The organization is opposed to feminism and promotes gender stereotypes in which women belong in the home, subservient to men, and want to be sexually abused.

Some men who are not white have joined the Proud Boys, drawn by the organization's advocacy for men, anti-immigrant stance, and embrace of violence.

Membership

The Proud Boys say they have an initiation process that has four stages and includes hazing. The first stage is a loyalty oath, the second is getting punched until the person recites pop culture trivia, the third is getting a tattoo and agreeing to not masturbate, and the fourth is getting into a major fight "for the cause."

The Proud Boys have adopted a black Fred Perry polo shirt with yellow piping as their unofficial uniform. Fred Perry was previously associated with the Mod subculture and skinhead groups, including the British National Front. Fred Perry's CEO John Flynn denounced the affiliation with the Proud Boys in a statement to CBC Radio, saying "We don't support the ideals or the group that you speak of. It is counter to our beliefs and the people we work with."

Women are not allowed in the organization.

The Proud Boys discourages its members from masturbating and watching pornography so as to motivate them to get "off the couch" and meet women. McInnes added no-fap to the group's core ideas after interacting with Dante Neo, a relationship expert and comedian with a podcast on Riotcast, who came to serve as a sort of "pope" for no-fap within the organization.

Events

New York University

In February 2017, McInnes arrived at New York University to give a speech, accompanied by a group of about ten Proud Boys. Minor scuffles broke out between Proud Boys and Antifa protesters, and the NYPD said that eleven people faced criminal charges. One member of the Proud Boys encouraged others to fight the "faggots wearing black that won't let us in", and was later arrested for punching a reporter from DNAinfo.

2017 Berkeley protests

At the 2017 March 4 Trump rally in Berkeley, California, Kyle Chapman was recorded hitting a counter-protester over the head with a wooden dowel. Images of Chapman went viral, and the Proud Boys organized a crowdfunding campaign for Chapman's bail after his arrest. After this, McInnes invited Chapman to become involved with the Proud Boys, through which he formed the Fraternal Order of the Alt-Knights.

On April 15, 2017, an alt-right rally was organized in Berkeley by the Liberty Revival Alliance, which did not seek or receive a permit, and was attended by members of the Proud Boys, Identity Evropa, and Oath Keepers; many of these people travelled to Berkeley from other parts of the country. The rally was counter-protested and violence broke out. 21 people were arrested.

2017 Islamberg

In 2017 Proud Boys joined a caravan to ride through Islamberg, New York, a community of around twenty black Muslim families who moved upstate to escape the racism and violence of New York City, and which has been a target of conspiracy theories from various islamophobic hate groups and right-wing terrorist plots.

Portland protests

In 2017 and 2018 Proud Boys participated in several rallies organized by Patriot Prayer in Portland, Oregon and nearby Vancouver, Washington. Scenes of violence from one of these rallies was turned into a sizzle reel for the Proud Boys and was circulated on social media.

Disruption of Halifax Indigenous Peoples' Protest

On July 1, 2017, five Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members who self-identified as Proud Boys disrupted a protest organized by indigenous activists, in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Canada Day; Halifax had been debating how to deal with statues of Edward Cornwallis, who had placed a bounty for scalps of Mi'kmaq people after they had rebelled against the British. The Proud Boys carried the Canadian Red Ensign flag from the time of Cornwallis and one of them said to the indigenous protestors, "You are recognising your heritage and so are we." General Jonathan Vance, the head of the CAF, later stated that the five would be removed from training and duties as the military investigated and reviewed the circumstances surrounding their actions. General Vance also indicated that the members could possibly be released from the CAF permanently. Rear Admiral John Newton, Commander of the Maritime Fleet of the Royal Canadian Navy, was "personally horrified" by the incident and said the Proud Boys were "clearly a white supremacist group and we fundamentally stand opposed to any of their values."

On August 14, 2017, the CAF confirmed that the investigation had been concluded. Later that month, Newton announced that four of the members had returned to duty, stating that the CAF had taken "appropriate measures to address individual shortcomings" and warning, "Any further inappropriate behavior could result in their termination from the Canadian Armed Forces."

Unite the Right rally

In June, McInnes disavowed the then-upcoming Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. However, Proud Boys were at the August 2017 alt-right event, which was organized by white supremacist Jason Kessler. Kessler had joined the Proud Boys some time before organizing the event. McInnes said he had kicked Kessler out after his views on race had become clear. After the rally, Kessler accused McInnes of using him as a "patsy" and said: "You're trying to cuck and save your own ass." Alex Michael Ramos, one of the men convicted for the assault of DeAndre Harris which took place at the rally, was associated with the Proud Boys and Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights.

