Filed under: Action, Anarchist Movement, Anti-fascist, Northeast, Video
Around 200 community members converged on the City Green in New Haven to oppose the Alt-Right group the “Proud Boys” along with several other far-Right groups, who were rallying to “oppose socialism” and to hear a speech from white nationalist and self-described “American Fascist” Augustus Invictus. Invictus is a lawyer in Florida, where he has spent years attempting to build ties and connections within the local Libertarian Party as well as a fascist and white nationalist pole within the larger libertarian movement.
Counter-demonstrators easily kicked out members of the Proud Boys from the park, then went on to confront and clash with those who were rallying outside. Proud Boy leader Augustus Invictus ended up also being a total no show, too afraid to even show his own acne-scarred face. One demonstrator stated, “This is our green. This isn’t their green.” The crowd was militant and multiracial, working together to physically confront the fascists and push them out. Anarchist participants carried a banner reading, #WelcomeToHell, in solidarity with the fierce resistance to global capitalism happening in Hamburg, Germany against the G20.
Gavin McInnes, leader of the 'Proud Boys' and Mike Peinovich, neo-Nazi, talking about collaboration for the #Charlottesville rally 8/12 pic.twitter.com/OP9p0ECpkd
— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) June 24, 2017
Members of the Proud Boys in the press attempted to distance themselves from white nationalists and even the far-Right, using their token and supposed non-white and gay members as a smokescreen. However, the links and actual ideology of the Proud Boys is clear: fascist and white nationalist. Just weeks before, Augustus Invictus spoke at a neo-Nazi rally alongside white supremacists such as Richard Spencer and Nathan Damigo, where the speakers called for a white-only America and blamed the Jews for world problems.
In recent weeks, internal discussions between Proud Boys leader Gavin McInnes and Mike Peinovich, a neo-Nazi organizer with The Right Stuff (TRS), have also come forward, showing open dialog between the Proud Boys and neo-Nazis. Peinovich has boasted on podcasts that many members of the Proud Boys are openly white nationalists and also anti-Semitic. Several Proud Boy groups are also scheduled to attend an upcoming neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia featuring white supremacists Richard Spencer and Matthew Heimbach. Speaking at the neo-Nazi rally will also be none other than Proud Boys leader Augustus Invictus.
Also, a recent report from an antifascist group in California has also exposed the links between open neo-Nazi groups in Southern California and groups such as the Proud Boys and the “Alt-Knights,” a subsection of the Proud Boys that is run by Kyle Chapman and Augustus Invictus. Meanwhile, Proud Boys have been documented numerous times using anti-black racial slurs at rallies and even on their own social media accounts. Any attempt to portray themselves as anything but a more “PC” version of white nationalism is a complete lie.
Proud Boys led by @Gavin_McInnes and @BasedStickMan_ love screaming the N-word and threatening to kill people. https://t.co/MBTbuIo2Md pic.twitter.com/I2ifBeZoJg
— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) July 4, 2017
Augustus Invictus himself has a well-documented past that includes deep connections to neo-Nazi formations, such as the extremely violent American Front. Augustus has also been charged with brutally raping and abusing his ex-girlfriend over a period of years, as well as attempting to silence her friends who spoke out about the assault. The police report can be seen here.