A mob of pro-Trump right wing extremists appear to have beaten a small group of protesters in the streets of Manhattan on Friday night, following an appearance at the Metropolitan Republican Club by Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes.
Multiple disturbing videos taken at the scene appear to show dozens of Proud Boys swarming two people on the ground, shouting "you're dead, motherfucker" and "[anti-gay slur]" as they take turns attacking them. Three people were arrested following the event, according to police, though a public defender with the Legal Aid Society says she's confirmed that the arrests were of anti-racist protesters. An NYPD spokesperson told Gothamist that they have "no reference to Proud Boys" in any police reports.
A longer video from Proud Boys member Christopher Wright (which is excerpted in the Tweet directly above) was removed from Facebook this morning. It showed members of the group repeatedly shouting "I LIKE BEER" as they walk on after the assault. (The phrase is in reference to recently confirmed Supreme Court associate justice Brett Kavanaugh, who repeatedly declared his fondness for beer during a Senate hearing about his alleged attempt to rape Dr. Christine Blasey Ford in high school.)
Around the 4:30 mark of Wright's video, a Proud Boy could be heard shouting, "I had one of their heads and I was just smashing it into the pavement! I ripped that motherfucker's mask off and kicked him right in the head! That son of a bitch! He's a fucking foreigner!"
A high five is exchanged.
After the attack, members of the Proud Boys posed for a group photo, according to photographer Shay Horse, who was at the scene. "I havent seen a fight that violent in a long time," he tweeted. "The proud boys were totally ready and willing to be violent tonight. They didnt even wear masks."
The self-identified "Western Chauvinists" had apparently descended on the Upper East Side during an anti-McInnes protest outside the Metropolitan Club. Earlier in the day, vandals painted anarchist symbols on the doors of the clubhouse, smashed two windows, and left a note condemning the conservative group for inviting "a hipster-fascist clown to dance for them." While McInnes spoke at the event on Friday night, a crowd of at least 50 protesters gathered, chanting "Kill more Nazis."
The Proud Boysdescribed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a leading "recruiting ground for white nationalists and anti-Semites"have a history of street violence, and were involved in several fights with antifascists during a McInnes appearance at NYU last year (A member of the group attacked two reporters, including this one). Following that event, McInnes told a right-wing radio host, "I cannot recommend violence enough. It is a really effective way to solve problems."