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According to a law enforcement official in the state of Washington, the FBI has been calling the Proud Boys an extremist group since at least last summer.
"The FBI sees the Proud Boys as an extremist group tied to white nationalism," wrote Major Michael McCabe, author of the document that was completed on August 10.
McCabe, who heads the internal affairs, training, forensic investigation and court security for the Clark County Sheriff's Office in Vancouver, Washington, has confirmed the authenticity of the document to the Guardian in a article published Monday.
He also told the British newspaper that the FBI's classification of the Proud Boys as an extremist group had been revealed to him at an information meeting held on August 2 by the FBI.
The FBI said that they "had warned [local law enforcement] for a while "about the Proud Boys," McCabe told The Guardian.
The FBI has retreated somewhat on McCabe's story. The agency told Hill "The FBI can never open an investigation based solely on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion or the exercise of First Amendment rights."
"Our goal is not to belong to particular groups, but to individuals who commit acts of violence and criminal activities that constitute a federal crime or a threat to national security," the statement added. "The FBI does not have and will not control the ideology."
A law enforcement official also told The Hill that the FBI did not designate any groups.
Proud Boys' founder, Gavin McInnes, has repeatedly said that the group is not a white nationalist organization or an organization quite right.
Amazon and PayPal both broke with the group after several members were involved in a violent clash in New York last month.
Facebook also prohibits the accounts associated with the Proud Boys.
– Updated at 18:22
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