{"id":9412,"date":"2020-09-30T21:46:37","date_gmt":"2020-10-01T01:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/idavox.com\/?p=9412"},"modified":"2020-10-02T22:52:46","modified_gmt":"2020-10-03T02:52:46","slug":"proud-boys-indeed-stood-back-when-coast-to-coast-proud-boys-rallies-failed-miserably-last-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/idavox.com\/index.php\/2020\/09\/30\/proud-boys-indeed-stood-back-when-coast-to-coast-proud-boys-rallies-failed-miserably-last-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Proud Boys Indeed Stood Back When Coast-to-Coast Proud Boys Rallies Failed Miserably Last Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Proud Boys have been getting smacked around for a few years now, and if last night\u2019s first presidential debate didn\u2019t affix a permanent bullseye to their asses, their rallies over the weekend damn sure did!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

During the first presidential debate last night, Donald Trump was asked to condemn white supremacist and militia groups, and the neo-fascist group Proud Boys were mentioned by name. Trump not only would not make such a condemnation, attempting to pivot to left wing groups he considered threats, but regarding the Proud Boys, he simply said what came off as a marching order: \u201cProud Boys, stand back and stand by.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As expected, the Proud Boys immediately turned that into a rallying cry, with Florida member Joe Biggs, a onetime reporter for the conspiracy theorist media outlet InfoWars who is known for his public calls for physical confrontations and violence against political adversaries, saying on his Parler account, \u201cTrump basically said to go fuck them up! this makes me so happy\u201d. Biggs also posted a video of Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes reacting to the call, jokingly responding to it by saying he runs the organization and should not stand back and stand by. McInnes publicly resigned from the group in November 2018 in a failed effort to help the case of members who were eventually convicted of assault and rioting, but has regularly been seen with the group while wearing it\u2019s telltale yellow and black polo shirts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founded in the summer of 2016 in Brooklyn, McInnes has termed his group as a gang and is an organization that has promoted the suppression of rights to women, Muslims and the LGBTQ community. Although multiracial, it has often allied themselves with White Nationalist circles and some members were seen participating in the tragic \u201cUnite the Right\u201d rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017 which was organized by former Proud Boy Jason Kessler. They openly call and engage in political violence, and in order to become a full member, one has to \u201cget involved in a major fight for the cause.\u201d McInnes, who has contributed articles to White nationalist sites such as VDare.com and American Renaissance has often openly called for violence as he championed his group,  saying on his podcast, \u201cWe will kill you, that\u2019s the Proud Boys in a nutshell, We will kill you. We look nice, we seem soft, we have \u201cboys\u201d in our name, but like Bill the Butcher and the Bowery Boys, we will assassinate you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, the violence from the Proud Boys and their hatemongering has been documented from almost the very start<\/a>. Currently, several Proud Boys are incarcerated on assault and rioting charges and prominent Proud Boy Alan Swinney joined them on Wednesday<\/a>, less than 24 hours after the debate, charged with several assault and weapons charges, six of them classified as felonies. On Aug. 27, Swinney participated in a rally with the Proud Boys in Portland where he pointed a revolver at antifascist activists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Proud Boys have been in the news in recent days due to their rally on Saturday in Portland as well as a smaller and flash-mob type rally they held in Philadelphia the same day. Prior to both rallies, the organization was hit on two fronts. One hit came from the news outlet Unicorn Riot who released information<\/a> that indicated that according to leaked online chats they have been planning to violent rallies in the Northeast with other groups, most notably Patriot Prayer, American Guard and Resist Marxism, for much of the year. Two days earlier, writers Robert Evans and Jason Wilson reported on similar plans<\/a> for Portland and the Pacific Northwest from another group calling itself the Patriot Coalition, who often works alongside the Proud Boys, American Wolf and other groups. Add to the history of such groups instigating such violence across the county, many were on edge and did not know what to expect when the Proud Boys held their rally. It resulted in the group being put under the harshest of spotlights that they may never get out of, so harsh in fact that Fred Perry who produces the yellow and black polo shirts they are known to wear announced<\/a> that until it ceases to be associated with the group they will no longer sell that particular shirt color scheme in North America. Even city officials in Portland, who have long been tolerant of their violence and assaults in the city to the point that they have been accused of collusion with them denied<\/a> them a permit to rally in Delta Park, citing Covid-19 concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the denial, the Proud Boys still rallied in the park, but not in the numbers they anticipated. Instead of the 20,000 organizers suggested on the permit application or even the 1,000 to 3,000 law enforcement expected, a paltry 200 ended up coming out to attend. In addition, antifascist protesters who often clash with the group, chose instead to hold an anti-hate rally of their own in Peninsula Park \u2013 three miles away from the remote and hard-to-get-to park the Proud Boys chose for what became a festive event that even included the \u201cNo Drama Llama\u201d, who regularly is taken to peaceful rallies, this being the animal\u2019s 100th. \u201cWe will come together to protect what we are building, day by day, together,\u201d rally organizers said in a tweet. \u201cWe will not allow Portland to be used as a stage for fascist violence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will come together to protect what we are building, day by day, together.

We will not allow Portland to be used as a stage for fascist violence.

The feds gassed us and you showed up. It’s time to show up again.

We are the Roses of Portland.#noPBsInPDX<\/a>#WeKeepUsSafe<\/a><\/p>\u2014 PopMob (Popular Mobilization) (@PopMobPDX) September 11, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>