Proud Boys leader Gavin McInnes isn't apologizing for the mob assault committed by members of his gang in the Upper East Side on Friday—instead, he's touting his alleged ties with local law enforcement.

In a Sunday episode of his podcast, Get Off My Lawn, McInnes described his arrival at the Metropolitan Republican Club: "So I get there and there’s a mob of screaming lunatics and the cops have been there all day," he says. "Tons of cops, I have a lot of support in the NYPD and I very much appreciate that, the boys in blue."

Elsewhere in the episode, McInnes justifies the violence committed by Proud Boys by claiming that antifascists created a "climate of fear" after allegedly vandalizing the GOP clubhouse. He also appears to liken members of his group to those who fought back against the Ku Klux Klan.

"You’ve set the atmosphere now, so you can’t complain about violence after that," he argues. "If I go to Harlem and I put posters all over the streets saying 'the Klan is coming, your days are numbered' and then, you know, I’m seen in a Klansman uniform after this neighborhood watch thing, that’s different than me just wearing a Klansman uniform."

In video taken of Friday night's scene, dozens of Proud Boys can be seen kicking a protester who lies in the fetal position, while shouting "faggot" at him. One of the attackers is later heard bragging to his buddies about smashing the head of a "fucking foreigner" into the pavement.

Though video evidence appears to show officers at the scene during some of the violence, not a single Proud Boy was questioned or arrested on Friday night. Meanwhile, three protesters were reportedly arrested on Friday night for punching a Proud Boy and stealing his backpack.

As footage of the Proud Boys' assault has gone viral, the NYPD has faced mounting criticism for their "incredibly deferential treatment" of the Proud Boys. On Monday afternoon, unnamed NYPD sources told the Daily Beast that police were working to charge nine Proud Boys and three protesters with counts of rioting or attempted assault (Gothamist's inquiries were not immediately answered).

Earlier in the day, a person who identifies himself as J.D. called into the Brian Lehrer Show to say that he attempted to file an incident report after witnessing multiple acts of violence committed by Proud Boys, but was turned down by police officers.

In a follow-up conversation, J.D. told Gothamist that he witnessed a Proud Boy punch a protester in the mouth in front of police, and saw others kicking a person who was crouched down in a doorway on 83rd Street. "These kids were trying to grab and confront anyone they could get their hands on," he said. "It was a group mob mentality." (The witness asked that we not provide his last name because he has family members in law enforcement. We've independently verified his identity.)

Gavin McInnes came out of the Metropolitan Republican Club with a samurai sword. Cops protected him as he hopped inside his car. Someone threw something in his direction & NYPD’s anti-protest Strategic Response Group (SRG) immediately starts looking for who threw it. pic.twitter.com/7c3Nqkkpmc — Ash J (@AshAgony) October 13, 2018

"The most disarming part was that the police did nothing," he continued. "I said to one of the guys that I'd like to file an incident report and he gave me a look like: 'Are you shitting me?'"

The cops' main concern, J.D. said, seemed to be escorting Gavin McInnes away from the event. "He literally tried to kick open the door of the car, and he raised the sword above his head like a movie," the witness recalled. "One of the cops leaned in and said something, and he left in his Uber."

Meanwhile, the Proud Boys continued assaulting protesters without any apparent concern for legal consequences, J.D. said. "These guys knew that the cops weren't going to get involved," he concluded. "Police wanted nothing to do with it."

We've reached out to the NYPD with several questions. We'll update if we hear back.

