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Two prominent members of the far-right men's group Proud Boys have been charged with felony crime for the 2018 attack against a critic in Portland, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Police have already arrested one of the Proud Boys, Donovon Flippo. The other wanted boy, Tusitala "Tiny" Toese, recently announced on Facebook that he was in American Samoa, although he said he would return to Portland to face his charges.
The arrests mark another blow for the Proud Boys, a pro-Trump men's group created by conservative provocateur Gavin McInnes, which forces its members to abide by various rules and requirements regarding initiation, including a restriction to masturbation. Other members of the group were arrested last year after a bombing in New York and McInnes himself left the group shortly thereafter.
The charges against Flippo and Toese, two of the Proud Boys' most prominent members in their frequent clashes with leftist militants in the Pacific Northwest, date back to June 8, 2018, against a liberal critic of the group.
According to police reports, Flippo and Toese drove in a truck carrying a flag with Donald Trump's face around Portland. A man in the street, Timothy Ledwith, acknowledged Toese and taunted him about the loss of his sandals during a previous fight with left wing anti-fascist activists, Willamette Week reported.
In response, Toese and Flippo got out of the car and pursued Ledwith. Toese, who was wearing an "Antifa Removal Service" shirt during the incident, then told the police that he had hit Ledwith in the face. Ledwith's images taken after the attack show it with a bloody nose and lip.
Toese and Flippo were arrested a few days after the attack, but were released without charge. The men were eventually charged with an indictment sealed by a grand jury at the end of February, nine months after the assault.
The decision not to indict the two Proud Boys last year has frustrated liberal activists and Portland politicians, who have seen the city become a battleground as right-wing groups like the Proud Boys hold controversial protests in the United States. the city to bite the anti-fascist activists.
Toese in particular has become the hero of the far right for his role in the fight against the protesters. In February, Toese joined members of an allied group called Patriot Prayer as part of a campaign to "unmask" antifa members, which amounted to attacking people in the street and tear off their mask. Around the same moment, Willamette Week asked why the numerous evidence against Toese did not result in any charges.
Law enforcement in Portland has been criticized for its passive approach to fighting, citing a "mutual combat" law. This inaction angered Portland officials like Mayor Ted Wheeler, who on Monday at a press conference demanded that it was legal to fight in the streets.
"In what city is it legal to engage in a street fight?" Said Wheeler. "Come on guys, we complicate too much. You are not allowed to fight in the streets of the city. "
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