The Proud Boys and the Aftermath of January 6th
Throughout Donald Trump’s presidency, he frequently signaled his support for far-right extremist groups. During the presidential debate on September 29, 2020, President Trump, when asked if he would condemn white supremacists and militia groups, doubled down on his support, telling the far-right extremist organization, the Proud Boys, to “stand back and stand by.” In the coming months, President Trump would use his Twitter account to dog whistle the Proud Boys, emboldening the group to prepare to commit a terrorist act in the name of defending the President and fighting for their country.
On January 6, 2021, the Proud Boys would converge on the United States Capitol along with other far-right militia groups to storm the Capitol and attempt to overturn the 2020 election results. The domestic terror attack on the United States Capitol was part of the Proud Boys’ end goal to “stop the steal” and keep President Trump in office for another four years, despite the fact he had lost the election.
Founded during the 2016 presidential election by VICE Media Co-Founder Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys are a far-right organization that seeks to uphold Western chauvinist ideals. The Proud Boys take their name from a song from the Broadway version of Disney’s Aladdin, “Proud of Your Boy.” However, it is not all show tunes. The Proud Boys are labeled a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center, and in some countries, such as Canada, have been labeled a terrorist organization.
The Proud Boys are a self-proclaimed “drinking club with a political problem” who believed storming the US Capitol was the only option to keep their president, Donald Trump, in office. Currently, there are 119 active Proud Boys chapters across the United States. There are also chapters throughout Europe, China, Japan, and Australia. The Proud Boys are a self-proclaimed fraternal organization, according to Proud Boys Vice City Chapter member Bobby Pickles, who says, “We like to get together, we like to drink beer and we all support Trump and that’s it.”
According to the Official Cape Fear Proud Boys Telegram channel, the “Proud Boys were a direct response to political correctness and the prevailing undertone that Americans (and Western civilization) should be ashamed of themselves, their history, and their culture.”
In the eyes of the Proud Boys, they must protect Western chauvinism. This is done through a four-step plan for local political action. Step one is to investigate what is going on in their community. Step two is to communicate and discuss what they have found with their peers, in this case, other Proud Boys members. After they have discussed their findings, the Proud Boys will develop a plan of action. The third step is to activate the plan of action, and lastly, step four is to intimidate through continued repetition of the political action plan, “Once is not enough. Become a constant political pressure.”
Proud Boys Founder Gavin McInnes insists the Proud Boys is a men’s club with one caveat, you “have to be a Western chauvinist…and you have to think the West is the best.” Of course, individuals who want to become members must have also been born male.
Since storming the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, the Proud Boys have remained active despite having key leaders in federal custody.
In the aftermath of January 6th, more than 25 Proud Boy members were arrested for their role in the insurrection, making them the extremist organization with the highest number of member arrests. Nevertheless, since January 6th and the imprisonment of their members, the organization has remained active and has appeared at 20 events across 13 cities since June 2021.
In February 2021, the chairman of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio was recently outed as a federal informant. Upon learning of the news, various Proud Boys chapters around the United States disassociated themselves with the organization, causing the entire organization to undergo a transition as chapters begin to act independently of the central leadership.
With key leaders of the organization, such as president of the Florida Proud Boys Joe Biggs, in jail and Tarrio’s informant status unveiled, it is safe to say the Proud Boys’ foundation is shaky at best. As the organization undergoes a restructuring, there is an opportunity for more extremist individuals to step into leadership positions. This splintering could create a more extremist version of Proud Boys chapters should more extremist members who hold white supremacist views cement their position of power.
Telegram channels have shown confusion about the organization’s future, and schism has emerged. Brien James, a longtime white supremacist and president of extremist organization American Guard, has begun to jockey for a leadership position in the Proud Boys. On September 29, 2021, James announced in his Telegram channel, “I’m starting a PB chapter in St. Louis. Contact me if you are interested. Masculine guys who want to drink beer, do activism, and save the country… only…” The following day, St. Louis Proud Boy Chapter President Mike Lasater pushed back on James’s attempted power grab:
“The current national structure of the Proud Boys is all of the presidents of all of the chapters checking each other and, when necessary and overwhelmingly supported, disavowing individuals or entire chapters. Makes sense that Brien wouldn’t respect that, considering no president is willing to allow him to be a Proud Boy again. Chapter autonomy is respected, but is ultimately subordinate to brotherhood. You don’t get to just do whatever you want; you have to answer to your brothers. Brien never understood that, because ultimately brotherhood is wholly incompatible with people like him who only care about themselves.”
On October 5th, in the Florida Brick City Proud Boys Telegram channel, the following declaration was issued:
“These are the only official Proud Boys chapters recognized in the state of Indiana. Any chapter not listed is fraudulent and classified as rogue. This agreement was contrived by the state and endorsed by our national leadership. Furthermore, Brien James is no longer an Indiana Proud Boy. He has been nationally disavowed from the organization and voted out from returning to any state chapter. In addition, any Proud Boys chapter in which he’s affiliated with creating is illegitimate and rogue. This includes White Water Valley, it’s chapter members and associates. Public statements issued by persons other than our approved chapter representatives are deemed false and unverified; and does not represent the Indiana Proud Boys.”
Nevertheless, even as the organization shows signs of factioning, leadership in flux, and with over two dozen members in federal custody, it has not diluted their political activities or social calendar. The Proud Boys continue to organize, protest, rally, and engage in violence.
There is no question, January 6th has been etched into the dark side of American history joining other formidable moments when our democracy was shaken to its core, such as 9/11, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and the America Revolution. When the history books are written and the ink has dried, the names of McInnes, Tarrio, Biggs, and other Proud Boys will be remembered as domestic terrorists who were on a significance quest because they perceived their existence was at stake and they believed their president needed them to fight on his behalf.
Leading up to January 6th, the Proud Boys were meticulous in their planning and strategy with Enrique Tarrio at the helm, giving orders via social media “we will be incognito and we will spread across downtown DC in smaller teams. And who knows….we might dress in all BLACK for the occasion.”
As Jasko et al. point out, “when people perceive themselves as rejected, divested of control, or as victims of injustice, they feel belittled and disrespected; consequently, they are motivated to restore their sense of self-worth and meaning.” The Proud Boys as a group did not handle Trump’s electoral loss very well, nor were they willing to accept it. The violent extremist group went to great lengths to try to upend American democracy, overturn the election results, and keep Trump in the White House. In the days after the 2020 presidential election, they held rallies, planned events, and were committed to avenge Trump’s loss.
Lastly, Jasko et al. note that Kruglanski et al. underscores how significance quest theory played a role in the Proud Boys’ actions on January 6th, stating, “the need for personal significance makes the occurrence of extreme behavior more likely.” Extreme behavior for the Proud Boys is not an anomaly, but their actions on January 6th were a culmination of spending four years radicalizing as an organization and becoming more emboldened to take action in their goal of protecting their Western chauvinists ideals.
While this assessment has barely scratched the surface of the danger that the Proud Boys are to American democracy and world order as a whole, it underscores the need for further research to gain a better understanding of the inner workings of the organization and at the very least to better identify individuals who may be vulnerable to joining the Proud Boys or other violent extremist organizations. As the future of the Proud Boys seems hazy by some measure, whether it returns to a drinking club, or whether it works overtime to move further into white supremacy territory and seeks to play a role in future elections remains to be seen. Regardless, the world must remain vigilant and work to identify ways to interrupt the radicalization pathway to Proud Boys membership as well as help deradicalize and disengage current members of the organization.