PEOPLES POWER ASSEMBLY

MEDIA ADVISORY

CONTACT: Sofia Adams  (801) 319-2342

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NEW YORK – This past Friday, on October 12th, our city was shocked to see footage of anti-racist protesters viciously attacked by a fascist self-proclaimed gang called the Proud Boys on the Upper East Side after a rally hosted by gang leader Gavin McInnes at the Metropolitan Republican Club. Emboldened by Trump’s racist and sexist rhetoric, these violent bigots now roam our streets, committing acts of co-ordinated violence with impunity, determined to make New York their latest venue for acts of unrepentant hate.

Their violent assault was documented by citizen journalists, who uploaded footage of Proud Boys kicking and punching defenseless activists while chanting homophobic and sexist slurs. The NYPD stood by and watched this happen, letting these fascists continue their assault uninterrupted. Their refusal to arrest the Proud Boys, who the police had clearly witnessed commit acts of wanton violence, speaks to the NYPD’s complacent attitude towards the dangers that the Proud Boys pose to the residents of this city. Once again, as in Charlottesville, the police are complicit, acting as an armed escort for white supremacy, sexism and homophobia.

Scores of NYPD Strategic Response Group (SRG), Technical Assistance Response Unit (TARU) and police from the 19th precinct were present, but only to monitor and repress the anti-racist groups while continuing to escort and protect the fascist gang members. Despite witnessing repeated acts of violence against protesters, the NYPD stood by, intervening to repress or taunt protesters by saying things like, “You should be lucky we’re not letting them beat your a**es.”

New Yorkers should not forget that the Strategic Response Group was created as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Since its creation in 2015, the SRG has been used to arrest and jail activists, spy on us, break our bones, bloody our mouths and hospitalize us. The Proud Boys were acting on what the NYPD shows them every day: that in our white supremacist system, poor people, people of color, migrants, women and LGBTQ people are fair game. Therefore, the collusion between the Proud Boys and the police on Friday comes as no surprise to the activist community in New York. On October 13th, Gavin McInnes stated on his podcast that he has “a lot of support in the NYPD.” We believe him.

Even though the identities of these fascists have been made public, we doubt the NYPD will make any serious moves to bring them to justice. We expect the NYPD to continue to blame anti-racist activists for the violence. The NYPD said they are waiting for victims to come forward. As our city sees how the NYPD regards protest, treats protesters and promotes a racist agenda of their own, it should be obvious why victims of this vicious assault still do not feel safe coming forward.

The SRG has failed in their task to destroy us just as the Proud Boys have. We will continue our struggle to protect New York City from racism, sexism, homophobia and all forms of oppression. The whole world is watching.