The Proud Boys is a far-right and neo-fascist organization that admits only men as members and promotes and engages in political violence. It is based in the United States and has a presence in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. The group was started as a joke in the far-right Taki’s Magazine in 2016 by Vice Media co-founder and former commentator Gavin McInnes, taking its name from the song “Proud of Your Boy” from the Disney musical Aladdin. The Proud Boys emerged as part of the alt-right, but McInnes began distancing himself from the alt-right in early 2017, saying the alt-right’s focus is race while his focus is what he defines as “Western values” WhiteSupremacy. This re-branding effort intensified after the Unite the Right rally.
