PHILADELPHIA — Like Donald Trump still telling his supporters that he will only lose on Tuesday if there is massive voter fraud, and increasingly. violent rhetoric about Democrats and other “enemies,” On January 6, 2021, members of the far-right group that “put the boots on the ground” more than anyone else in the US Capitol say they are mobilizing.
The Proud Boys played a critical role the last time Trump tried to overturn an election loss, springing into action on Jan. 6, just weeks after Trump tasked the group. A huge increase in recruitment by saying “stand back and stand by”. during the presidential debate. the group that is, “thirst for violence and organized action” sent members to the Capitol to act.Donald Trump’s armyfederal prosecutors later said. Several Proud Boys leaders were eventually convicted of the seditious conspiracy and remain in prison, including former chairman Enrique Tarrio, who served 22 years in prison. Jan. 6. The longest sentence given to any defendant.
But the far-right group of decentralized men remains active across the country, with some members openly making plans to run in Tuesday’s election as Trump closes his campaign talking about it. fire through the media; calls his political opponents “evil”, “dangerous” and “enemy within”; and spreads even more baseless predictions of election fraud.
At least 30 of the 34 active and public Telegram channels run by Proud Boys chapters across the country have been rallying support for Trump again by posting pro-Trump content since early October, according to an analysis by Advance Democracy, a nonprofit research group. organization. Many groups are posting memes and content suggesting that the 2024 election will be stolen from Trump.
The two Proud Boys chapters, both based in Ohio, say they will be watching the polls on Election Day, according to records reviewed by NBC News. The Proud Boys of Columbus recently claimed to have registered their members as poll watchers and poll workers.
“The task is too important to rely on conventional norms,” he said in a statement released Monday, “so this was a comprehensive effort.”
Another group of Proud Boys in Ohio recently wrote that they were “watching the polls everywhere” ahead of Election Day.
“Bonded, loaded and ready for treacherous voter fraud,” one account wrote on Sunday, before adding an anti-gay slur. “Stand back and stand by the f—–s.”
Three other Proud Boys Telegram channels elsewhere in the country also shared a photo of a masked man holding a gun with the words “FREE MEN DISOBEY CIVIL SERVANTS,” according to a report by Advance Democracy.
Chapters of the Proud Boys and other active militia groups did not publicly call for interference in Tuesday’s election on Monday, according to a review of social media posts by Advance Democracy and NBC News. It’s unclear if their claims of monitoring polls or logging in as election volunteers will result in any real-world action.
But Proud Boys members are clearly active. NBC News saw men wearing Proud Boys uniforms — black polos with gold collars — in a section at a Trump rally on Sunday, but it was unclear if the people were identified as men previously associated with the group. NBC News spotted US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene nearby and avoided taking pictures with the men.
Proud Boys chapters are not decentralized, but they have been devoting time to other right-wing issues since January 6. Group members spoke at school board meetings about library books, as well as anti-LGBTQ demonstrations and anti-immigration protests, and although weakened, the Proud Boys could still organize around the election.
What happens depends largely on how Trump performs. Eight years ago, during Trump’s 2016 presidential bid, the founder of another right-wing organization announced plans to leave “hidden” said he would go “incognito” at polling stations and “blend in” with the public.
Trump won in 2016. Four years later, that founder, Stuart Rhodes, and his group, the Pledgers, went on to participate in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6. Rhodes was convicted of riotous conspiracy Serves 18 years behind bars.
Proud Boys messages sent over Telegram, has become the preferred platform of far-right groupswhere they freely distribute their content. It has become a hotbed of disinformation and conspiracy theories about the elections.
Federal authorities have been quick to crack down on disinformation from foreign actors during this period, but face limitations both by law and tradition when it comes to cracking down on disinformation originating from American-based political institutions and federal authorities. plays only a limited role in election control.
Trump – who was accused indicted by a federal grand jury and accused of using bogus voter fraud claims to overturn his 2020 election loss — has a long history of making false claims about elections, even tweeting that Americans needed a “revolution” after Mitt Romney lost in 2012 by doing and that the Americans should “fight like hell,” a phrase he used on January 6.
On Tuesday, he used it more and more authoritarian language conjuring up violent images: explaining Capitol attack conspiracy theorist and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said Liz Cheney, vice chair of the House Jan. 6 committee, would not be such a “war hawk” if she were not. their weapons were “trained on their faces”. and if there was a theoretical conspiracy, he said, “he wouldn’t care so much.”shoot through the fake news.”