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https://www.rollingstone.com/cultur...boys-sentenced-four-years-jail-antifa-902310/
Proud Boys Sentenced to 4 Years In Prison for Attacking Protesters
The judge’s remarks at sentencing indicate that despite its pretenses otherwise, the Proud Boys is “really just a bunch of street thugs,” says one researcher
Last summer, Maxwell Hare and John Kinsman were found guilty in New York State Supreme Court of attempted gang assault, attempted assault, and riot. The two were accused of attacking four anti-fascist counter-protesters at an event at New York City’s Metropolitan Club, where Gavin McInnes, the founder of the Proud Boys, was slated to speak.
Although Hare and Kinsman argued during the trial that they had acted in self-defense, security camera footage first obtained by the New York Times appeared to contradict that claim, showing Hare and another Proud Boy, Geoffrey Young, initiating the violence by charging the protesters and throwing punches at them. They faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, and apologized in court during sentencing for their involvement in the altercation.
During sentencing, State Supreme Court justice Mark Dwyer condemned Hare and Kinsman for setting a dangerous precedent for other activists to engage in politically motivated street violence. “I know enough about history to know what happened in Europe in the Thirties,” he said. He also appeared to allude to McInnes’ role in inciting the altercation, saying, “It’s a shame when some people jump up and down on a platform and their followers, their soldiers, get in trouble.”
Although McInnes publicly stepped down as leader of the group last year, he still maintains an active presence on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, where he responded on Tuesday to Kinsman and Hare’s sentencing. In his messages, he claimed that Hare and Kinsman had acted in self-defense after an “ambush” and that they were being used as “cannon fodder” by the “elites.” He also accused the media of perpetuating an anti-Proud Boys narrative, identifying six journalists who covered the trial and accusing them of having influenced the judge’s sentences.
McInnes’ attempt to push a “victimization narrative” on Telegram, combined with his doxxing of journalists, is horrifying, insofar as it is obviously intended to spur “harassment and intimidation of those they feel are responsible for ‘ruining’ the men’s lives,” says Kutner.
When asked if the sentencing would have an emboldening effect on members of the organization, or if McInnes’ messages would serve as a call to further action, Beirich said it was difficult to predict. “We’ve seen with other groups that more moderate members will drop off and fade away, but often it’ll make the group more hardcore because those moderating voices remain in the mix,” she says. “It remains to be seen what happens with the Proud Boys.”
Proud Boys Sentenced to 4 Years In Prison for Attacking Protesters
The judge’s remarks at sentencing indicate that despite its pretenses otherwise, the Proud Boys is “really just a bunch of street thugs,” says one researcher
Last summer, Maxwell Hare and John Kinsman were found guilty in New York State Supreme Court of attempted gang assault, attempted assault, and riot. The two were accused of attacking four anti-fascist counter-protesters at an event at New York City’s Metropolitan Club, where Gavin McInnes, the founder of the Proud Boys, was slated to speak.
Although Hare and Kinsman argued during the trial that they had acted in self-defense, security camera footage first obtained by the New York Times appeared to contradict that claim, showing Hare and another Proud Boy, Geoffrey Young, initiating the violence by charging the protesters and throwing punches at them. They faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, and apologized in court during sentencing for their involvement in the altercation.
During sentencing, State Supreme Court justice Mark Dwyer condemned Hare and Kinsman for setting a dangerous precedent for other activists to engage in politically motivated street violence. “I know enough about history to know what happened in Europe in the Thirties,” he said. He also appeared to allude to McInnes’ role in inciting the altercation, saying, “It’s a shame when some people jump up and down on a platform and their followers, their soldiers, get in trouble.”
Although McInnes publicly stepped down as leader of the group last year, he still maintains an active presence on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, where he responded on Tuesday to Kinsman and Hare’s sentencing. In his messages, he claimed that Hare and Kinsman had acted in self-defense after an “ambush” and that they were being used as “cannon fodder” by the “elites.” He also accused the media of perpetuating an anti-Proud Boys narrative, identifying six journalists who covered the trial and accusing them of having influenced the judge’s sentences.
McInnes’ attempt to push a “victimization narrative” on Telegram, combined with his doxxing of journalists, is horrifying, insofar as it is obviously intended to spur “harassment and intimidation of those they feel are responsible for ‘ruining’ the men’s lives,” says Kutner.
When asked if the sentencing would have an emboldening effect on members of the organization, or if McInnes’ messages would serve as a call to further action, Beirich said it was difficult to predict. “We’ve seen with other groups that more moderate members will drop off and fade away, but often it’ll make the group more hardcore because those moderating voices remain in the mix,” she says. “It remains to be seen what happens with the Proud Boys.”
