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Geoffrey Young, 38, of New City, NY, was arrested at his home on Thursday night for riot and attempted assault, police said at BuzzFeed News.
A member of Proud Boys, the far-right organization that assaulted protesters after a Republican event in Manhattan, was arrested Thursday for fighting, the New York Police Department said.
Geoffrey Young, 38, of New City, NY, was arrested at his home on Thursday night for riot and attempted assault, police said at BuzzFeed News. He was the first member of the group arrested in connection with the violence.
The incident occurred Friday as a result of an event at the Metropolitan Republican Club, which had announced that Proud Boys' founder, Gavin McInnes, would replenish the assassination at the same time. Japanese socialist leader Inejiro Asanuma's samurai sword.
"Banished from Twitter – this godfather of the Hipster movement has taken the party to equate deep state socialists and fought for Western values," said the club in an advertisement for the Event on his Facebook page.
McInnes, who was also co-founder of Vice Media, was suspended from Twitter in August, as was the group's main account, @ProudBoysUSA, for violating its "violent extremist groups" policy.
Following McInnes' speech, a large group of Proud Boys members leaving the event were filmed hitting two or three demonstrators near the club and shouting threats and insults.
"I heard them screaming and swearing against a guy on the ground," BuzzFeed News Shay Horse, a photojournalist witnessing the incident, told Saturday. "They beat him shit and kicked him in the head. A guy had his foot on the guy's neck.
"It was just a hype – it was not really a fight, because the three people never really had a chance to get up," said Horse.
Officers at the scene did not arrest any members of the Proud Boys immediately after the beating, and the police did not explain why to BuzzFeed News.
The NYPD had previously told BuzzFeed News that police officers had been tasked to monitor the protest outside the Metropolitan Republican Club located on 83rd Street East and that there had been no incident at this location.
The beating took place about two blocks away.
In a separate incident that night, police arrested three people, called "anti-racist protesters" by a Legal Aid Society lawyer, for assaulting a participant in an event.
Individuals – identified as Caleb Perkins, 35 years old; Kai Russo, 20 years old; and Finbarr Slonim, 20, were tried in Manhattan Criminal Court on Saturday.
All three face two counts of assault and one count each of larceny, aggravated harassment, attempted assault and harassment, according to court documents. Perkins also faces a resistance leader at the arrest.
New York police ignored several emails from BuzzFeed News on Saturday asking why Proud Boys members were not arrested for the assault. In a phone call on Saturday following emails, the police said they were "looking for an answer".
The ministry then said in a statement that it was reviewing video and evidence to determine if any other crimes had been committed.
"There is no tolerance for violence in New York City, and the NYPD will do everything in its power to ensure the safety of the public," the government said.
Several New York politicians – all Democrats – have expressed outrage at the violence and called on the New York Police Office and the New York District Attorney's Office to take action against the Proud Boys, who have been designated by the anti-hate group of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called on the FBI to investigate incidents involving this group and also asked the State Police's Hate Crimes Unit to coordinate with the FBI and the US. New York police on their investigations "and on any other act of violence or discrimination" on the part of Proud Boy throughout the state.
"The authorities must immediately watch these videos, make arrests and prosecute," Cuomo said in a statement. "Hate can not and will not be tolerated in New York."
Cuomo asked why the club had invited a "hate group with a history of incitement to violence". He also criticized President Trump for "demonizing differences, fueling the flames of racism and division and creating a fire of hatred and violence".
New York public lawyer Letitia James called on the NYPD to stop all Proud Boys involved in the violence.
"I am disturbed and disgusted by the videos I have seen of members of the neo-fascist and white supremacist group Proud Boys engaging in hate-motivated mass violence on the streets of New York," said James. "New York will not become the next Charlottesville, and we refuse to let the acts of an odious minority define our city."
James said she would also urge the District Attorney to file a hate crime complaint because of "clearly homophobic and anti-immigrant sentiments expressed in the videos".
The Attorney General of New York State, Barbara Underwood, has echoed these comments, claiming on Twitter that "hatred has no place in New York" .
"This requires an immediate and thorough investigation by New York police to bring the perpetrators to justice," said Underwood. His office declined to comment further.
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