By David Futrelle
Last night the Proud Boys went looking for a fight. After a speech by the group’s founder Gavin McInnes at the Metropolitan Republican Club in Manhattan, members of the group — a gang of pro-Trump goons who seem to get into fights at every event they attend — were caught on video violently attacking several people who had come out to protest their event, beating and kicking them.
The Proud Boys took obvious pleasure in the assaults, with one of the attackers yelling “do you feel brave now, f**got” at his victim, according to one eyewitness. Another Proud Boy was heard on the group’s own livestream boasting that
I had one of their fucking heads and I was just fucking smashing it [on] the pavement. I ripped that motherfucker’s mask off and kicked him right in the head! … He’s a fucking foreigner!
At one point, McInnes literally drew a sword that he had brought with him to the speech. The group, evidently quite pleased with how the night had gone, posed for a group photo afterwards. None of the Proud Boys involved in the violence were arrested.
Here’s how Fox News covered the events:
Antifa attacks again — swords and vandalism at New York GOP office @FoxNewsNight pic.twitter.com/N4Q5MWKuK0
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 13, 2018
If you watch the video, you can see McInnes draw his sword. It’s not quite clear how Fox News was able to mistake McInnes — an easily recognizable figure who was the headliner at the event in question — for an antifa protester.
In case any Fox News reporters need to be reminded what he looks like, here’s McInnes doing an interview in which he offers his thoughts on how awesome he thinks violence is.
"It was a really fun night, and overall I cannot recommend violence enough. It is a really effective way to solve problems.” -Gavin McInnes, founder of the Proud Boys (Feb. 2017). #ViolentMob pic.twitter.com/OTxW3Vwx1O
— Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D (@RVAwonk) October 13, 2018
I guess my question here is whether or not this is deliberate disinformation from Fox, or whether everyone working there is so caught up in the Trump/GOP/Fox News reality distortion field that they can look at footage of Gavin fucking McInnes pulling out a sword and see antifa?
At this point, actual footage of right-wingers beating up people — followed by footage of these right-wingers happily bragging about beating up people — isn’t enough to convince many in the MAGA swamp that, well, right-wingers are beating up people. These people are essentially gaslighting themselves.
https://twitter.com/annie7589/status/1051041998218629120
Yeah, that’s the ticket.
Here’s more footage of what happened last night, from the assaults to the exalting over the assaults afterwards — complete with chants of “I like beer!” in honor of the newly installed Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Last night, Gavin McInnes and his gang of Proud Boy thugs instigated violence against protestors. Severe injuries, but none reported dead, yet. https://t.co/JpWV2UbM2D
— Nathan Bernard (@nathanTbernard) October 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/leftkist/status/1050973870511939584
Here's a portion of the livestream uploaded by a Proud Boy (since deleted) which shows a member bragging about kicking "a foreigner" in the head. full video here: https://t.co/PBJoW8hCGi pic.twitter.com/qlZipdRMsd
— Jake Offenhartz (@jangelooff) October 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/Kherman112/status/1050983568300630017
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@SpukiKitty:
I do hope so. There’s an actual fascist (or fash-symp) running for mayor of Toronto right now. Everytime she’s shut out of a debate (for being fringe and having nothing of substance to contribute, mind), she makes herself out to be a martyr. She doesn’t stand a chance, but that’s not why she’s running; she’s doing it to normalize fascism. And worse, she just sent her goons to disrupt the latest one tonight, forcing at least one legit frontrunner to leave in fear for her safety. I’m more angry than fearful, by far, but still…why the hell should we have to put up with this nonsense at all, much less have to demonstrate against it…STILL?
Katamount asks:
I don’t know if attention spans are that short, but I do know that doublethink is a hell of a drug.
Very simple.
The same way they mislabel every Publican pol ever accused or convicted of wrongdoing or criminal activity as “Pol McThug (D),” before “correcting” the “error” a few days later:
They’re lying through their teeth.
Yes, all five of them.