Proud Boys Canada, the far-right group that Canada recently designated as a terrorist entity, announced on Sunday that it has “officially dissolved” and denied being a terrorist or white supremacist organization — assertions that should be taken with a “grain of salt,” according to hate group experts. In its earliest days, the Proud Boys attracted salacious media coverage for their extreme initiation rites — new members, for example, have to subject themselves to a beating and get a Proud Boys tattoo — and rules (no masturbation allowed). But from the start, anti-racism activists and hate group experts have been alarmed by the Proud Boys’ hateful and white nationalist rhetoric. Its Manitoba chapter — which Balgord said came closest to being a “leader” of Proud Boys Canada after the split with Canada First — had already dissolved earlier this year. “They kind of fizzled out,” he said of Proud Boys Canada’s activities in recent years.

Source: thestar May 03, 2021 02:48 UTC