ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (1010 WINS) — Members of the far-right group the Proud Boys marched through a Long Island neighborhood on Small Business Saturday, drawing sharp criticism from local politicians.
Long Island State Sen. Todd Kaminsky shared video of the group marching down Sunrise Highway in Rockville Centre while waving American flags and flags reading, “Don’t Tread on Me.”
Several members of the group were seen on the video making the hand gesture for white power and others raised their arm in salute.
“The Neo-fascist Proud Boys marched through Rockville Centre today, close to my office,” Kaminsky wrote. “I think the latest elections emboldened them-I don’t remember this happening before.”
He added: “I will not be silent. Their hatred has no place here-this is not the Nassau I know. Who else will speak up?”
The group consisted of around 20 members of the Proud Boys and many worse bandannas over their faces.
After marching down Sunrise Highway, some moved to the downtown business district on Park Avenue, according to a Newsday report, where they entered stores, shouted slogans and handed out flyers promoting their agenda – including “minimal government,” “anti-racism,” “anti-racial guilt,” "venerate the housewife" and "reinstate the spirit of Western chauvinism."
The paper reported that Rockville Centre police were stationed on the street to monitor the group and control traffic.
The Proud Boys are listed as an extremist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for spreading ideas of white nationalism, using anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric and aligning themselves with other known hate groups.
Their march on Long Island drew sharp criticism from other lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice, candidate for New York governor Rep. Tom Suozzi and state Assemblywoman Judy Griffin
The Proud Boys rally in Rockville Centre came one month after the group also took to the streets in Patchogue and Bay Shore, according to a Patch report.
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