2018 Metropolitan Republican Club

In October 2018 McInnes gave a talk at the Metropolitan Republican Club on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He stepped out of his car wearing glasses with Asian eyes drawn on the front and pulled a samurai sword out of its sheath. Police forced him inside. Later, inside the event, McInnes and an Asian member of the Proud Boys re-enacted the 1960 murder of Inejiro Asanuma, the leader of the Japanese Socialist Party; a captioned photograph of the actual murder had become a meme in alt-right social media.

Anti-fascist activists had started protesting outside the club before the event and had reportedly engaged in vandalism. Following cross-provocations between both opposing sides, a protestor threw a bottle at Proud Boys, resulting in a fight. NYC police present at the protest reportedly did not respond. The police later said they had evidence to charge nine Proud Boys and three antifa members with counts of rioting, assault, and attempted assault.

Fraternal Order of the Alt-Knights

In 2017, Kyle Chapman, nicknamed "Based Stickman" due to the aforementioned wooden dowel incident, formed a paramilitary wing of the Proud Boys called the "Fraternal Order of the Alt-Knights" (FOAK). Alt-right figure Augustus Sol Invictus acted as FOAK's second-in-command until he left the group.

See also

• Know Nothing
• Sturmabteilung
• List of organizations designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups

References

1. Colleen Long, 11 arrests at NYU protest over speech by 'Proud Boys' leader, Associated Press (February 3, 2017): "a far-right men's organization"
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3. Lowry, Rich (October 19, 2018). "The Poisonous Allure of Right-Wing Violence". National Review. Retrieved November 13, 2018. McInnes is open about his glorification of violence. In a speech, he described a clash with Antifa outside a talk he gave at NYU last year: "My guys are left to fight. And here's the crucial part: We do. And we beat the crap out of them." He related what a Proud Boy who got arrested told him afterward: "It was really, really fun." According to McInnes: "Violence doesn't feel good. Justified violence feels great. And fighting solves everything."
4. ^ "'Proud Boys' back in Canada military after crashing indigenous ceremony". BBC News. August 31, 2017.
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6. ^ Marantz, Andrew (July 6, 2017). "The Alt-Right Branding War Has Torn the Movement in Two". The New Yorker.
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10. ^ Weill, Kelly; Shallwani, Pervaiz (October 15, 2018). "NYPD Looks to Charge 9 Proud Boys With Assault for Manhattan Fight". The Daily Beast.
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34. Campbell, Jon (February 15, 2017). "Gavin McInnes Wants You to Know He's Totally Not a White Supremacist". Village Voice. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
35. St. John, Paige; Rocha, Veronica (April 27, 2017). "Conservative and alt-right groups gather for 'free speech' rally in Berkeley". Los Angeles Times.
36. John, Paige St. (April 28, 2017). "For many at violent Berkeley rally, it wasn't really about Trump or free speech: They came to make trouble". Los Angeles Times.
37. Obeidallah, Dean (July 14, 2017). "Trump-Supporting Bigots to Target Upstate New York Muslims". The Daily Beast.
38. Feuer, Alan; Winston, Ali (October 19, 2018). "Founder of Proud Boys Says He's Arranging Surrender of Men in Brawl". The New York Times. Driving in a caravan toward Islamberg, an Islamic community in upstate New York, Mr. Young discussed his impressions of Muslims on the video. "They are literally a virus," he said. "They eat and feed off the host nation until it's dead."
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46. Previl, Sean (August 14, 2017). "Investigation into 'Proud Boys' incident in Halifax concluded: military official". Global News. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
47. "No criminal or disciplinary charges for Canadian military "Proud Boys" – group now back on the job". Ottawa Citizen. August 31, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
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53. Feuer, Alan (October 16, 2018). "Founder of Proud Boys Says He's Arranging Surrender of Men in Brawl". The New York Times.
54. Southall, Ashley; Pager, Tyler (October 14, 2018). "Proud Boys Fight at G.O.P. Club Spurs Calls for Inquiry; Cuomo Blames Trump". The New York Times.

Further reading

• Lowry, Rich (October 19, 2018). "The Poisonous Allure of Right-Wing Violence". National Review.
• Pullmann, Joy (October 6, 2017). "The Proud Boys Are Boys In A Sexual Wasteland Trying To Become Men". The Federalist.

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• Alt-right
• American nationalists
• Men's organizations
• Organizations established in 2016
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