Proud Boys
North American neo-fascist organization / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Proud Boys is an exclusively male North American far-right, neo-fascist militant organization that promotes and engages in political violence.[1][14][15] The group's leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the United States government, including the constitutionally prescribed transfer of presidential power.[16] It has been called a street gang[17][18] and was designated as a terrorist group in Canada[19][20] and New Zealand.[13] The Proud Boys are known for their opposition to left-wing and progressive groups and for their support of former U.S. President Donald Trump.[1][15] While Proud Boys leadership has denied being a white supremacist organization, the group and some of its members have been connected to white supremacist events, ideologies, and other white power groups throughout its existence.
Proud Boys | |
---|---|
Founder | Gavin McInnes[1] |
Leader | Enrique Tarrio[1] |
Foundation | September 2016; 7 years ago (2016-09)[1] |
Country | United States (active)[1] Canada (dissolved May 2021)[1] |
Allegiance | Donald Trump[1] |
Motives |
|
Active regions | United States |
Ideology | |
Political position | Far-right[1] |
Major actions | |
Status | Active |
Allies | Patriot Prayer[citation needed] Oath Keepers[10] Three Percenters[11] |
Opponents | Antifa[12] |
Designated as a terrorist group by | Canada New Zealand[13] |
The group originated in the far-right Taki's Magazine in 2016 under the leadership of Vice Media co-founder and former commentator Gavin McInnes,[1] taking its name from the song "Proud of Your Boy" from the 2011 Disney musical Aladdin.[21] Although the Proud Boys initially emerged as part of the alt-right,[1] McInnes distanced himself from this movement in early 2017, saying the Proud Boys were alt-lite while the alt-right's focus was on race.[22] Donald Trump's comment, "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by", during the September 2020 presidential debate, was credited with increasing interest and recruitment.[23] After the remark caused an outcry for its seeming endorsement, Trump condemned the Proud Boys while saying he did not "know much about" them.[24][25]
According to the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, the group believes men and Western culture are under siege, using "Western chauvinism" as euphemism for the white genocide conspiracy theory.[5] Members have participated in overtly racist events and events centered around fascist, anti-left, and anti-socialist violence.[5] The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has called the group an "alt-right fight club" and a hate group that uses rhetorical devices to obscure its motives.[15][26][27][28] The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) described the Proud Boys as "extremist conservative" and "alt lite", "overtly Islamophobic and misogynistic", "transphobic and anti-immigration", "all too willing to embrace racists, antisemites and bigots of all kinds", and notes the group's promotion and use of violence as a core tactic.[29]
The group has been banned from numerous social networks, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,[1][30] and YouTube.[31] In February 2021, the United States Justice Department announced the indictment of members for conspiracy related to the 2021 United States Capitol attack, and the Canadian arm of the group folded after being designated a terrorist organization.[1][32][33][34][35]