Since the Jan. 6 insurrection outside of the U.S. Capitol building the group known as the Proud Boys have laid low. But, in recent months they have started appearing at protests against mask mandates and coronavirus vaccine requirements.
Rallies across the country have had Proud Boy members present in at least five states from coast to coast. While some have been peaceful, some have turned violent like at a California protest against mask mandates.
Related
Some have even been popping up at school board meetings, protesting mask and vaccine mandates, among other things.
"They've been piggybacking on other people's events," Jared Holt, a fellow at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, told USA Today. "They go where they believe the culture war is being fought, because they see themselves as potentially violent enforcers in a broader culture war."
The proud boys have also been in the spotlight recently after the groups leader, Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, turned himself in to police on Monday evening for burning a Black Lives Matter flag, WUSA9 reported.
Tarrio turned himself in under a time constraint that a judge placed on him to self surrender and begin surviving his jail time.
As protests continue across the country, with the Proud Boys making appearances all over, some think the group is starting to embrace the idea of being a “security service” for any conservative protests.
Related
Daryle Lamont Jenkins, an activist and founder of One People’s Project shared his thoughts with USA Today on the group and what might be in store for their future.
"The first time I ever came across the Proud Boys, they were doing security for Milo Yiannopoulos, and that was back in 2017," Jenkins said. "The far-right definitely sees them as their security."
