Gavin McInnes (founder of the white nationalist, misogynistic group the Proud Boys) has asked his neighbors to take down their anti-hate yard signs. Why? Apparently, he feels that they target him and his alt-right group.
In the letter, obtained by the Daily Beast, McInnes wrote:
“I am writing on behalf of my family to ask you to reconsider whether the message of your lawn sign moves our world and our village in the direction of love at all, or whether it sends a very different message instead… hate certainly has no place here, and like you I am committed to keeping it that way.”
In reference to the group he founded, and recently stepped down from amid an FBI investigation, McInnes explains:
“The Proud Boys are a drinking club I started several years ago as a joke. There is no racial or ethnic component to its membership, its program or the idea behind it. As it is, I quit my involvement with the group recently and have nothing to do with it whatsoever.”
When have you heard of the Proud Boys before? A quick review: While the FBI does not categorize them as a hate group, the Southern Poverty Law Center does. The group is full of self-described “western Chauvinists” who regularly use white nationalist, anti-Muslim, and sexist rhetoric. Proud Boys members have appeared at rallies like Charlottesville’s Unite the Right.
After McInnes spoke at the Metropolitan Republican Club club in New York City in October, some Proud Boys members brutally attacked anti-racism protestors on the street, and five Proud Boys were eventually arrested.
Facebook has finally banned McInnes from their platform, as did YouTube. Even the conservative network BlazeTV dropped him. Outside of just McInnes personally, Proud Boys members were denied taxis and Ubers at a far-right rally in Philadelphia.
And the signs in his neighborhood he’s so opposed to? They read “Hate Has No Home Here” and were passed out by local religious organizations, according to the Huffington Post.
A neighbor, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the Huffington Post regarding McInnes, “He makes a conscious decision to incite violence and hate. We have our sign up because we want people to know this is a safe and friendly home.” They pretty much hit the nail on the head.