North American neo-fascist organization since 2016
The Proud Boys is a North American far-right , neo-fascist militant organization that promotes and engages in political violence .[ 1] [ 15] [ 16] The group's leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the federal government of the United States , including its constitutionally prescribed transfer of presidential power.[ 17] It has been called a street gang[ 18] [ 19] and was designated as a terrorist group in Canada[ 20] and New Zealand.[ 14] The Proud Boys are opposed to left-wing and progressive groups and support Donald Trump , the former president of the United States and current President-elect of the United States .[ 1] [ 16] 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.
The group originated in the far-right Taki's Magazine in 2016 under the leadership of the Vice Media co-founder and the former commentator Gavin McInnes ,[ 1] taking its name from the song "Proud of Your Boy " from The Walt Disney Company ’s musical Aladdin from 2011.[ 22] Although the Proud Boys emerged as part of the alt-right ,[ 1] McInnes distanced himself from the movement in early 2017, saying the Proud Boys were alt-lite while the alt-right's focus was on race .[ 23] Donald Trump's comment, "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by", during a presidential debate in September 2020 prior to the 2020 U.S. presidential election was credited with increasing interest and recruitment.[ 24] After the remark caused an outcry for its apparent endorsement, Trump condemned the Proud Boys while saying he did not "know much about" them.[ 25] [ 26]
According to the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism the group believes that traditional masculinity 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.[ 16] [ 27] [ 28] [ 29] 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 cites the group's promotion and use of violence as a core tactic.[ 30]
The group has been banned from multiple social networks, including Facebook , Instagram , Twitter ,[ 1] [ 31] and YouTube .[ 32] In February 2021 the U.S. Department of Justice 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] [ 9] [ 33] [ 34] [ 35]
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Kriner, Matthew; Lewis, Jon (July–August 2021). "Pride & Prejudice: The Violent Evolution of the Proud Boys" (PDF) . CTC Sentinel . 14 (6). West Point, New York: Combating Terrorism Center : 26–38. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021 .
^ "Weekend Roundup: Wisconsin Proud Boys Detail Racist, Antisemitic, Homophobic Culture" . Wisconsin Public Radio . June 26, 2021. Archived from the original on June 26, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021 .
^ Marcotte, Amanda (October 18, 2021). "Tucker Carlson, Joe Rogan, and the Proud Boys: How the fragility of the male ego fuels the far-right" . Salon.com . OCLC 43916723 . Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021 .
^ Cite error: The named reference www.adl.org
was invoked but never defined (see the help page ).
^ a b c Kutner, Samantha (2020). "Swiping Right: The Allure of Hyper Masculinity and Cryptofascism for Men Who Join the Proud Boys" (PDF) . International Centre for Counter-Terrorism : 1. JSTOR resrep25259 . Archived (PDF) from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2020 .
^ Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (June 27, 2023). "Are the Proud Boys Imploding?" . Global Project Against Hate and Extremism . Archived from the original on August 11, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ Miller, Cassie. "Proud Boys Aid the Right-wing Assault on the LGBTQ Community and Reproductive Justice" . splcenter.org . SPLC. Archived from the original on December 28, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ Passaretti, Amy; Carver, Shea (June 22, 2022). "Proud Boys, other demonstrators disrupt children's Pride Storytime" . Port City Daily . Wilmingonton, NC. Archived from the original on December 28, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ a b Aiello, Rachel (February 3, 2021). "Canada adds Proud Boys to terror list" . CTVNews . Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021 .
^ "Government of Canada lists 13 new groups as terrorist entities and completes review of seven others" . Government of Canada . February 3, 2021. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021 .
^ "Jan. 6 hearing highlights coordination by Florida Oath Keepers, Proud Boys leaders" . Tallahassee Democrat . July 12, 2022. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2023 .
^ "Oath Keeper planned with Proud Boys, Three Percenters before Capitol attack, prosecutors say" . USA Today . March 24, 2021. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2023 .
^ Levinson, Jonathan (August 23, 2021). "Proud Boys And Anti-Fascists Clashed At Portland Rally" . NPR . NPR . Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023 .
^ a b "Designation of Two Terrorist Entities" . New Zealand Government. June 27, 2022. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022 .
^ Far-right:
MacFarquhar, Neil; Feuer, Alan; Baker, Mike; Frenkel, Sheera (September 30, 2020). "Far-Right Group That Trades in Political Violence Gets a Boost" . The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020 .
Shannon, Joel. "Who are the Proud Boys? Far-right group has concerned experts for years" . USA Today . Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020 .
