I posted previously about this group (FBI: Proud Boys are recruiting in Northwest). I said at that time that though I’d never heard of them before, a) taking SPLC’s word for anything is stupid, and b) their online disclaimers would say that they are not neo-Nazis.
Now, the FBI pulls back what it said before.
So, liberals, who are you going to trust: SPLCM Morris Dees Piggy Bank or the FBI?
A high-ranking FBI agent told reporters that the male-chauvinist group Proud Boys, who have made headlines for their part in violent clashes in Portland, Oregon, and New York, is not considered an extremist group, contradicting a report from a Washington state sheriff’s office that circulated in November.
According to the Oregonian, Special Agent in Charge Renn Cannon said during a discussion with Portland-area media that the FBI had not intended to designate the group as extremists during a slide show with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. That office later released a report which said the FBI considers the group to have ties to white nationalism, an assertion the Proud Boys push back against.
The FBI says it assesses threats and investigates individuals with the potential to cause violence, but does not go after people for being members of particular groups or exercising their free-speech rights.
“Our focus is not on membership in particular groups but on individuals who commit violence and criminal activity that constitutes a federal crime or poses a threat to national security,” a statement distributed by spokeswoman Kelsey Pietranton in November said. “When it comes to domestic terrorism, our investigations focus solely on criminal activity of individuals – regardless of group membership – which appears to be intended to intimidate or coerce the civilian population or influence the policy of the government by intimidation or coercion. The FBI does not and will not police ideology.”
The FBI says the Proud Boys are not an extremist group after all
A high-ranking FBI agent told reporters that the male-chauvinist group Proud Boys, who have made headlines for their part in violent clashes in Portland, Oregon, and New York, is not considered an extremist group, contradicting a report from a Washington state sheriff’s office that circulated in November.