Proud Boys
Founded: September 2016
Founder: Gavin McInnes
Key Members: Gavin McInnes/Enrique Tarrio
Headquarter: New York City, New York
Type: All-male right-wing hate organisation
Affiliations: Far-right extremism
Organisational Ideology: Neo-fascism/Misogyny/Anti-LGBTQ/Anti-Semitism/Anti-Islam/Western Chauvinism
Online Resources
Overview
Gavin McInnes, a co-founder of VICE Media, founded the Proud Boys in 2016. McInnes describes its members as “Western chauvinists who refuse to apologise for creating the modern world.” According to McInnes, the Proud Boys, whose name is derived from a song in the famous musical Aladdin, are a reaction to and opposition to “politically correct culture.” The year 2020 was significant for the Proud Boys, as they were designated as the country's most visible and active right-wing extremist group. The Proud Boys is a fascist, anti-Islamic, and misogynistic group known to espouse white supremacy extremist ideology whose members have been involved in many acts of violence, including the 6 January 2021 U.S. Capitol attack. Some members of the Proud Boys actively took part in anti-lockdown protests, using the demonstrations not only to raise their identity but also as recruitment opportunities. The Proud Boys' profile was raised further when President Trump instructed them to “stand back, and stand by” during his debate with Joe Biden on September 29, 2020. The Proud Boys, emboldened by the President's attention, rallied for Trump twice in Washington, D.C. following his election loss.
According to the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, the group believes men and Western culture are under attack. Although the group officially opposes white supremacy, “members have nonetheless appeared at multiple racist events,”. Some members have also participated in several racist events as well as events centred on fascist, anti-left, and anti-socialist violence. The Proud Boys glorifies violence, and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has labelled the organization an “alt-right fight club” that employs rhetorical devices to conceal its true motivations. The SPLC and NPR's The Takeaway have both labelled the organization as a hate group. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has labelled the Proud Boys as “extremist conservative” and “alt-lite,” “overtly Islamophobic and misogynistic,” “transphobic and anti-immigrant,” and “all too willing to embrace racists, antisemites, and bigots of all kinds,” and has highlighted the group's promotion and use of violence as a core tactic.
According to McInnes' plan, the approximately 1,000 Proud Boys would be organised into chapters across the country. The membership would be divided into four ranks, as follows: To achieve level one, the prospected member must publicly declare: “I am a proud Western chauvinist, and I refuse to apologize for the creation of the modern world.” To advance to level two, the prospected member must withstand a beating while reciting the names of five breakfast kinds of cereal. To advance to the third level, the prospected member must get a Proud Boys tattoo. Finally, the fourth level, which McInnes did not describe in the foundational document, is an honorary degree bestowed upon “a material sacrifice or service by a brother.” McInnes further stated in an interview that the fourth degree is given for “a significant fight for the cause.” “You get beaten up, and then you kick the crap out of an Antifa," he added. Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter have all banned the group, and members have been redirected to less popular networks.
Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to more than five months in prison for allegedly burning a Black Lives Matter banner at a church and for bringing high-capacity rifle magazines to Washington, DC, just days before the US Capitol insurgency. The flag-burning incident occurred on December 12 at the Asbury United Methodist Church, a historically Black church, following Tarrio and other Proud Boys' attendance at a pro-Trump rally in Washington that resulted in violent clashes. He was released after his arrest but was ordered not to return to DC.
Ties to Extremism
McInnes has regularly advocated for brutal tactics when dealing with the Proud Boys' sworn adversaries, anti-fascist counter-protesters known as Antifa. In June 2016, McInnes warned his enemies in an episode of the “Gavin McInnes Show,” “We will kill you. In a nutshell, that's the Proud Boys. We will murder you.” The Proud Boys, among many other far-right groups, are responsible for inciting violence and civil unrest in the Pacific Northwest in 2019 and 2020. Similarly, a series of leaked chats revealed Proud Boys and other far-right extremists discussing how and when to use violence against leftist activists while planning rallies in the northeast in early-to-mid 2019.
Members of the Proud Boys clashed with counter-protesters in Portland, Oregon on August 22, 2021. This clash between right-wing and left-wing activists was one of many that occurred throughout the summer in Portland and other American cities, and Proud Boys had been a mainstay at the majority of them. Six months on from the events of January 6, 2021, Proud Boys members are accused of being at the forefront of the Capitol Hill rioters. “Proud Boys hide in plain sight by reframing their extremism as an assertion of their masculinity,” writes Samantha Kutner. The violence they advocate for, the structural violence they support through policies and protests, and the way they treat other members highlight the group's long-standing culture of violence.” The “men's rights movement,” on which the Proud Boys base their version of masculinity, is a broad political movement that primarily focuses on perceived discrimination against males, with feminism frequently blamed.
As for McInees’ anti-Muslim rhetoric and incitement to violence, in one of his show episodes, he said: “Why don’t we take back Bethlehem? Why don’t we take back Northern Iraq? Why don’t we start our own Crusades? That’s what the Crusades were. They weren’t just someone picking on Muslims for no reason – they were a reaction to Muslim tyranny. We finally fought back.” “Palestinians are stupid. Muslims are stupid. And the only thing they really respect is violence and being tough,” he added.
The Proud Boys' most effective recruiting tool is violence, and the June 30 rally was arguably the group's most significant promotional boost. Proud Boy Ethan “Rufio Panman” Nordean was caught on camera on the streets of downtown Portland knocking out an anti-fascist protester in a single punch, instantly sparking a celebrated meme within the far right.
