The Canadian government on Wednesday designated the far-right group Proud Boys as a terrorist organization, after determining that they had played a leading role in the assault on the Capitol on January 6.
The Proud Boys are one of the main organizations in the white supremacist movement in the United States, but they also have a following in Canada, where they have increasingly
become the centerpiece of the right-wing extremist movement
on that side of the border.
"The Proud Boys consists of semi-autonomous chapters located in the United States and Canada and internationally," Canadian Public Safety authorities said in a statement.
After being released, a judge orders the leader of the Proud Boys to leave Washington DC
Jan. 6, 202100: 23
They are known for inciting violence in demonstrations and political events and
for their support of former President Donald Trump
, who avoided distancing himself from them publicly.
During the debate between then-President Donald Trump and then-candidate Joe Biden on September 29, moderator Chris Wallace pressured Trump to condemn the Proud Boys, and the president instead blamed "antifa," a move unorganized anti-fascist.
[The far-right group Proud Boys celebrates Trump's words during the debate]
"Proud Boys, back up and wait, but I'll tell you something, someone has to do something with Antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem. It's a left-wing problem," Trump said at the time.
Trump's inability to denounce the Proud Boys was widely accepted by group members as
a show of support for the president
.
A group of the Proud Boys kneeling at a Trump event.Getty Images
The Proud Boys are
a self-described "Western chauvinist" organization
willing to use violence to advance its nationalist, Islamophobic, transphobic and misogynistic ideals, according to the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit organization that tracks the groups. extremists.
Members of the Proud Boys marched in the infamous 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a nationalist extremist ran over and killed a woman participating in the counter-protest.
They have also organized against the protests of the Black Lives Matter movement.
[Charlottesville Supremacist Pleads Guilty to Hate Crimes After Shooting Crowds]
A senior Canadian government official said the January 6 insurrection was one of the factors taken into account for the appointment.
The leader of the far-right group Proud Boys is arrested in Washington.
AP
The designation means that
assets can be seized from them and given more serious criminal sentences
in terrorism-related cases.
The official clarified that being a member of the group is not a crime, but if any of them commit an act of violence, they can be more easily accused of terrorism.
Sending money to the Proud Boys or buying goods bearing the group's symbols would also be a crime
.
Public Security Minister Bill Blair said 12 other groups were added to the list, including organizations with links to the white supremacist movement, the Islamic State and extremism in Kashmir.
"Canada will not tolerate acts of violence for ideological, religious or political reasons," said Blair.