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Updated May 3rd, 2021 at 17:30 IST

Proud Boys Canada dissolves, says 'we were never terrorists'

The far-right Proud Boys Canada group, which was already enlisted by Ottawa as a terrorist entity has dissolved itself on May 3 but denied any wrongdoing.

Reported by: Aanchal Nigam
Canada
Image credits: AP | Image:self
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The far-right Proud Boys Canada group, which was already enlisted by Ottawa as a terrorist entity has dissolved itself on May 3. The Proud Boys were enlisted as a terrorist entity earlier this year over its involvement in the shocking riot in the United States Capitol on January 6, but now, it has announced its dissolution in a statement while also denying any wrongdoing. In February, Canada said that the group posed an active security threat and played a “pivotal role” in the deadly attack on the US federal building by pro-Trump protesters. 

The statement posted by the administrator on the official Proud Boys channel on Telegram said, “The truth is, we were never terrorists or a white supremacy group...We are electricians, carpenters, financial advisers, mechanics, etc. More than that, we are fathers, brothers, uncles and sons.”

Founded in 2016, FBI termed it ‘extremist’ in 2018

Proud Boys was founded in 2016 and it began as an organisation protesting political correctness and perceived constraints on masculinity in the US and in Canada. As per the Guardian report, it eventually grew into a group that embraced street fighting. The group was founded by media personality and Canadian entrepreneur Gavin McInnes who lived in the United States. Eventually, several members of Proud Boys were charged for conspiring to prevent Congress from verifying the results of the November presidential elections in the US.

"The designation of ProudBoys Canada as a terrorist organization will have a massive effect on all political movements within its borders moving forward, this includes those that opposed them and those who championed for this legislation. That being said, the ProudBoys has made the decision to disband," the group wrote on Telegram, adding that "the ProudBoys in Canada is no more.”

The group has first become prominent in Canada at least three years ago after reportedly five military reservists dressed in the Proud Boys’ black and yellow shirts, disrupted a demonstration by the Indigenous community over a controversial statue. Following this, the group was banned from Facebook and Instagram in October 2018 after it was found violating the hate speech policies of the platform and the FBI also classified the organisation as ‘extremist.’

Image credits: AP

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Published May 3rd, 2021 at 17:30 IST

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