Report: FBI classifies far-right Proud Boys as 'extremist,' linked to white nationalism

Show Caption Hide Caption Far right 'Proud Boys' run out of LA bar by Democratic socialists Clashes over political views flaring up once again, this time at a bar in Los Angeles between the far-right Proud Boys and left wing activists. Nathan Rousseau Smith has the story.

The FBI considers the far-right hate group the Proud Boys “an extremist group with ties to White Nationalism,” according to a report from a Washington State sheriff’s office.

The designation appeared in an August internal affairs report from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office in Vancouver, posted online Monday by the government transparency non-profit Property of the People.

The Proud Boys, a group of self-described “western chauvinists,” were established by VICE Media co-founder Gavin McInnes in 2016, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Although the SPLC lists them as a hate group, they have repeatedly denied any connection to the “alt-right.”

The document, written by Commander Michael McCabe, states that the Proud Boys were “publically (sic) categorized as an extremist group by the FBI in 2018.”

According to The Guardian, the report marks the first time the group has been publicly labelled as “extremist” by the FBI.

McCabe told the British newspaper that the FBI revealed the classification of the Proud Boys as an extremist group during an Aug. 2 briefing at Clark County’s west precinct.

According to the report, the FBI warned local law enforcement that the group is recruiting in the Pacific Northwest and that they have “contributed to the recent escalation of violence at political rallies held on college campuses, and in cities like Charlottesville, Virginia, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington.”

The report was not intended to investigate the Proud Boys but rather the membership of a Clark County sheriff’s deputy in the group.

The investigation found that Deputy Sheriff Erin Willey, who worked as a probationary deputy from June 2017 to June 2018, was active with the Proud Boy Girls, “an affiliate group of women who openly support the ideology of the Proud Boys.” She was involved with the group from November 2016 to October 2017, but failed to disclose this information. Her association with the group came to light when The Columbian, a Washington daily newspaper, obtained photos of Willey wearing Proud Boy Girls apparel.

Her affiliation with the group violated two of the sheriff’s office's policies, including the non-discrimination and anti-harassment policy, and may have prevented her from passing the background check necessary to hold any law enforcement position, the report states.

After Willey’s firing, Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins released a statement: “Law enforcement officers are peacekeepers whose core mission is to protect and safeguard the community. My expectation is that my employees do not engage in activities or associations that undermine or diminish our role as peacekeepers.”

The timeline constructed during the investigation found that the Proud Boys were not an “official hate group” at their inception, but rather gained attention as their membership grew.

The group found itself in the national spotlight when several members were arrested in connection with a street brawl after McInnes spoke at a New York Republican club in mid-October. Deputy Commissioner John Miller told the New York Times that the NYPD has opened a criminal investigation into the organization itself.

Shortly after the fight, McInnes and the group were banned from Facebook and Instagram because of policies against hate groups.

The FBI could not immediately be reached for comment but released a statement to the Guardian and other outlets saying while “the FBI does not and will not police ideology”, the agency “regularly assesses intelligence regarding possible threats and works closely to share that information with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners.”

Contributing: The Associated Press

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