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☆ Anti-LGBTQ+ protests are at an all-time high. A Proud Boys war on drag is a big reason why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Once a week on average in 2022, Proud Boys joined or led anti-LGBTQ+ protests held across the US. Proud Boys joined in seven anti-LGBTQ+ protests in September, 10 in October and 6 in November. In December, they protested at 13 anti-LGBTQ+ protests, more than in any other month last year, ACLED data shows. And the group's anti-LGBTQ+ push is continuing, said Kaufman, who tracks the Proud Boys' estimated 119 chapters in 46 states. Proud Boys are turning up these days at nearly half of all anti-LGBTQ+ activity across the country, she told Insider.

☆ Here's everything you need to know about the history and meaning of drag
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Yelena Dzhanova | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Drag culture has centuries of history behind it, from Ancient Greece to the Harlem Renaissance. Here's a guide to drag culture in the US and how what it means today. But in drag, cis men don't have to present as women, and cis women don't have to present as men. But at the end of the day, Giuliani wasn't actually participating in drag culture, Walsh said. There's been a lot of grassroots-level organization around drag recently, Walsh said, partly in response to the uptick in violence against drag culture.

☆ A leaked internal message appears to show Elon Musk ordered Twitter staff to suspend a left-wing activist's account
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Anti-fascist activist Chad Loder's Twitter account was suspended in November 2022. A leaked internal Twitter message suggests Elon Musk directly ordered the suspension. Bloomberg reported the internal message as saying: "Suspension: direct request from Elon Musk." Bloomberg said it viewed a screenshot of the message in question, involving the account of Chad Loder, which read: "Suspension: direct request from Elon Musk." Loder's account was one of several prominent left-wing accounts suspended by Twitter in November 2022.

☆ Jan. 6 Committee failed to hold social media companies to account for their role in the Capitol attack, staffers and witnesses say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan Audrey Ash Zachary Cohen | Donie O'Sullivan | Audrey Ash | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

But now these witnesses, along with some committee staff, are frustrated, saying the committee failed to adequately hold major social media companies to account for the role they played in the worst attack on the Capitol in 200 years. They also said the final report outlines structural issues across social media and society that need to be studied further. Jeremy Moorhead/CNNDisagreement about social media companies’ role in the Jan. 6 attack comes as 2023 looks to be a pivotal year for Silicon Valley firms in Washington, DC. “Indeed, the lack of an official Committee report chapter or appendix dedicated exclusively to these matters does not mean our investigation exonerated social media companies for their failure to confront violent rhetoric,” they wrote. “History has taught us what happens when political speech on social media companies is allowed to fester unchecked.”

☆ Ex-Proud Boy says group 'celebrated' violence ahead of U.S. Capitol riot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Andrew Goudsward | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

“I can’t say it was ever overtly encouraged, but it was never discouraged, and when it happened it was celebrated,” Greene said of the Proud Boys' use of violence. Prosecutors allege that Pezzola was among the first rioters to breach the Capitol building after shattering a window with a stolen police shield. Lawyers for the defendants have argued that there was no plan to storm the Capitol and Proud Boys leadership directed members at previous rallies to only respond to left-wing counter protesters in self-defense. Greene acknowledged that he did not know many of the defendants and was not directed to use force by members of the Proud Boys leadership ahead of the riot at the Capitol. He described a “rising anger” in the crowd as Proud Boy leaders led the group in chants outside the Capitol.

☆ The Proud Boys' initiation manual has a detailed 'No Wanks' policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Charles R. Davis | Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Proud Boys "initiation ceremony manual" details the far-right group's policy on masturbation. "A Proud Boy may not ejaculate alone more often than once every thirty days," states the group's "initiation ceremony manual," the document reads. An excerpt from a Proud Boys defense motion filed January 23, 2023 in US District Court in Washington, DC. InsiderThe Anti-Defamation League considers the Proud Boys a violent, right-wing extremist group whose members commonly engage in misogynistic, Islamaphobic, transphobic, and anti-immigration rhetoric. As detailed by journalist Andy Campbell in his book, "We Are Proud Boys," members of the group are expected to adhere to the policy if they wish to advance to the second of its four tiers of membership.

☆ At meetings, Proud Boys sing 'Proud of Your Boy,' a weepy ode to mom from Broadway's 'Aladdin,' documents show
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Laura Italiano | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Proud Boys are urged to sing a Broadway show tune at meetings, a new court document reveals. The song is "Proud of Your Boy," a weepy ode to making mom proud by the title character in "Aladdin." The anthem is 'Proud of Your Boy," an emotional ode to winning mom's approval from the hit musical, "Aladdin." "Do the 'Proud Boys' know their anthem was written by a gay Jew?" The Southern Poverty Law Center, which calls the Proud Boys a violent, right-wing hate group, has also noted that the song "Proud of Your Boy" inspired the group's name.

