Who are the Proud Boys, the far-right group who is marching in Springfield, Ohio?
The far-right Proud Boys have been spotted marching in Springfield, Ohio. This follows Donald Trump’s comments about pet-eating immigrants in the city.
The all-male, far-right Proud Boys have been spotted marching on the streets of Springfield, Ohio. There has been no confirmation on what they planned to do or where they were headed.
Springfield was thrust into the spotlight after Donald Trump’s remarks during the recent presidential debate about Haitian immigrants eating cats and dogs in the city. This claim has since been debunked, and city officials have said there were no credible reports of such an occurrence. Shortly after, the Springfield city hall received a bomb threat.
READ ALSO: British MP backs Trump’s “cat and dog eating” claim
Who are the Proud Boys, the far-right group who is marching in Springfield, Ohio?
The Proud Boys was founded in 2016 by Gavin McInnes- co-founder of the conservative media outlet Vice Media- who described the organization as “alt-lite.” McInnes has since left the media company and distanced himself from the group.
The Proud Boys have gained significant attention for their participation in violent confrontations, political protests, and their connections to white nationalism and extremism, though they have officially denied being a white supremacist group.
Since their foundation, they have been involved in altercations with Black Lives Matter protesters and other groups. They say they are protecting America from a left-wing threat and describe themselves as “Western chauvinists,” which the International Centre for Counter Terrorism believes is thinly veiled code for replacement theory. The group has often taken advantage of clashes between protesters and police to instigate violence themselves, notably in Portland and Kenosha.
They have an estimated membership of between several hundred and 6,000. A Canada branch of the organization was dissolved in 2021 after it was designated as a terrorist organization by the Justin Trudeau administration.
READ ALSO: The stunning truth behind Trump’s ‘Haitian immigrants eat pets’ claim
The Proud Boys’ participation in the Capitol riot
Five leaders of the group were federally indicted on seditious conspiracy charges for their alleged roles in the Capitol insurrection.
The former head of the Proud Boys, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy and other charges related to the riots. Tarrio is Cuban-American and a former director of Latinos for Trump.
Trump boosts the popularity of the Proud Boys
During the 2020 presidential debate against Joe Biden, Trump refused to denounce far right extremists, uttering the now infamous line: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.” This increased the far-right group’s popularity and notoriety, and gave them their new motto.
Just two days later, in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, the President backtracked very clearly: “I’ve said it many times, let me be clear again, I condemn the KKK. I condemn all white supremacists. I condemn the Proud Boys.” adding “I don’t know much about the Proud Boys, almost nothing, but I condemn that.”
Proud Boys described as a ‘hate group’
The Proud Boys have tried to rebrand their image following the violent events of Charlottesville’s Unite the Right rally in August 2017, during which a young counter-protestor, Heather Heyer, was killed when white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr drove his car into a crowd, injuring a further 35 people.
However, they are considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which also describes the organization as an “alt-right fight club.”
The Proud Boys claims to be a fraternal organization that gets together to drink beer, fight and read Pat Buchanan’s “Death of the West.” They state that they are a libertarian organization that is pro-business, concerned with “venerating the housewife” and are against racism.