The Proud Boys are fired up.
The notorious hate group has been celebrating since President Donald Trump refused to directly disavow them and other white supremacists during Tuesday night’s presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio.
Trump, who has been criticized for never explicitly denouncing right-wing extremism, was asked by debate moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News if he would condemn white supremacy.
“Who would you like me to condemn?” Trump asked before Democratic challenger Joe Biden mentioned the Proud Boys, a pro-Trump right-wing group. “The Proud Boys? Stand back and stand by,” Trump responded cryptically.
“But I’ll tell you what, I’ll tell you what,” Trump continued. ”Somebody’s gotta do something about antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem, this is a left-wing problem.”
Prominent leaders of the Proud Boys, who frequently appear at Trump rallies, took that as a ringing endorsement of their fight against anti-fascist activists known as antifa.
On Instagram, Enrique Tarrio, a well-known Proud Boys leader, wrote that he was “excited about the mention on the debate stage.”
“Him telling the ProudBoys to stand back and standby is what we have ALWAYS done,” Tarrio wrote.
Joe Biggs, another Proud Boys organizer, went further.
"Trump basically said to go [expletive] them up!” Biggs wrote. “This makes me so happy.”
Members of the Proud Boys cheer on stage as they and other right-wing demonstrators rally, Sept. 26, 2020, in Portland, Ore.
Apparent shift
In the wake of widespread criticism of his refusal to denounce white supremacy, Trump on Wednesday appeared to shift his stance.
"I don't know who the Proud Boys are," Trump told reporters at the White House. "Whoever they are, they need to stand down."
Of white supremacy, Trump said, "I've always denounced any form of any of that."
Among Proud Boys, the apparent reversal in Trump's position was anticipated and is unlikely to diminish their enthusiasm.
"Don't be surprised if he makes a statement on us in the upcoming days to appease the masses," Biggs wrote Tuesday night. "But he knows we are the good guys."
Biden was highly critical of Trump’s debate performance. Asked by a reporter in Ohio whether he had any advice for the Proud Boys, the former vice president responded, “Cease and desist.”
The controversy comes as Trump continues to blame the violence at racial justice protests around the country almost exclusively on antifa, contradicting his own FBI director's assessment that violent white supremacy remains the biggest domestic national security threat.
Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, said far-right white supremacists are thrilled with what they see as Trump’s endorsement of the Proud Boys — who are making money off Trump’s comment by selling T-shirts.
“And all the talk in those sectors is about how great this is, how they're ready to support the president,” Beirich said. “President Trump basically gave the Proud Boys a new slogan.”
Members of the Proud Boys and other right-wing demonstrators rally, Sept. 26, 2020, in Portland, Ore.
Who are the Proud Boys?
The Proud Boys describe themselves as a drinking club of “Western chauvinists.” But extremism watchdogs say that’s just a guise for what is at its core a misogynistic, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant group. Although the group has never advocated a white ethnostate championed by white nationalists, its bigotry is just as extreme, Beirich said.
"The organization itself says it stands for Western chauvinism, sometimes Western civilization, which are code words for the white supremacist movement,” Beirich said.
In an online article in 2016 announcing the Proud Boys’ formation, Gavin McInnes, a controversial Canadian right-wing activist and co-founder of VICE Magazine, described the group as “Western chauvinists who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world.”
That line has become part of the group’s initiation rite. Today the group, whose members often wear black-and-yellow polo shirts, has chapters in most states as well as in Australia, Britain and Norway, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
The ADL says that while the Proud Boys fall within the “alt-lite” movement that disavows white supremacy, their "hateful impact" is greater than their public pledge implies. For its part, the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the Proud Boys as a hate group.
Although Proud Boys count some nonwhites among their members, they've also allowed well-known white supremacists into their ranks and appeared at white nationalist rallies, according to Beirich.
FILE - Members of a group wearing shirts with the logo of the far-right Proud Boys group argue with counterprotesters during a small protest against Washington state's stay-at-home orders, May 1, 2020, in downtown Seattle.
Intermingling
Jason Kessler, a former member of Proud Boys, was the main organizer of the 2017 far-right “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The rally, which brought together neo-Nazis, anti-government militiamen and members of the Klan, ended in the death of a counterprotester. Conversely, in recent years, far-right nationalist groups have attended rallies organized by Proud Boys.
“We believe that there are streams of white supremacy and white nationalism that run deep through what they do,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Last year, a Connecticut police officer was forced to retire after the Lawyers Committee exposed him as a Proud Boys member, Clarke said.
While Proud Boys publicly disavow violence, their members have engaged in violent acts over the years.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified on Capitol Hill last week that white supremacists and anti-government extremists have been responsible for most of the recent deadly attacks by extremist groups within the United States.
Last year, two Proud Boys were convicted of assault and riot charges in connection with beating up antifa activists in New York City in 2018.
This year, members of the Proud Boys have taken part in violent clashes between right-wing and left-wing activists in Portland, Oregon, and several other cities. On August 22, Proud Boys fought with left-wing counterprotesters in Portland, engaging in multiple acts of violence, according to ADL.