Labor is calling on the Government to deny a visa to Gavin McInnes, the founder of the Proud Boys, who is coming to Australia in November.

McInnes is known for his extreme views and support of violence, saying when he founded the "gang" in 2016: "We will kill you, that is the Proud boys in a nutshell. We will kill you. We look nice, we seem soft, we have 'boys' in our name but... we will assassinate you."

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Whatsapp The letter to Immigration Minister David Coleman.

In a letter sent on Thursday, and obtained by Hack, Shadow Immigration Minister Shayne Neumann asks the Immigration Minister to use his discretionary powers to refuse McInnes access as he poses a "significant risk" to the Australian community.

"Proud Boys" is a far-right organisation which admits only men as members and promotes political violence," the letter reads.

"Gavin McInnes has repeatedly and publicly advocated for violence against women and has pledged to "assassinate" his enemies. Both this individual, and the group he represents, were suspended from Twitter in August for violating the social media platform's policy prohibiting violent extremist groups."

The Government has so far refused to comment on McInnes.

In a statement to Hack on Thursday, a spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said the Department did not comment on individual cases, but noted that non-citizens may be denied entry to Australia where they have a substantial criminal record or where their conduct represents a risk to the Australian community.

"For visitors who may hold controversial views, any risk they may pose will be balanced against Australia's well-established freedom of speech and freedom of beliefs, amongst other relevant considerations," the spokesperson said.

Petition calls for visa ban

Labor's letter to the Immigration Minister follows a petition to ban McInnes begun by Nyadol Nyuon, a lawyer and former refugee from the South Sudan who has emerged as a spokesperson for the African community in Melbourne.

The petition states:

"Gavin McInnes is coming to Australia on a 'comedy tour'. Gavin McInnes is no 'provocateur'. He is not a comedian. This is not satire. It is not about free speech. He is dangerous and should not be allowed in Australia."

Nyadol told Hack McInnes's visa application was "clear-cut".

"Over the last few years we've seen these white supremacist groups coming to Australia. We've had the likes of Milo and Lauren Southern," she said.

I think Gavin takes it to a different level.

"He specifically calls out and advocates violence and he speaks in extremely violent terms - he talks about shooting people and talks about violence as something enjoyable to do."

"I don't think we've ever had such as clear-cut case."

The online petition has received more than 2,000 signatures in 24 hours.

Proud Boys fight alongside skinheads in New York brawl

In November, McInnes plans to travel to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide for events promoted by Damien Costas, the publisher of Penthouse and the guy who brought out Milo Yiannopoulos last year and Nigel Farage this year.

McInnes co-founded Vice Magazine in the '90s and is also known as the "godfather of hipsterdom". He left Vice in 2008.

In 2016, in the midst of the presidential election, he established the Proud Boys.

The Australia tour marketing spiel reads: "[McInnes] plans to bring his unique blend of comedy and politics to the stage for an unforgettable evening."

It describes Proud Boys as a "men's club"

Those who oppose the tour say not only does McInnes explicitly support violence, he is also recruiting violent people to his cause, as demonstrated recently in New York.

Five Proud Boys face charges of assault and riot, as well as gang assault and criminal possession of a weapon after a street brawl with anti-fascist protesters.

Anti-fascist protesters had gathered outside a private social club where McInnes was celebrating the 58th anniversary of the assassination of Inejiro Asanuma, leader of the Japan Socialist Party, by the ultranationalist Otoya Yamaguchi, on live television in 1960. McInnes wrote on Instagram this was an "inspiring moment" that he planned to re-enact with a fellow Proud Boy.

Video from that night shows a Proud Boy bragging, "Dude, I had one of their fucking heads, and I was just fucking smashing it in the pavement!"

"That son of a bitch!" he continues."He was a f***ing foreigner."

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Whatsapp Still from video of the fight in New York.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Centre, at least three ultranationalist far-right skinheads were among the crowd of Proud Boys.

The Proud Boys Sydney Facebook page has more than a thousand members, although many of these are probably not active. A vetting page for Proud Boys Australia where members are asked to post a video declaring "I'm a proud western chauvinist who is unapologetic for creating the modern world" has about 500 members.

In September, the Proud Boys Sydney Facebook page posted an image of Greens leader Richard Di Natale alongside a helicopter - possibly a reference to the death squads of Pinochet.

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Whatsapp The photo from the Sydney Proud Boys Facebook page.

The Children dictator, who came to power through a military coup in 1973, was responsible for the torture and death of thousands of his political foes.

At times, murders were carried out by death squads who dropped dissenters from helicopters.

The back of the Proud Boys' shirts read "Make communists afraid of rotary aircraft again," and feature figures bearing the antifascist logo tumbling from a helicopter.

The Southern Poverty Law Centre (which tracks hundreds of hate groups operating in the US) officially classified Proud Boys as a hate group in February.

In August, Twitter suspended McInnes' and the Proud Boys' accounts.

'I want violence': McInnes

McInnes has made very derogatory comments about people of the Muslim faith. The Southern Poverty Law Centre has compiled a list here.

"I'm not a fan of Islam," he said on US national television last year.

"I think it's fair to call me Islamophobic."

There's also video of McInnes saying:

"Fighting solves everything. We need more violence from the Trump people, Trump supporters. Choke a m*therf**ker. Choke a b**ch. Choke a tr**ny. Get your fingers around a windpipe."

"Beating the sh*t out of people? I think it's our job to do it and the cops turn a blind eye."

"I want violence."

McInnes may be denied a visa under Section 501 of the Migration Act - the 'character test' that has been used to block anti-vaxxers from spreading "dangerous ideas"

Labor MP Shayne Neuman's letter notes Minister Coleman has the power to refuse a visa for individuals if there is a significant risk the individual would:

Vilify a segment of the Australian community; or

Incite discord in the Australian community or in a segment of that community; or

Represent a danger to the Australian community or to a segment of that community,

'This is a matter of purely applying the law'

In April, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton knocked back UK rapper Skepta's visa application on character grounds because of his criminal history, saying he represented "a risk of harm to the Australian community which is unacceptable."

The decision was later overturned in court.

In August, the Australian Government denied American whistleblower and activist Chelsea Manning a visa after failing the character test. The former US Army intelligence analyst received a 35-year prison term for espionage.

Nyadol Nyuon said she did not understand why the Government was hesitant about banning the founder of a violent gang, given the recent conservation around African gangs "causing havoc" in Melbourne.

"We're literally bringing in someone who has created a violent gang," she said.

"We have this environment where we're excusing the behaviour of a grown-up man who is clearly intending to cause violence.

We're protecting him as an innocent guy who is a provocateur and a comedian.

The website promoting McInnes' Australia tour appears to pre-empt the visa application debate with a prominent quote attributed to the "comedian": "Silicon Valley and the Left has declared war on Free Speech. We're declaring war on them."

Nyadol acknowledged the ban could give publicity to McInnes but said this was a clear case of applying the Migration Act.

"The law is there and it does say a person of particular character should not be allowed into Australia," she said.

"I don't know how you can read that and not see him falling under a few categories.

"It's a matter of purely applying the law."