On Monday, Donald Trump continued to make false claims of widespread voter fraud and still refuses to concede to President-elect Joe Biden. While Trump pushed falsehoods a member of the Proud Boys spoke at a “Stop the Steal” rally in Phoenix Arizona and threatened an armed revolt.
Since the Proud Boys were founded in 2016, several members of the group have been convicted of violent crimes as they took to the streets to push Trump’s agenda.
In Ohio at the first presidential debate, Trump told the group to “stand back and stand by” when he was asked to condemn white supremacist and militia groups.
The proud Boys celebrated Trump’s comment at the debate as support for the group and its cause. Trump received major backlash for the comment with many critics and lawmakers accusing him of encouraging violence.
As it grows clearer that Trump has no pathways left to overturn the election results a leader of the Proud Boys urged the group to “fight back” against the “rigged election” as well as Democratic COVID-19 restrictions.
The rally took place outside of where Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani met with GOP lawmakers to try and cast doubt on Joe Biden’s win in the state.
“At the moment, we’re free. But the moment they start trying to take our Constitution is the moment the Second Amendment kicks in,” The proud Boy member said. “It’s the moment where we’ve got to start telling them, we’re not taking it anymore.
“We’re not going to ‘stand back and stand by’ anymore. We’re standing up and going after you if you come after us,” the man then added.
Trump has refused to concede to Biden despite Biden securing 306 Electoral College votes. Trump ended up with 232 Electoral College votes.
Gavin McInnes founded the Proud Boys in 2016. The far-right group has been listed as an extremist group by the FBI. The Southern Poverty Law Center has also labeled them a hate group “known for anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric.”
The Proud Boys made headlines for another reason in recent weeks. After the first presidential debate, Sen. Lindsey Graham called the Proud Boys a “racist organization”, then a photo surfaced of Graham and one of the Proud Boys top leaders.
It appears that Graham and the Proud Boys leader are dining together.
The photo has been making the rounds on Twitter since late October. The image shows Graham smiling as he sits beside Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs.
Biggs is a well-known member and organizer of the Proud Boys. The Proud Boys has been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Graham and Biggs appear to be sitting in a restaurant, as waiters can be seen in the background.
The Proud Boys were founded in 2016, the year Trump moved into the White House. The founder of the Proud Boys, Gavin McInnes, is a self-proclaimed “western chauvinist” with an “anti-political correctness” and “anti-white guilt” agenda.
Biggs has repeatedly praised Donald Trump’s “stand by” comment during the debate. Biggs wrote online, “Trump basically said to go f–k them up! this makes me so happy.”
Almost immediately after the debate, Graham tweeted, “I agree with @SenatorTimScott statement about President Trump needing to make it clear Proud Boys is a racist organization antithetical to American ideals.”
Jaime Harrison, who was Graham’s opponent during the past election responded to the image stating, “Our elected officials must be clear and unequivocal on this, particularly during this shared moment as a country,” Harrison said. “Hatred and white supremacy have no place in South Carolina, nor should the vile ideas from groups like the Proud Boys be offered safe harbor anywhere across the United States.”
Harrison was a formidable opponent against Graham, but in the end, Graham pulled off the victory.