Fascist:
Barry, Dan; McIntire, Mike; Rosenberg, Matthew (January 9, 2021). " 'Our President Wants Us Here': The Mob That Stormed the Capitol" . The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2021 . Some were aligned with the neofascist Proud Boys ...
Bremner, Jade (September 7, 2021). "What does the Proud Boys rooster symbol mean and what are the group's other secret symbols?" . The Independent . Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2021 . The Proud Boys is a neo-fascist, pro-Trump, male group...
Martin Belam; Adam Gabbatt (September 30, 2020). "Proud Boys: who are the far-right group that backs Donald Trump?" . The Guardian . Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020 . ...the US neo-fascist group the Proud Boys
HoSang, Daniel (2019). Producers, Parasites, Patriots: Race and the New Right-Wing Politics of Precarity . University of Minnesota Press. p. 2. ISBN 9781452960340 . [...] groups such as the protofascist Proud Boys [...].
Kutner, Samantha (2020). "Swiping Right: The Allure of Hyper Masculinity and Cryptofascism for Men Who Join the Proud Boys" (PDF) . International Centre for Counter-Terrorism : 1. JSTOR resrep25259 . Archived (PDF) from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2020 . Conclusion: Proud Boys represent a new face of far-right extremism. [...] This study explored the pull factors surrounding recruitment, the ways members describe precarity, and the communicative features that mark the group as a violent, cryptofascist extremist organization.
Men only:
Political violence and militancy:
Reid, Shannon E.; Valasik, Matthew; Bagavathi, Arunkumar (2020), Melde, Chris; Weerman, Frank (eds.), "Examining the Physical Manifestation of Alt-Right Gangs: From Online Trolling to Street Fighting" (PDF) , Gangs in the Era of Internet and Social Media , Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 105–134, doi :10.1007/978-3-030-47214-6_6 , ISBN 978-3-030-47214-6 , S2CID 226436096 , archived (PDF) from the original on November 12, 2020, retrieved April 25, 2022
"Proud Boys" . Southern Poverty Law Center . Archived from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018 .
Lowry, Rich (October 19, 2018). "The Poisonous Allure of Right-Wing Violence" . National Review . Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. 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.'
^ a b c "Proud Boys" . Encyclopædia Britannica . Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022 .
^ Reilly, Ryan J. (May 4, 2023). "Four Proud Boys members found guilty of seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 trial" . NBC News . Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023 .
^ Ward, Ian (September 23, 2022). "Jan. 6 Was Just the Beginning for the Proud Boys" . Politico . Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022 .
^ Campbell, Andy (February 7, 2022). We Are Proud Boys: How a Right-Wing Street Gang Ushered in a New Era of American Extremism . Hachette Books. ISBN 9780306827464 . Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022 .
^ Cite error: The named reference West-2021
was invoked but never defined (see the help page ).
^ Coaston, Jane (October 15, 2018). "The Proud Boys, the bizarre far-right street fighters behind violence in New York, explained" . Vox . Archived from the original on October 17, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2020 .
^ Cite error: The named reference Marantz-2017
was invoked but never defined (see the help page ).
^ Cheney, Kyle (September 5, 2023). "Enrique Tarrio, Proud Boys leader on Jan. 6, sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy" . POLITICO . Archived from the original on December 27, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023 .
^ "Trump denounces 'all white supremacists' including Proud Boys" . Archived from the original on October 3, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2023 .
^ "Trump condemns all white supremacists after Proud Boys row" . BBC News . October 2, 2020. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2023 .
^ Cite error: The named reference Morlin-2017
was invoked but never defined (see the help page ).
^ Carter, Mike (May 1, 2017). "Seattle police wary of May Day violence between pro- and anti-Trump groups" . The Seattle Times . Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018 .
^ "Proud Boys" . Southern Poverty Law Center . Archived from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2018 .
^ ADL:
^ Rivera, Pedro (May 8, 2019). "Who Are the Proud Boys and Why Are They Banned from Social Media Platforms?" . Fox40 Sacramento . Archived from the original on February 12, 2021.
^ Cite error: The named reference Wendling-2020
was invoked but never defined (see the help page ).
^ "Government of Canada lists 13 new groups as terrorist entities and completes review of seven others" . www.canada.ca . Ottawa : Government of Canada . February 3, 2021. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021 .
^ Evan Perez, Katelyn Polantz and Mallory Simon (February 3, 2021). "New charges allege Proud Boys prepped for Capitol insurrection" . CNN . Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021 .
^ Benner, Katie; Feuer, Alan (February 4, 2021). "Justice Department Unveils Further Charges in Capitol Riot" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021 .