How the Proud Boys are 'quietly' working to bring their 'menacing politics' to the local level


Far-right nationalists the Proud Boys have begun bringing "their brand of menacing politics to the local level," as members have "increasingly appeared in recent months at town council gatherings, school board presentations and health department question-and-answer sessions across the country," reports The New York Times.
In November, members showed up outside a school board building in Wisconsin to protest mask requirements; some were spotted at a school board meeting in North Carolina just days later, right before a vote on a mask mandate. Others even attended a gathering in Illinois, "where parents were trying to remove a nonbinary author's graphic novel from public school libraries," writes the Times.
For some time, Proud Boys were known more for their national profile; but since the disaster that was Jan. 6, the group has moved away from the national spotlight and "quietly shifted" its attention toward expanding local chapters, according to members and researchers.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The plan of attack if you want to make change is to get involved at the local level," member Jeremy Bertino told the Times.
"We've seen these groups adopt new tactics in the wake of Jan. 6, which have enabled them to regroup and reorganize themselves," added Jared Holt, who researches domestic extremist groups. "One of the most successful tactics they've used is decentralizing."
And as local chapters have flourished, members have "increased their radical tendencies," Holt explained, considering participants feel more comfortable sharing problematic beliefs in smaller groups. Read more at The New York Times.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
What does 'conquering' Gaza mean to Israel?
Today's Big Question Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet has approved a plan to displace much of the Palestinian population while seizing and occupying the territory on a long-term basis.
-
Casey Means: the controversial 'wellness influencer' nominated for surgeon general
In the Spotlight Means has drawn controversy for her closeness to RFK Jr.
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
India strikes Pakistan as tensions mount in Kashmir
speed read Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called it an 'act of war'
-
Israel approves plan to take over Gaza indefinitely
speed read Benjamin Netanyahu says the country is 'on the eve of a forceful entry'
-
Putin talks nukes as Kyiv slated for US air defenses
speed read 'I hope they will not be required,' Putin said of nuclear weapons on Russian state TV
-
US, Ukraine sign joint minerals deal
speed read The Trump administration signed a deal with Ukraine giving the US access to its mineral wealth
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Israel launches air strike on Beirut suburbs
Speed Read The attack targeting Hezbollah was Israel's third on the Lebanese capital since November's ceasefire
-
Dozens dead in Kashmir as terrorists target tourists
Speed Read Visitors were taking pictures and riding ponies in a popular mountain town when assailants open fired, killing at least 26
-
Israel blames 'failures' for killing of medics
speed read 14 Gaza medics and 1 U.N. employee were killed by IDF special forces