FBI Special Agent: Proud Boys Not Designated as Extremist Group
Richard Moorhead
|
Speaking to members of the press Tuesday, FBI Special Agent in Charge Renn Cannon said that the federal agency had not intended to designate the Proud Boys as an extremist organization, contrary to reports indicating otherwise. He maintained that the FBI simply wanted Clark County law enforcement to be aware of potential violence from individual members of the group.
Reports had surfaced indicating that the FBI had assigned the “extremist” label to the Proud Boys after a New York City run-in with Antifa. The Proud Boys had become a target for violent organizations of the fanatic left, and the founder of the organization (and de facto leader), Gavin McInnes, resigned his ties with the organization after it had supposedly been labeled “extremist.”
Now we find out that the FBI apparently never characterized the organization with that term, despite a slew of media reports seeking to tar the Proud Boys with an association to political extremism.
Speaking to Big League Politics, Proud Boys Chairman Enrique Tarrio gave a statement on the development:
“This development shouldn’t be surprising anybody. A police commander from a department known to be hostile to us made the claim in order to justify firing a police officer seen in a Proud Boys’ Girls picture. As it turns out, he was either lying, or completely misinformed. We are simply a fraternal organization, with members of all races, who go out and drink beer. The only thing we’re extreme about is our patriotism.”
It remains to be seen if the characterization of the Proud Boys as extremist by media organizations, and supposedly federal law enforcement, will affect the future of the organization. Or if the fake news media will correct the record.
Share: