tag | domestic extremism

For years, they have watched a steady escalation in violent political rhetoric that appears to be fueling acts of real-life violence.

“They’re not afraid of the justice system because in their entire history, when they act as an organization, they feel that they have overwhelmed law enforcement.”

“It felt as if a mob was being organized, and they were gathering together their weaponry, their logic and their reasoning behind why they were prepared to fight.”

Many experts on extremism and technology say this suspect’s activity fits with a still-emerging profile of mass shooter.

“It is clear to us…that they came to riot downtown.”

The group is “one of the most prominent white supremacist groups” in the U.S., according to a release from the Southern Poverty Law Center.

But they are are adapting: joining protests at city council and school board meetings against vaccine and mask mandates and over how public schools teach kids about race.

An examination of hours of interviews and statements from Proud Boys leaders shows in addition to the group’s often hateful and discriminatory ideology, violence has always been at the core of it’s identity.