The far-right men’s organization “Proud Boys” violently beat protesters Friday night following a Republican event in Manhattan. After inaction by the New York Police Department during the attack, three members of the racist gang were arrested — finally.
Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes had just given a speech at the Metropolitan Republican Club in Manhattan as an invited guest. The event was touted on its Facebook page as, “Banned from Twitter — this Godfather of the Hipster Movement has taken on and exposed the Deep State Socialists and stood up for Western Values.”
About 30 members of the group, who are self-described “Western chauvinists,” and align themselves with neo-Nazis, participated in the menacing beatdown of protesters. According to eyewitness accounts and a viral video, some members could be heard screaming threats and slurs at the victims.
Shay Horse, a photojournalist from Brooklyn, recounted the violent incident stating: “I heard them screaming and swearing at some guy on the ground. They were beating the sh** out of him and kicking him in the head. One guy had his foot on the guy’s neck.”
“It was just a pummeling — it wasn’t really a fight, because the three people never really got a chance to even stand up,” he said.
In a statement released Saturday afternoon, NYPD spokesman Phil Walzak claimed officers were keeping watch over a “peaceful” protest outside an event featuring the Proud Boys leader when several officers leaving the scene came across an assault under way.
However in the video, NYPD officers were shown to be on the scene but doing absolutely nothing to stop the chaos.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose children are biracial, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave a call to action for NYPD to do a thorough investigation. Cuomo said in a statement: “Hate cannot and will not be tolerated in New York. Here’s a message from a Queens boy to the so-called ‘proud boys’—N.Y. has zero tolerance for your BS.”
Cuomo has also asked the FBI to step in to assist with the incident. He wants to consider the assault a hate crime.
The three men, all hailing from New York, have been arrested and charged with theft in connection to the attack, according to the NYPD.
The NYPD said, on Sunday, the situation was still being investigated, and no additional arrests had been made.
Governor Cuomo placed blame on Trump and the Republican party for the violence.
These types of racist, hateful acts aren’t new to New York City though. Did the “Queens boy” need to be reminded of Yusuf Hawkins, the Central Park 5, Timothy Caughman and Michael Griffith
