The FBI says the Proud Boys are not an extremist group after all
Source: Washington Post
The FBI says the Proud Boys are not an extremist group after all
By Keith McMillan and
Eli Rosenberg December 7 at 10:02 PM
A high-ranking FBI agent told reporters that the male-chauvinist group Proud Boys, which has made headlines for its part in violent clashes in Portland, Ore., and New York, is not considered an extremist group, contradicting a report from a Washington state sheriff’s office that circulated in November.
According to the Oregonian, Special Agent in Charge Renn Cannon said during a discussion with Portland-area journalists that the FBI had not intended to designate the group as extremist during a slide show with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. That office later released a report that said the FBI considers the group to have ties to white nationalism, an assertion to which the Proud Boys objected.
The FBI says it assesses threats and investigates individuals with the potential to cause violence but does not go after people for being members of particular groups or exercising their free-speech rights.
“Our focus is not on membership in particular groups but on individuals who commit violence and criminal activity that constitutes a federal crime or poses a threat to national security,” a statement distributed by spokeswoman Kelsey Pietranton in November said. “When it comes to domestic terrorism, our investigations focus solely on criminal activity of individuals — regardless of group membership — which appears to be intended to intimidate or coerce the civilian population or influence the policy of the government by intimidation or coercion. The FBI does not and will not police ideology.”
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/12/08/fbi-says-proud-boys-are-not-an-extremist-group-after-all/
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