The founder of Proud Boys distances himself from an "extremist" organization

The founder of the "Proud Boys", a pugilist group of self-proclaimed "Western chauvinists" who has been the focus of racist and homophobic rhetoric, released Wednesday a dissociating video of the club in order to help a group of members confronted with serious legal problems. difficulty.

Several members of the Proud Boys were arrested after a fight in New York on October 12, after the group's founder delivered a speech in front of the Metropolitan Republican Club in the Upper East Side.

On Wednesday, Gavin McInnes, founder of Proud Boys, announced that he was leaving the group, with the goal of alleviating any punishment related to the charges of assault.

The move came after internal law enforcement documents revealed on Tuesday that the FBI had labeled the Proud Boys as an "extremist group linked to white nationalism," although the group described it as a "Western chauvinist club." .

"The FBI has warned local law enforcement officials that the Proud Boys are actively recruiting in the Pacific Northwest and that some members of the group have contributed to the escalation of violence at political rallies held on the ground. University campuses, "reported the Clark County Sheriff's Office in Washington State on July 5 said.

McInnes, who also co-founded Vice Media, now mainstream, denied any connection to what he agreed to call Alt-Right in his video, and said his legal team had advised him to do so. a statement to help keep the Proud Boys arrested out of jail. .

He also encouraged viewers to donate to the men's legal defense funds through a website selling "Proud Boy" bracelets.

"I'm doing all this reluctantly because I still consider it the biggest fraternal organization in the world, but rumors, lies, and dreadful journalism have made their way into the justice system," McInnes said in a video published on his YouTube account.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organization that monitors hate groups, describes the Proud Boys' idealogy as "general hate." SPLC also details the story of McInness's sexist, Islamophobic and transphobic rhetoric, which he dismissed on Wednesday as a political satire out of context.

"Their actions deny sectarianism: the Proud Boys and their leaders, from the grassroots, regularly launch white nationalist speeches and maintain links with known extremists," says the SPLC website. "They are known for their anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric."