When the Proud Boys came to town
The far-right group were a flashpoint in the first presidential debate. Who are they?
By James Astill
During the raucous debate between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden on Tuesday, Trump was invited to condemn white supremacist groups, specifically the Proud Boys, a brotherhood of self-described “Western chauvinists” who had mustered the previous weekend in Portland, Oregon (the pictures in this article were taken there). Trump failed to do so. Later it was reported that this was because he didn’t know who they were. But the Proud Boys certainly know all about him.
The group is known for its extreme Islamophobia, street brawls and odd-ball initiation rituals. It was formed in Trump’s hometown of New York in 2016 during the election campaign, apparently inspired in part by the president’s own extreme rhetoric. “Donald Trump’s Muslim ban is exactly what we need right now”, is the title of one of the many videos produced by the Canadian hard-right provocateur and founder of Vice magazine, Gavin McInnes, who set up the Proud Boys.
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