FAFO- The delicious irony of Proud Boys being hoisted on their own pétard

They f****d around...and they found out. Hahahahahahahaha....

We repeatedly, and knowingly choose the same dastard, corrupt, dishonest, disqualified and criminal ones, and expect from those, the welfare of society and people; it is pure stupidity and ignorance.

• Ehsan Sehgal

Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.

[Preface to Brissot's Address to His Constituents (1794)]

• Edmund Burke, On Empire, Liberty, and Reform: Speeches and Letters

Anyone who’s lived here in Portland, OR, for at least the past three years is familiar with the Proud Boys, who arrived in the Rose City during the protests in the summer of 2020 looking to kick some ass. They saw a target-rich environment- a Liberal-leaning city (i.e., Antifa)- which meant an opportunity to crack some skulls. And they meant that literally. Some Proud Boys lived for the brawling they’d engage in that summer.

They were firmly behind The Former Guy, so what they saw in Portland were thousands of traitors, people aligned against THEIR President. And so they were there to make their presence felt and to ensure that the lambs (Liberals) recognized the superiority of the wolves (the Proud Boys).

Though their politics were firmly on the Far-Right, the summer of 2020 was more about fighting than politics for the Proud Boys. Though they showed up looking more like a preppy fraternity in their black Fred Perry polo shirts and khakis, they were ready for battle. Many also carry tactical gear, including shields, riot gear, clubs, and bear spray. This gave them a tremendous advantage over protestors who often arrived in downtown Portland unprepared for the hand-to-hand combat the Proud Boys lived for.

Many locals had never heard of the Proud Boys before they arrived in Portland. Who were these thugs? And why had they chosen Portland for their coming-out party?

The Proud Boys are a far-right group founded by Gavin McInnes in 2016.

The group have previously been involved in altercations with – and violent action against – left-wing groups. Law enforcement agencies accuse the group of having links to white supremacist ideologies.

However, The Proud boys deny any far-right connections and simply say that they are spreading “anti-political correctness”. The group’s values include “Western chauvinism” and policies such as gun ownership.

The group first gained widespread media attention after President Donald Trump’s comment to them during one of his election interviews: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by! But I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left.”

The president received backlash for these comments and for not publicly denouncing the Proud Boys as a potentially dangerous fringe group. Trump has since backtracked and condemned the actions of the Proud Boys.

But did he really “condemn” the action of the Proud Boys, who seemed to understand that they’d become his private Palace Guard? Because of the political pressure he faced, most of the Proud Boys understood that The Former Guy had no choice but to utter the words of condemnation. But they knew how much he relied on them. They also recognized the lack of seriousness in his words.

Aw…look, male bonding- Mama would be SO proud!! Nothing homoerotic here!!

Then came January 6, 2021, the day Congress was supposed to certify the Electoral College count. Throughout history, this certification had always been a formality, a pro forma exercise in the peaceful transfer of power. And there’d been no reason to expect anything different on this day…until a few weeks earlier when The Former Guy began beating the drums for unrest on Twitter.

“Will be wild.” Yes. And, as we learned later, he knew that some of his supporters on the National Mall that day would be armed.

On January 6, the Proud Boys were the “military” arm behind the insurrection. They were the first ones at every entry point into the Capitol, and much of what happened that day was at the command of leader Enrique Tarrio, who, while he wasn’t on site, directed the Proud Boys remotely. As he texted that afternoon, “Make no mistake. We did this.”

Remember, boys…watch yourselves during shower time!!

They fucked around. Two-plus years later, Tarrio and the leadership of the Proud Boys would find out.

Justice may have been delayed, but it wasn’t denied.

Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison. Joseph Biggs received a 17-year sentence. Zachary Rehl was slapped with 15 years. And each of them claimed remorse that no one bought at their sentencing.

Biggs, of Ormond Beach, Florida, acknowledged that he “messed up” on Jan. 6, but he blamed being “seduced by the crowd” of Trump supporters outside the Capitol and said he’s not a violent person or “a terrorist.”

“My curiosity got the better of me, and I’ll have to live with that for the rest of my life,” he said, claiming he didn’t have “hate in my heart” and didn’t want to hurt people.

During the trial, jurors saw a trove of messages that Proud Boys leaders privately exchanged in the weeks leading up to the Capitol riot, including Biggs encouraging Tarrio to “get radical and get real men” after Trump announced plans for a rally on Jan. 6.

That day, dozens of Proud Boys leaders, members and associates were among the first rioters to breach the Capitol. Before the first breach, Biggs used a megaphone to lead rioters in chants of “Whose Capitol? Our Capitol!”

Biggs “acted as the tip of the spear” during the attack, prosecutors said in a court filing. He tore down a fence and charged up scaffolding before entering the Capitol. He left the Capitol but reentered the building and went to the Senate chamber.

Nah, dude…you were caught on video. It wasn’t a case of your curiosity getting the better of you. Judging by the video, there was little doubt that you were all in. You didn’t get “seduced by the crowd.” You were upset that you got caught.

You fucked around…and you found out. Karma’s a real bitch.

For Rehl, who also helped lead Proud Boys, prosecutors asked for a 30-year prison sentence. He was seen on video spraying a chemical irritant at law enforcement officers outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, but he repeatedly lied about that assault while he testified at his trial, said prosecutor Erik Kenerson. “He tried to craft a narrative to fit the evidence and he was caught,” Kenerson said.

Rehl also led at least three other men into the Capitol and into a senator’s office, where he smoked and posed for pictures while flashing the Proud Boys’ hand gesture, prosecutors said in court documents.

“Rehl led an army to attempt to stop the certification proceeding, was proud that they got as close as they did, and his only regret in the immediate aftermath was that they did not go further,” they wrote in a court filing.

Kelly read from some of the “chilling” messages Rehl sent after Jan. 6, including one, the judge said, that read, “Everyone should have showed up armed and taken the country back the right way.” The judge shook his head and said, “I mean, my God.”

Rehl sobbed as he told the judge he deeply regretted being at the Capitol that day. “I’m done with all of it, done peddling lies for other people who don’t care about me,” Rehl said. “Politicians started spreading lies about the election, and I fell for it hook, line and sinker."

Nah…Rehl is sobbing because he’d reached the consequence part of being caught.

He also fucked around…and he found out.

Enrique Tarrio, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rehl knew precisely what they were doing on January 6. There was no confusion or lack of clarity; they were trying to overthrow the government, invalidate the results of a free and fair democratic election, and keep The Former Guy in power.

That’s sedition, and according to the case laid out by the Justice Department, what it boils down to is that these Proud Boys and others lived up to their group’s motto:

FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT.

(All of my posts are now public. Any reader financial support will be considered pledges- support that’s greatly appreciated but not required to get to all of my work. I’ll leave it to my readers to determine if my work is worthy of their monetary support and at what level. To those who do offer their support, thank you. It means more than you know.)