Right-Wing Media Warns of ‘Left-Wing Mob’ As Neo-Fascist Proud Boys Rampages Across the Nation
By: Manny Otiko
Tags: Alt Right, Fascism, Racism, Republican Party, Nationalism

The Proud Boys after their New York rampage (Twitter)

FOX News is the worst TV station in media history. It’s actually anti-news, because it works in reverse. News is supposed to inform people, but FOX keeps people ignorant. FOX, also known as state TV, has been pushing the Republicans latest lie about angry left-wing mobs. However, like most of the “news” FOX puts out, this is the complete opposite of the truth.

This weekend, the Proud Boys, a violent white supremacist gang, rampaged through the streets of New York. They also attacked random strangers and yelled homophobic slurs. Although there were police on hand, they initially failed to arrest anyone. (The police later made some arrests.)

The Proud Boys also combined with another neo-fascist group, Patriot Prayer, and brawled in the streets of Portland, Ore. According to local media reports, this fight could have got much worse. It was later discovered that Patriot Prayer had stashed weapons on rooftops and had set up sniper positions.

The Proud Boys are a little-known group to most Americans. But they’ve been active in far-right circles for a while. The group was created by Gavin McInnes, one of the founder of VICE magazine, which has grown into a major left-wing media outlet. (The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the Proud Boys as a hate group.)

The group describes itself as “Western chauvinists.” They bill themselves as men who won’t apologize for creating Western civilization. They also advocate for a return to 1950s values. And strangely enough, in spite of the fact that some of their members spout white supremacist rhetoric, they have non-white members.

Although McInnes got his start with VICE, he gradually started moving to the right. It started with so-called “ironic racism,” and eventually grew into openly anti-Semitic comments. As VICE started to blow up, they decided they had to cut McInnes loose.

But McInnes didn’t go away. He made regular guest appearances on FOX News, and white supremacist media. Now he’s found a home on CRTV, a neo-fascist propaganda outlet that also provides a platform for Eric Bolling, who made racist comments about President Barack Obama.

Apart from being openly racist and homophobic, (he once complained about having non-whites as neighbors in New York,) McInnes is also violent. Media Matters recently posted a video featuring some of his bizarre antics. This included advocating street brawls and a Proud Boys jumping in ceremony.

The Proud Boys have also been involved in several other disturbing incidents. They’ve partnered with skinhead groups, former Proud Boy Jason Kessler helped organize the Charlottesville, N.C. neo-Nazi march and a group member threatened comedian Vic Berger at his home.

According to an internal memo leaked to Berger, the group instructed members how to go after their critics. “Let’s get the social media profiles, phone numbers and addresses for their bosses, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, boyfriends, friends and get to work,” said the memo.

You would think that with McInnes’ reputation for violence, his organization would have been shunned by the GOP. But he was invited to New York to give a speech at the Metropolitan Republican Club. (He also received a police escort to the event.) McInnes also said the Proud Boys had wide support from local police. According to the Daily Beast, the Proud Boys have been pictured with Reps. Devin Nunes and Mario Diaz-Bart. They’ve also provided security for Trump advisor Roger Stone.

“I think some Republicans appreciate the Proud Boys because they understand what we actually stand for: love of country, small government, freedom, and fun,” said Jason Van Dyke, a Proud Boy, according to the Daily Beast. Van Dyke was kicked out of his college for a gun offense. A campus security officer later found a book on starting a race war in his dorm.

Not surprisingly these kinds of views are still welcome on FOX News. Laura Ingraham, who has already been exposed as a white supremacist, recently hosted Joey Gibson, leader of Patriot Prayer in a soft-ball interview.

“No, we never have any intention to get violent. For us, it’s about challenging the mayor, challenging these protest groups, and just being able to march,” said Gibson.

After the Saturday night brawl, some Proud Boys have been arrested and prosecutors are looking at charges. But why has this taken so long? Also, I hope that federal authorities are looking at charging the Proud Boys, which is effectively a domestic terrorist group. What’s it going to take, an actual murder?