Police arrest Proud Boy member on assault and gun charges hours after Trump refuses to denounce white supremacy
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Police arrest Proud Boy member on assault and gun charges hours after Trump refuses to denounce white supremacy
Alan Swinney, who Oregon Public Broadcasting identified as a member of Proud Boys and the far-right protester that pointed a gun at demonstrators in downtown Portland last month, was arrested on Wednesday morning on multiple assault charges. He also faced charges for unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful use of tear gas, stun gun or mace, the outlet reported, as well as pointing a firearm at another person.
The 50-year-old, who remains held at the Multnomah County Jail, was seen pulling out a gun during a clash with countrprotestors at the Multnomah County Justice Center on videos shared online from the 22 August rally.
Though he initially claimed he was cleared by officials of any wrongdoing during the violent clash, Swinney was reportedly arrested just hours after the president delivered a startling message to the hate group at Tuesday night’s debate in Ohio: “Proud Boys – stand back and stand by.”
“Somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left,” Mr Trump added, referring to the anti-facisct movement that does not have any organizational structure in the United States.
The president’s close advisers have defended his debate performance, noting how he said “sure” when he was initially asked to disavow white supremacy.
However, Republican leaders on Capitol Hill were quick to distance themselves from the swift backlash that Mr Trump’s comments sparked online, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying in a statement that it was “unacceptable not to condemn white supremacists”.
Mr Swinney pointed a revolver at the counterprotestors as fights broke out in the streets just outside of the county justice center, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported, with videos showing demonstrators ducking behind barriers as he pulled out the gun. No shots were fired.
Answering questions from reporters the day after the debates in Ohio, former Vice President Joe Biden called on the Proud Boys to “cease and desist” while denouncing the president’s performance the night before as a “national embarrassment”.
“The president of the United States conducting himself the way he did, I think it was just a national embarrassment,” he said. “My message to the Proud Boys and every other white supremacist group is cease and desist.”
“That’s not who we are,” Mr Biden added about the Proud Boys. “This is not who we are as Americans.”
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There's also this about the proud boy scum:
The Proud Boys, Who Trade in Political Violence, Get a Boost From Trump
When hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump gathered for a Labor Day rally in Oregon, a man in the signature black-and-gold shirt of the Proud Boys approached the crowd with a welcoming smile.
If the Republican activists ever needed security for an event, said the man, Flip Todd, the Proud Boys were available. They had sworn loyalty to the country and the president, he said. “We’ll continue to fight for you.”
It took only a few hours to demonstrate what that might entail. As some in the rally caravaned by car to Salem, the state capital, the Proud Boys joined a group of right-wing demonstrators who rushed across a street and began attacking people who had set up a counterprotest. At one point, a large man in a bulletproof vest knocked a much smaller counterprotester to the ground, an event the Proud Boys celebrated later when they posted video of the attack. “Hulk smash!” it said.
The far-right band of brothers who have turned street thuggery into political theater had not quite become a household name before President Donald Trump was asked about the Proud Boys during Tuesday night’s presidential debate, and whether he would condemn white supremacists: “Proud Boys,” he said, “stand back and stand by.”
Within minutes of hearing the president’s remark, Enrique Tarrio, the Proud Boys’ chairman, called down to the T-shirt business he owns in Miami with an order to get the presses rolling. “PROUD BOYS STANDING BY,” the new shirts said.
To Gavin McInnes, founder and former chairman of the Proud Boys, the president’s request was a call to action against antifa, the loose collective of antifascist activists who have mounted raucous street demonstrations against police violence, corporate dominance and inequality in cities across America this summer.
“I think he was saying that if antifa starts burning down cities again, go in and fight them,” McInnes said. “I think he was saying I appreciate you and appreciate your support.”
Proud boy... How is this not sedition and treason?
I can't read twitter blurbs. Could you please post the tweet?
It's a video cut from someone else. Sorry.. No idea how to get the video to here.
It's a guy that is saying he and his WILL start a war if Biden wins.
Non YouTube videos have to be downloaded to your own PC, from there you add the video to the "Video" section of your profile page.
Once the video is in your profile you can post it as wanted.
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