Dozens of Proud Boys showed up at a Democratic Socialists of America meeting in North Carolina over the weekend in a play for relevance by an aging fascist street gang amid a right-wing backlash against socialism as the GOP braces for heavy losses in the midterm elections.
An estimated 51 members of the fascist street gang known for powering the Jan. 6 insurrection and harassing drag shows showed up at a public library in Winston-Salem, N.C. on Aug. 29, and some filed into the back of a meeting room where the Piedmont Triad chapter of the DSA was holding a membership meeting.
The Proud Boys attempted to film the meeting while community allies blocked their view with multicolored umbrellas. Though they left without physical altercation, the appearance of the members dressed in the group’s customary black and yellow colors was clearly intended to intimidate the DSA.
Following the visit, a North Carolina-based Proud Boys Telegram channel warned that “socialism will not be tolerated, and it will not go unopposed.” The chapter also posted an image of the far-right Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who came to power through a violent coup against the democratically elected socialist government of former President Salvador Allende. The post included a caption celebrating the Pinochet regime’s practice of carrying out extrajudicial executions against political opponents by throwing them out of helicopters.
The show of force appears to have been led by the Cape Fear Proud Boys, a media-savvy chapter based in the coastal city of Wilmington that was the subject of an Esquire magazine profile this summer. The Aug. 29 mobilization in Winston-Salem also drew members from Virginia and Georgia, indicative of efforts to build a regional network.
An email from Raw Story to the Cape Fear chapter for this story went unreturned.
The convergence of the Proud Boys from eastern North Carolina and two adjacent states on Winston-Salem, a small city built on the tobacco and textile industries almost 250 miles from the coast, can likely be chalked up to an effort to recruit in an area where they don’t have an active chapter, said Khaet Grindell, communications coordinator for the Piedmont Triad DSA.
“They were recording us the whole time; it was an attempt to intimidate us,” Grindell told Raw Story. “I think they were looking for moments to recruit, and we didn’t give them any. We didn’t give them the time of day. We didn’t fight with them. We didn’t give them a viral moment to use as a recruiting tool.”
The Proud Boys extended their in-person intimidation effort by uploading images of some of the attendees and security volunteers on their Telegram channel, with a particular focus on people who appear to be LGBTQ or don’t meet traditional gender expectations. One post questioned whether an individual was male or female, adding, “We are seriously considering sending our prospects up to do a squeeze check.”
“Proud Boys have been violent in the past,” Rachel Fugardi, a senior research analyst with the Southern Poverty Law Center, told Raw Story. “When they show up and are not violent, but they’re showing up in large numbers and in colors, and they’re filming people, threatening sexual violence, it can have a chilling effect on political participation. People might see that and not want to get involved, seeing that it carries a personal risk to their safety.”
But Grindell said the Proud Boys’ intimidation efforts won’t dissuade DSA members from organizing and building support in the community.
“I think we have seen even more support and more interest from the community,” she said, “because I think people thought, ‘Well, if a group of losers like the Proud Boys are trying to shut the DSA down, maybe the DSA is doing something right.’”
The DSA members have tried to put a lighthearted spin on the encounter by noting that after the Proud Boys filmed them, some helped themselves to pumpkin spice donut holes at the snack table.
“We’ve been joking that they like free food, so maybe they like socialism,” Grindell said.
The meeting crashing in Winston-Salem was not the first time the Cape Fear Proud Boys have targeted the DSA in North Carolina. Members of the chapter reportedly stole a bus bench installed by the Wilmington DSA to accommodate public transit riders earlier this summer. After learning that the Proud Boys planned to come to Winston-Salem, Grindell said she thought they might attempt to vandalize a free community refrigerator that members maintain there.
“Showing up at our meeting is clearly an escalation,” she said.
Fugardi said she’s not aware of other Proud Boys chapters around the country challenging the DSA or mobilizing in opposition to socialism.
Since the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, which involved roughly 100 members, the Proud Boys network has splintered into two rival factions, with one remaining loyal to former national chairman Enrique Tarrio and the other calling him a “fed” and a “rat,” Fugardi said. Tarrio dissolved the national leadership in June 2021, and since then the individual chapters have operated autonomously, with some degree of regional coordination.
Due to the vagueness of the Proud Boys’ political stance extolling “western chauvinism,” Fugardi said, there’s a wide variation among chapters, with some emphasizing white nationalism and others Christian nationalism. Some embrace Nazi symbols while others highlight their inclusion of men of color. As a result, the group now lacks a cohesive national focus.
Members of the Cape Fear Proud Boys chapter rally in North Carolina in 2022. (photo by Anthony Crider (used with permission))
“They’re also a dying organization,” Fugardi said. “They’re 10 years old, and they’re not very appealing to the younger generation of far-right activists. They’re seen as out of touch and not cool.”
The Cape Fear chapter stands out as an exception in some ways, Fugardi said.
“As we’ve seen nationwide a dramatic decline in the number of Proud Boys chapters and activity, Cape Fear has been pretty consistent — marching through communities, online doxing, harassment,” she said. “They’ve remained one of the most visible chapters of the Proud Boys in the country.”
Following the Proud Boys’ appearance, the Piedmont Triad DSA is assessing its practice of holding meetings in public libraries, which don’t typically allow groups reserving space to regulate access. Grindell said the Piedmont Triad DSA is fortunate to have partnerships with local nonprofits that would be willing to provide space for meetings in a more controlled setting.
The Cape Fear Proud Boys have signaled that it plans to continue harassing the DSA.
“Don’t worry, we have a lot more planned for the DSA!” the chapter posted on Telegram on Monday.
“Other DSA chapters in the region ought to take note of what happened, and strengthen their community partnerships with other organizations and allies,” Grindell said, “so they’re not caught off guard.”
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