Transcript for Proud Boys founder on whether he feels responsible for its controversial behavior

provocateur. Reporter: A pledge of allegiance. I'm a proud western chauvinist. Reporter: Devotion to a common cause. I refuse to apologize for creating the western world. Reporter: And then a bizarre rite of passage. Cheerios, frosted flakes, cocoa puffs. Reporter: These initiation ceremonies are played out across the world as men join the ranks of a controversial self-described fraternity called the proud boys. Proud of your boy. Reporter: Their rallying cry is what they call western chauvinism. Proud of your boys. Reporter: Their founder is Gavin Mcginnis, known for what some call incendiary claims like these from his rebel media show. Be dubious of muslims. If you see something, say something. The data says that women have become less happy since feminism. Okay? And I blame them being ripped out of the kitchen. Reporter: In the two years since the proud boys founding, fair or not, violence has seemed to follow in their wake. In Portland. Seattle. And just recently, in New York where after a speech Mcginnis gave at the metropolitan Republican club, this violent confrontation broke out. The proud boys claim they were attacked by the anti-fascist group antifa but now ten proud boys are facing criminal charges, some of them possible jail time. Leading Mcginnis to make an unofficial announcement. I'm officially dissociating myself from the proud boys in all capacities forever. I quit. I'm told by my legal team and law enforcement that this gesture could help alleviate their sentencing. We are not an extremist group and we do not have ties with white nationalists. Reporter: Are you proud of the proud boys? Yes. Reporter: Unapologetic, unabashed, Mcginnis agreed to sit down with us. Thanks for having me. Reporter: You said this a speech last year after a clash with antifa, violence doesn't feel good, justified violence feels great are you inciting violence? No. Justified violence is protecting some woman who is getting beaten up. Reporter: But you've also said, "I want violence. I want punching in the face." I think the proud boys do enjoy a good brawl. Reporter: Yes or no, are the proud boys racists? No. Misogynists? No. Reporter: Is the proud boys a hate group? No. Reporter: Hipster Nazis? No. Reporter: Extremists? No. Reporter: So what do you guys do? You just get together and you drink? 99% is meeting in a bar once a month and drinking beer just like everyone else. Reporter: What's the other 1%? Escorting conservative speakers to and from their cars or wherever they're going. Reporter: A conservative media personality himself, Mcinnes formerly of vice media founded the group in 2016. I got it. We are called the proud boys. The ten ways to save America. Abolish prison. Give everyone a gun. Reporter: He has used his own show to spread the proud boys manifesto. Outlaw censorship. Venerate the housewife. I believe that 95% of women would be happier at home. Reporter: Do you understand how some could interpret that to be misogyny? Yes. Radical hate group, I mean, that's nuts. Reporter: At the heart of the proud boys is the belief the west is the best. Russia sucks. China sucks. The Middle East is not my cup of tea. I don't have -- I think it's inarguable that the west is superior. The west is built on liberty and meritocracy and busting your ass. Reporter: How do you see yourself? I'm just a, I guess you could say, provocateur, but I do satirical commentary. I talk about the news. I make jokes. Reporter: But some believes he uses jokes as a cover for dangerous ideas. Citing appearances like this on the Joe Rogan experience. Mexico sucks because of Mexicans. What have they contributed to society in the past hundred years? Tacos. Reporter: You've said things like Mexico sucks because of Mexicans. That was -- we were sitting around talking and someone was bitching about how America and their foreign policy and it's ruined all these countries, it's ruined Mexico and I said, America did not ruin Mexico. Mexico -- Mexicans are responsible for Mexico. Mexicans ruined Mexico. That's the tone there. But when it's taken out of context, it sounds like some sort of reverend of hate. This started as a joke. Reporter: Mcinnes claims the proud boys were meant to be nothing more than a benign gathering of politically incorrect conservative men full of sophomoric antics and a lot of beer drinking. Amidst the controversy, Mcinnes strong worldwide. Best group that I've ever been a part of. Reporter: Their monthly meetings are closed to the public and women are definitely not allowed but a select group of them agreed to meet us at a bar in New York. What do you stand for? What do you stand against? We stand against white