The Proud Boys: A Guide To The Right-Wing Group Behind UES Brawl

NEW YORK, NY — A far-right group named after a Disney song, that decries a war on masculinity while forbidding masturbation and celebrating street fights has gained notoriety in New York City since taking center stage in an Upper East Side brawl Friday.

The Proud Boys have received widespread condemnation from city and state officials after a ruckus outside the Upper East Side's Manhattan Republican Club on Friday night.

The brawl saw members clash with protesters after a speech by the group's leader Gavin McInnes. McInnes — a co-founder of Vice Media now known for spouting anti-Muslim and misogynistic beliefs on his show "Get Off My Lawn" — and his reenactment of the 1960 political assassination of Japanese socialist leader Inejiro Asanuma at the city's GOP headquarters.

The NYPD announced on Monday that the department is seeking to arrest nine members of the group on charges of rioting and assault for their roles in the street fight. Three counter-protesters were arrested on Friday and the NYPD is trying to identify three more for arrest, NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said.

Friday night wasn't the first time the Proud Boys brought havoc to the streets of New York. In February of 2017, 11 people were arrested after McInnes spoke at New York University, prompting protesters on both the left and right to get involved in skirmishes with each other and the police.

So what exactly is the group and what do its members believe? Check out Patch's explainer on the Proud Boys.

When and why the Proud Boys formed:

The rise of the Proud Boys coincides in time with the election of Donald Trump — a politician the group adores. The first known mention of the Proud Boys is found in a September 2016 editorial written by McInnes in the far-right publication Taki's Magazine titled "Introducing: The Proud Boys."

McInnes described the group's basic tenant:

“Western chauvinists who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world.” Like Archie Bunker, they long for the days when “girls were girls and men were men.”

The group's origins are seemingly rooted in a joke. The name Proud Boys comes from the song "Proud Of Your Boy," which was written for the Disney movie "Aladdin" but ultimately cut out of the film. The group does not allow women members but does not discriminate based on race or sexual orientation.

To join the Proud Boys a prospective member has to publicly declare themselves a "western chauvinist" and endure an odd ritual where they are punched by Proud Boys members until they recite five specific cereal brands. It's a scene torn right out of a frat house.

There are four "degrees" to Proud Boy membership, McInnes told Metro in an interview following his speech at NYU. The first two are covered by the initiation ritual, the third involved getting a Proud Boys tattoo and the fourth involved "a major fight for the cause" where members "kick the crap out of an antifa" despite the possibility of arrest, McInnes told Metro.

What the Proud Boys believe:

The core belief behind the Proud Boys' philosophy is that there's a "real war on masculinity” in today's society, McInnes told Metro. The group has denied being part of the "alt-right" and has objected to being labeled a white supremacist or white nationalist organization, but the actions of many members and the words of McInnes paint a different picture.

The Proud Boys have been identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The group is tied to white nationalist extremist groups and holds misogynistic and anti-Muslim beliefs, according to the SPLC. One of the group's former members, Jason Kessler, helped organize the deadly "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville.

McInnes has also used his show "Get Off My Lawn" and columns in various right-wing publications to espouse a number of racist beliefs. The Proud Boys' leader has said that "muslims have a problem with inbreeding," created a video titled "10 Things I Hate About Jews" and has insulted the intelligence of women on a number of occasions.

The Proud Boys have lately adopted the belief that violence is a crucial aspect in achieving the group's goals. The group's official magazine writes glowing articles about members that get into fights at protests and right-wing rallies. A common celebratory phrase used to honor violent members is: "They f**ed around. They found out," Vox reported.

McInnes has stated in the past that "fighting solves everything" and that he "cannot recommend violence enough. It is a really effective way to solve problems."

The group also has some beliefs that can be considered more bizarre than motivated by politics or hate. Part of the "second degree" in Proud Boys membership is a belief called "#NoWanks" established by the group's "prophet" Dante Nero. The rule states that members of the Proud Boys cannot masturbate, can only watch pornography once every 30 days and can only ejaculate within one yard of a consenting woman.

What the Proud Boys do:

The main function of the Proud Boys — other than promoting the views of founder McInnes — is to get involved in confrontations with left-wing anti-fascist groups. The Proud Boys often act as “a violent pack of enforcers for the far-right," Jared Holt of Right Wing Watch told Vox.

McInnes wrote in a 2017 article for Taki's Magazine that the confrontation between left- and right-wing groups has become "a war."

"By allowing these sociopaths to shut down free speech with violence you are all but demanding a war. Okay, fine, you got it. It’s official. This is a war," McInnes said.

The Proud Boys have attended right-wing events such as the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville — McInnes skipped the rally, but it was organized by former member Jason Kessler — the Boston Free Speech Rally in August of 2017 and several violent clashes in Berkeley California during the Spring of 2017, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images News/Getty Images