☆ Proud Boys try to keep jurors from seeing their 'politically incorrect' guide to masturbation, slavery, 'housewives'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It's too 'politically incorrect' for the jury, says a lawyer for defendant Dominic Pezzola. Read the "how to run a Proud Boys meeting" manual here. The Anti Defamation League considers the Proud Boys a violent, right-wing extremist group whose members commonly engage in misogynistic, Islamaphobic, transphobic, and anti-immigration rhetoric. An excerpt from a Proud Boys defense motion filed January 23, 2023 in US District Court in Washington, DC. At that point the Proud Boys members are to shout, "Bring it on!"

The 12-member jury found Oath Keeper members David Moerschel, Joseph Hackett, Roberto Minuta and Edward Vallejo guilty of seditious conspiracy. Seditious conspiracy is a rarely prosecuted Civil War-era law that prohibits plotting to overthrow or destroy the government and carries up to 20 years in prison. A jury found Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and another Florida-based leader of the group guilty of seditious conspiracy in a separate trial in November. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta split the Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy case into two separate trials due to space limitations and the risks of COVID-19 contagion. Jurors heard testimony and evidence in the second Oath Keepers case for several weeks.

☆ A GOP-backed bill in Oklahoma would fine drag performers up to $20,000 and have them face up to 2 years in jail for performing in front of a minor
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An Oklahoma bill would make it a felony punishable by a $20,000 fine for drag artists to perform in front of minors. The bill by GOP Rep. Kevin West would also make it a misdemeanor for one to organize drag performances in public. At least ten states have proposed legislation that targets drag performances, including drag queen story hours. State GOP Rep. Kevin West, who filed House Bill 2186 on January 19, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. The bill is scheduled to have its first reading in the Oklahoma House on February 6, per the Oklahoma legislature's website.

The closing arguments on Wednesday marked the end of the second major seditious conspiracy trial stemming from the attack. The Oath Keeper members are accused of conspiring to block Congress from certifying Biden's election victory. Seditious conspiracy is a rarely prosecuted Civil War-era statute that carries up to 20 years in prison if convicted. In November, a jury convicted Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and a Florida chapter leader of seditious conspiracy, but acquitted three other Oath Keeper defendants of the charge. All five Oath Keepers in that case, however, were convicted of obstructing Congress from certifying the electoral votes - a charge that can also carry up to 20 years.

YouTube star Andrew Callaghan apologized and said he’d be seeking treatment Sunday after two women came forward accusing him of sexual coercion and sexual assault. Callaghan, an independent journalist known for YouTube shows “All Gas No Brakes” and “Channel 5,” spoke for over four minutes in a video on his Instagram page. He told followers that he had some “serious work” to do on himself in light of the allegations against him. “Also, not to blame alcohol, but I truly believe that alcohol was a contributing factor to my poor decision making. “I thought that, you know, going home from the bar alone made you a loser,” he said Sunday.

The posts made their way to Twitter, YouTube and Reddit, where fans of Callaghan expressed shock and disappointment regarding the allegations. YouTube did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment. A spokesperson for A24 did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Her four-part series discussing her alleged experience with Callaghan received over 140,000 views. "I believe it’s up to Andrew to address these allegations and do so openly and honestly.

☆ Proud Boys Jan. 6 Trial Opens for Leader, Four Others
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Jan Wolfe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department on Thursday outlined its sedition case against Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four members of the group, telling jurors during a long-awaited opening statement that the five men “took aim at the heart of our democracy” by leading the Capitol riot Jan. 6, 2021. “In the days after the election, these men began calling for action—calling for war,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason McCullough during his opening remarks. “Led by Tarrio, they agreed—by any means necessary, including force—to stop Congress from certifying the election.”

Prosecutors began delivering opening arguments Thursday in the seditious conspiracy trial of former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four other members of the far-right extremist group involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. After the election, Tarrio posted on social media that the presidency was being stolen and vowed that his group won't "go quietly," prosecutors said. Tarrio, prosecutors say, was aware of discussions around a plan to storm the Capitol and was involved in discussions about occupying buildings, including in the Capitol complex. The group helped rile up the crowd on the day of the rally and successfully led rioters to break past police barricades and into the Capitol, prosecutors said. A protester, who claims to be a member of the Proud Boys, confronts police officers outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.

☆ Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio's lawyer blames Trump for January 6, says the ex-president 'unleashed this mob on the Capitol'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An attorney for Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio blamed Trump for the January 6 riot. "You will never see a message from Enrique Tarrio advocating to storm the Capitol," Jauregui said. In his opening statements, Jauregui also defended the Proud Boys, an organization founded in 2016 that calls itself "Western-chauvinist." Watchdog groups have labeled the Proud Boys as extremist and a hate group. "The Proud Boys think that America is the best."

[1/3] Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio speaks to members of the media as he leaves the D.C. Central Detention Facility where he had been held since September 2021, in Washington, U.S., January 14, 2022. All five Proud Boys defendants have pleaded not guilty and their attorneys will argue that they did not plot to block the peaceful transfer of power. "Dude, we're right in front of the Capitol right now. American citizens are storming the Capitol - taking it back right now," Biggs said on a video he recorded of himself. The indictment said Pezzola used the stolen shield to break a window, allowing members of the mob to enter the Capitol.