power, for sure. Yeah. That's racist. I hate the -- I think the fact that we're here. A black Nazi is, like, I don't know. A meat-eating vegan. Reporter: Finish the sentence. The proud boys is -- It's an organization that does not care who you sleep with, what god you pray to, all we care is that you have a good time, that you improve yourself. We are the most misunderstood group in America. Like first it's like, far right group, then it's like far right hate group, far right white supremacist group, far right gang. Reporter: But the proud boys have been photographed displaying what is perceived by some as the white power hand symbol. They say it's just a joke, created by the online forum, 4 Chan, designed to rile up the left. Do you understand that you can't say on one hand, we're misunderstood and on the other hand, flash what a lot of people believe to be a white power hand symbol. Do you understand that? Yes. I'll give you that bone and if I was their boss, I would say, guys, this is causing too much trouble, please stop doing it in photos. Reporter: But at least one former member says that there is something more insidious taking over the proud boys. As soon as I saw what the trajectory was, I had that kind of gut feeling and I started moving myself away. Reporter: Dante is a comedian and relationship guru who has made appearances on Mcinnes' show. He's been referred to as the proud boys pope but has since turned his back on the movement, saying that what happened at the infamous unite the right rally in charlottesville is a cautionary tale. And across the country tonight, an outpouring of support for the victims caught in the chaos in charlottesville. Reporter: Before that notorious March, the organizer had appeared on Mcinnes see show. He's also reported to have attended proud boys meetings in Virginia. Everybody is not perpetuating violence but the complicitness in knowing this violence is going on, the complicitness in the fact that you're not checking people with racist and violent tendencies makes you part of the problem. So, does the proud boys solely responsible for charlottesville? Absolutely not. I mean, there are members who just, I'm quite sure, there are members who just joined because their friend was in it. Reporter: You think some bad eggs have ruined it a little bit? The philosophy emboldens that. It makes a safe haven for those kind of racist ideas. Reporter: Mcinnes says he quickly disavowed any proud boys that were associated with the events in charlottesville. If anyone showed up at unite the right, they were instantly booted and I made that clear months before. Reporter: But after his departure, the proud boys elected as its chairman a member named Enrique who was a participant of that charlottesville rally, though he told our Miami affiliate he had misgivings about the torchlight March. Did you participate in that? No, I differently didn't. After I heard the tiki torch thing, I decided completely against it. Reporter: Do you think white supremacy exists in the U.S.? ? I not to any measurable degree. Reporter: What about Richard Spencer? What about David duke? Everyone always says those two. Reporter: And the kkk. Everyone says those two guys and the kkk, let's get them all together. You're lucky if they fill up a living room. I believe that's a federal offense. Reporter: His wife, who has asked not to be shown on camera due to safety concerns, says it's a relief to no longer have her husband be part of this controversial group. This is impeding on the peace for my opportunity to raise my kids. It's my fault. It's your fault. Well, no. I'm not being sarcastic. I was raised in a liberal household. I'm a die hard Democrat and so your politics having evolved this way in the last few years has been a challenge. But I respect anyone's right to have their opinion. Reporter: Meantime, his account was suspended from Twitter in August, banned from Facebook in October, a yesterday, terminated from YouTube. He was also ousted from blaze TV after less than a week at the conservative network. He responded in a statement by saying he was the victim of lies and propaganda, adding, I finally out of platforms and unable to defend myself. You do have a large mega phone and a large platform. Do you bear any responsibility? Yes, I do bear any responsibility. I mean, I'm not guilt free in this. There's culpability there. I shouldn't have said, you know, violence solves everything or something like that without making the context clear. And I regret saying things like that. Reporter: Are you apologizing? No. Reporter: Would you take any of it back? That's a good question. Yes. I guess -- well, I don't know. No. That ship has sailed.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.