A document from Washington State law enforcement claims that the FBI has branded the Proud Boys as an extremist group with “ties to white nationalism” — despite their extremely diverse membership and repeated denunciation of racism.
The document is not directly from the FBI, it is hearsay from a local police department that has been rocked by scandal after firing a deputy due to pressure from Antifa.
The document, from August, was obtained by the government transparency non-profit Property of the People and handed to The Guardian, states that “the FBI has warned local law enforcement agencies that the Proud Boys are actively recruiting in the Pacific northwest,” and that the “Proud Boys members have contributed to the recent escalation of violence at political rallies held on college campuses, and in cities like Charlottesville, Virginia, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington.”
Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes doubts the truthfulness of the Guardian’s report on the issue. He says that there is no evidence the FBI has actually designated them an extremist group.
The document the Guardian reported on is related to the case of a former deputy from the Clark County Sheriff’s Department who was fired after Antifa raised hell about photos of her on social media wearing a “Proud Boys Girls” shirt.
“The Guardian headline reads like the FBI just made this announcement,” McInnes told The Gateway Pundit. “I think it’s just local cops trying to cover their asses if she sues.”
According to the Guardian, the Clark County sheriff’s department’s headquarters commander Michael McCabe told them that “the FBI’s classification of the Proud Boys as an extremist group was revealed to him in ‘a briefing we were given by the FBI’ on 2 August, at Clark county’s west precinct.”
When asked about the designation by the Guardian, the FBI “did not directly address the designation or the briefing in response to specific email questions, but did say that while ‘the FBI does not and will not police ideology’, the agency ‘regularly assesses intelligence regarding possible threats and works closely to share that information with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners.’’
You wouldn’t know it from liberal reporting on the Proud Boys, but the group, and McInnes, have repeatedly made it clear that white nationalism is not permitted within their ranks. In fact, the group was strictly warned that any member who attended a white nationalist or “Alt-Right” event, such as Unite the Right, would be promptly banned.
“The club started as a joke because the 24-year-old virgin who worked for me refused to quit porn. It’s based on a song from Aladdin. It’s basically the Fraternal Order of Water Buffalo that Fred and Barney were in,” McInnes told the Gateway Pundit, referencing the Flintstones.
The Proud Boys, according to many current and former members that I have discussed the issue with, is essentially just a social drinking club for men. Though the local groups obviously vary across the country, one thing is consistent across the clubs: they are diverse — probably more diverse than the Antifa lunatics they have faced off against.
Members span across many ethnicities, backgrounds, and classes — though they are all united in their simple belief that the “West is the best.”
McInnes himself is married to a lovely Native American woman, who happens to have voted for Hillary Clinton.
“Please be very diligent about new members. If there is even a possibility they are Alt-Right, do not allow them at meet-ups. If you know of anyone who is presently a member and who is Alt-Right, they are cut from the club as of right now. If you refuse, you are your own separate entity and not affiliated with Proud Boys,” a post by McInnes on the Proud Boys website explained in 2017.
The Proud Boys are known on the right for being fierce defenders of the right of Trump supporters to rally and gather without having to fear for their safety. McInnes and the Proud Boys personally escorted this reporter into the 2016 Deploraball after my description and photo was placed on a target list by the same group who recently terrorized the home of Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
“The only time they’ve been violent is when they’re attacked. They NEVER go to Antifa events. It’s always radical leftists coming to their events to hassle them,” McInnes said of the group. “There is ZERO association with white nationalism and the club has spent a fortune taking legal action against anyone who says it is.”
