The right-wing extremist organization called Proud Boys, according to US President Donald Trump, should let law enforcement do their job and not take matters into their own hands. Trump’s comment comes a day after the debate with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, in which he suggested that the Proud Boys should remain on the alert.
When asked by debate leader Chris Wallace whether Trump was willing to white supremacists and right-wing militias, Trump asked an example of whom to convict. Biden suggested the Proud Boys, a right-wing extremist gang, after which Trump said: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand byIn other words: keep quiet and stay ready.
After the debate, members of the Proud Boys saw this as a recognition of their group and their ideas and as an encouragement to continue.
However, Trump said during a press briefing on Wednesday that he does not know the Proud Boys and that they should back off (“stand down“) and that they should let law enforcement do their job.
The right-wing Proud Boys use and promote political violence. They are active in cities where Black Lives Matter protests have turned into violence, such as in Kenosha and Portland.
The 17-year-old boy who shot three protesters in the American city of Kenosha in August is seen as a hero by the organization. The shooting, in which two victims later died in hospital, took place during a protest against the violent arrest of Jacob Blake. A police officer shot the black man seven times during Blake’s arrest in August. Blake survived the shooting, but is paralyzed from the waist down.
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