Gavin McInnes, the founder of VICE and of the “ultra-nationalist” group The Proud Boys, has released a video insisting he was never the group’s leader, and even if he was, he definitely isn’t any more, and he’s totally left anyway.
Gavin McInnes: "As of today, November 21st, 2018, I'm officially disassociating myself from the Proud Boys, in all capacities, forever, I quit. … I was never the leader, only the founder." Comes after reports FBI deemed Proud Boys an extremist group. https://t.co/pQOWxdh6lA
— Matt Pearce ? (@mattdpearce) November 21, 2018
The Proud Boys, it was revealed this week, are classified as “an extremist group with ties to white nationalism” by the FBI, in a document that also notes they’ve “contributed to the escalation of violence at political rallies”.
Several of their members were arrested last month after assaulting anti-fascist protesters in New York and a group also attacked Black Lives Matter activists in Portland.
In the video, which runs for over half an hour, McInnes says quitting the Proud Boys is a “gesture” to try and “alleviate” the sentencing of the men arrested in NYC. He sounds suuuuuuper sincere.
McInnes also wants your money: you can buy wristbands to support the group’s legal defence fund, which is handy if you would like to mark yourself as someone who gives their money to homophobic, misogynist, violent edgelords who celebrate No Nut November all year round.
McInnes is due to arrive in Australia in less than two weeks for a speaking tour with British far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Roman Quaedvlieg, the former head of Australian Border Force, has called for him to be blocked from coming here, telling Fairfax Media that he poses more of a danger than some Muslim preachers who have recently been denied visas in recent times.
According to SBS News, experts say McInnes’ tour can be expected to increase the group’s numbers in Australia.
Over 66,000 people have signed a petition calling for McInnes to be denied a visa.