It has come to light that the FBI classifies the activist group known as the ‘Proud Boys’ as an “extremist group with ties to white nationalism.”
The information comes from an internal affairs report that was written in August by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office in Vancouver, Washington. Property of the People, a nonprofit government transparency organization gained ,access to the reporting and published the findings. Until then the Proud Boys had not been categorized as extremists, at least not publicly.
The group, which describes themselves as “western chauvinists,” was founded in 2016 by Gavin McInnes, who co-founded Vice Media. Proud Boys has denied being a hate group, noting on its website that its members include all races, religions, and sexual preferences.