☆ Proud Boys 'did not stand back' as Trump once said but 'mobilized' on January 6, prosecutor argues in trial opening
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The trial of Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four other members opened Thursday. "Make no mistake…," read one text from Tarrio sent at 2:40 p.m. after rioters broke into the Capitol, according to prosecutors. "I'm proud as fuck at what we accomplished yesterday," read one message from Biggs, according to prosecutors. The DOJ also invoked comments made by Trump during a September 29, 2020, presidential debate, telling the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by" when he was pushed to condemn white supremacists and militia groups. "When it became clear that Donald Trump would be voted out of office," McCullough said Thursday, "these men did not stand back, they did not stand by, instead, they mobilized."

☆ Prosecutors: Proud Boys plotted assault on U.S. democracy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsProsecutors: Proud Boys plotted assault on U.S. democracyPostedU.S. prosecutors on Thursday (January 12) accused leaders of the far-right Proud Boys group of plotting an assault on American democracy as one of the most high-profile trials to stem from the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack got underway. This report produced by Olivia Zollino.

☆ The Proud Boys jury hasn't even been seated yet, and the defense already says it's biased
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Proud Boys sedition-trial jury will be picked Monday, out of a pre-vetted pool of DC residents. The defense teams plan to make one last-ditch venue-change motion immediately after the jurors are seated, according to a person familiar with their strategy. "It's not surprising that these potential jurors knew something about the Proud Boys and January 6th, particularly since they live in DC," Suter told Insider. Those views included "preconceived beliefs that the Proud Boys are a 'dangerous armed group,' a 'hate filled group,' 'racists,' and other clearly biased views followed by assertions that they nonetheless can be fair." Defense lawyers are very likely spending the weekend pouring over any public records on the 45 or so prospects in the pool, Suter said.

☆ Proud Boys Face Seditious Conspiracy Trial Over Jan. 6 Capitol Attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Jan Wolfe | C. Ryan Barber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Federal prosecutors are expected to open their seditious conspiracy case on Tuesday against Enrique Tarrio , the former leader of the extremist Proud Boys group, and four of its members, one of the highest-profile trials related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The trial, estimated to last more than a month, is one of three stemming from Jan. 6 that includes the rarely used charge of seditious conspiracy, an offense punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The indictment says the five men conspired “to prevent the lawful transfer of presidential power by force.”

☆ The feds say they're in for the long haul on Jan. 6 investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Ryan J. Reilly | Ryan J. Reilly Is A Justice Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +16 min

But the federal investigation has been strained, spread thin and strapped for resources as a sometimes less-than-agile federal bureaucracy adapts to the overwhelming scope of the caseload. While the FBI arrested more than 700 defendants in the first year of the investigation, it arrested about 200 in the second. Online sleuths have done their best to bust those myths, too. “That was it.”The Sedition Hunters website features images of people online sleuths say took part in the Jan. 6 attack, including many (in blue) who have been identified. Some charging documents in Jan. 6 cases make the role that online sleuths played clear.

☆ Proud Boys tried to get a sedition case tossed because too many of their potential defense witnesses would plead the Fifth. A judge said no.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jury selection in the DC seditious-conspiracy trial of five Proud Boys leaders wrapped Friday. Two potential Proud Boys defense witnesses were also "intimidated" into silence when the federal government threatened prosecution, one of the four, Ethan Nordean, had argued. The Proud Boys are considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center; the Anti-Defamation League calls them a violent, right-wing extremist group. These and other extremism watchdog groups say misogynistic, Islamaphobic, transphobic, and anti-immigration rhetoric is common among Proud Boys members. "Tarrio suggests that the Court should infer nefarious activity simply from the number of potential defense witnesses who have claimed privilege," the judge also wrote.

☆ Hope Hicks, former Trump aide, on Jan. 6: ‘We all look like domestic terrorists now’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Summer-Concepcion-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Hope Hicks, who served as a top adviser to former President Donald Trump, told an aide to Ivanka Trump that “we all look like domestic terrorists now” as the Capitol riot unfolded on Jan. 6, 2021. In texts released by the House Jan. 6 committee, Hicks expressed concerns about the consequences of Trump’s actions to Julie Radford, who was then Ivanka Trump’s chief of staff. She departed the White House several days after the Jan. 6 insurrection after serving as a counselor to the president. She previously served as White House communications director as well as director of strategic communications. Before joining the Trump White House, Hicks worked for Trump’s presidential campaign, the Trump Organization and Ivanka Trump’s fashion brand.

☆ Hope Hicks said 'we all look like domestic terrorists now' after January 6 and that another White House aide was a 'genius' for getting out early
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Hope Hicks said the Capitol riot made her and other aides "unemployable" and "untouchable." Hicks also said Alyssa Farah Griffin was a "genius" for leaving the administration early. During the Capitol riot, Farah Griffin tweeted at Trump, pleading with him to condemn the attack. Farah Griffin went on to become a politics contributor for CNN, and in August 2022 became a co-host of The View. Hicks left the White House on January 12, 2021, though CNN reported the departure was planned before the riot.

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