Trump doesn’t need the Proud Boys anymore

Be it that Protesting coronavirus closures, attending school board meetings, or confronting Black Lives Matter protesters, The far right “Proud Boys”. They were always ready to support Donald Trump’s first term in office.

When Trump left office in 2021, the group’s leaders languished in prison for their role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. With reported infighting Destabilize the movementIt appears that the group’s glory days are over.

But Trump returned a year ago, and his return Release all January 6 detaineesA. pointed out The Proud Boy is back It could be in the cards. And while she was there Intermittent marks While the group can return to the activity levels of its heyday, the reality is that Trump’s militarization of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and… Border guardsalong with management Embracing white nationalist rhetoricleaving the Proud Boys without a role to play. There’s little incentive for the Proud Boys to leave their homes when heavily armed representatives of the Trump administration are already picking fights with left-wing protesters.

And never has that been more evident than over the past week, as anti-ICE protesters have flooded the streets of towns and cities across the country ever since. Masked federal agent He shot and killed Renee Nicole Good In Minneapolis.

Instead of taking to the streets to confront protesters and defend Trump’s hard-line anti-immigration campaign, the Proud Boys were reduced to spreading inflammatory memes while promising personal security for immigrants. Right-wing influencers Who track every part of ICE’s anti-immigrant raids.

A WIRED review of hundreds of Telegram channels run by Proud Boy chapters across the country, as well as other far-right extremist groups and militias, reveals that there are no public calls for members to mobilize and defend ICE against protesters.

Instead, members of the Telegram channels are posting misogynistic, homophobic images, videos, and AI-generated content featuring Judd and his wife, with one extremist expert telling WIRED that the channels in recent days have been almost giddy in response to the shooting.

“They’re very excited about what’s happening, because for a lot of them, (Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security) are following their blueprint anyway,” says Wendy Via, co-founder and president of the Global Project to Counter Hate and Extremism, adding that there’s no reason the Proud Boys should be on the ground. “When you have law enforcement that seems willing to abuse their powers, why do they get in trouble.”

The Proud Boy, in between celebrations of Judd’s death, also pays tribute to ICE’s work in the city.

“You are an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Five and a half years after George Floyd, in the same city, you subdue a prisoner with your knee. Imagine being like that,” a member of the North Carolina chapter of the group known as the Cape Fear Proud Boys wrote in a Telegram post this week.

However, there were some promises of action. After the right Influencers Nick Surtor and Cam Higbee The former leader of the Proud Boys claimed he was attacked while filming content in Minneapolis this week Enrique Tarrio He claimed he wanted to help. “I have reached out to (Nick) and Cam to offer personal details,” Tarrio, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sent to prison for his role related to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, wrote on X on Monday. Tarrio still manages to lead the Proud Boys. He added: “Waiting for a response. We have a great solution for both.”