Seattle Mobilizes Against ‘Violent Misogynist’ Proud Boy

The following is a report back and analysis about a recent campaign organizing against a violent member of the Proud Boys employed at a local Boeing plant.

The Campaign

On Saturday, October 6^th the Greater Seattle General Defense Committee (GDC) held their first public action in an ongoing campaign targeting a local Proud Boy. The target of this campaign is Nick Boling, a violent misogynist who has been repeatedly observed attacking protesters in the streets and is currently facing assault charges for spitting on a woman who was bartending and posturing like he was going to hit her earlier this year. With Nick having proven himself as one more egregiously violent Proud Boys in our region over the past 2 years, we verified his position as a fabricator at Boeing’s Auburn plant and began planning our campaign.

We reached out a couple of weeks ago to multiple people from Boeing’s HR department, including the individual who is directly responsible for Boling’s specific department as well as a nearby city councilman and member of IAM’s political action committee with evidence showing his violent activities. Unfortunately, as of this writing we have yet to hear from any of the individuals contacted or anybody else from the company. This silence compelled us to take further action which was what our action on the 6^th represented.

The Action

The GDC and our allies brought out between 30-40 total people throughout the action, which was intended to be an informational picket to begin drawling more public attention to the issue. A massive banner featuring a picture of Nick Boling with the words “A Violent Misogynist Works at Boeing: Nicholas Boling” was unfurled and we positioned ourselves directly by the main entrance to the parking lot so every visitor to the museum would have to drive past us. In addition to this, we encouraged our participants to arrive wearing festive, Halloween costumes because there is nothing scarier than having to work on the shopfloor next to a violent member of a hate group. In between a raucous playlist of songs, speakers read from Boling’s arrest report, spoke to great detail on the ideology behind the Proud Boys, and on the IWW’s preferred method of organizing called solidarity unionism and how it can be used even within Boling’s union to empower the rank-and-file to resolve issues that are impacting them without necessitating mediation from the state or union bureaucrats. There was even an award for best costume given at the end of the action, the honor of which was split between a radical aviator and anarcho-communist court jester.

Proud Boys rally across the street.

“One of Nick’s biggest supporters who helped rally others to turn out for him was none other than Haley Adams, the founder of the so-called “#HimToo Movement” who is currently working to organize a rally in Portland to support all the men who she claims are currently under attack in our society as survivors of sexual violence and misogyny dare to demand accountability from their abusers.

Nick Boling himself chose to show up as well along with about 15 other assorted Proud Boys and “patriots.” Several of them showed up in full body armor looking for a fight and the police reported that one of them was concealed carrying, a curious tactical choice considering our action was a festive one with children present that consisted of us dancing and generally enjoying ourselves. One of Nick’s biggest supporters who helped rally others to turn out for him was none other than Haley Adams, the founder of the so-called “#HimToo Movement” who is currently working to organize a rally in Portland to support all the men who she claims are currently under attack in our society as survivors of sexual violence and misogyny dare to demand accountability from their abusers. Unfortunately for Nick, the far-left riot that Haley swore was going to happen at the museum in order to mobilize his supporters never materialized and their crew did little more than stand in silence across the street from us for 40 minutes before leaving.

Lessons Learned

One of our biggest takeaways from this action was how great it felt to have an action wholly on our own terms, with goals that we were able to achieve that did not depend on us responding to whatever the fascists, police, or anybody else was doing. Our membership had expressed frustration at continually spending our time simply responding to what the Proud Boys, Patriot Prayer, and other violent agitators have been doing rather than planning and taking action on our own to diminish their organizing capabilities and this campaign was a direct result of that sentiment. The more things are on our own terms, the less stressful it is for us so get out there and get on the offensive!

Another positive outcome we observed was the fact that the festive atmosphere of the action created a space that not only was moving us toward our tactical goals for the campaign but also one that felt healing in nature. We encourage other organizations, crews, and even individuals to not lose sight of this and to experiment with other ways to make actions both tactical as well as fun. For some of us, it had been literal years since we came away from an action that both moved us toward a goal while also leaving us feeling joyous and rejuvenated.

Next Steps

This was only the first public action for this campaign and we look forward to working with others in our community to continue moving it forward. As prepare for our next steps, we encourage you to continue calling Boeing to voice your concerns over their continued employment of a violent misogynist and member of a hate group.

Commercial Airplanes: 206-655-1131

Auburn Plant:  (253) 931-2121

Sample script: “I am calling about Boeing employing Nick Boling, who is a member of the violent hate group the Proud Boys, and has misrepresented himself as being a Boeing test pilot when he assaulted a bartender in Bellingham Washington. Boeing should do the right thing and hold him accountable for his reprehensible behavior.”

If you would like to connect with us, please contact us through one of our social media pages or by email at [email protected]. Otherwise, stay tuned for our next moves in this campaign!”

Cheers comrades!