Proud Boys Convicted Of Attempted Assault Following NYC Street Brawl With Antifa Activists
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - Two members of the Proud Boys have been found guilty of charges stemming from street violence between their far-right group and anti-fascist activists recorded in Manhattan's Upper East Side in October 2018.
The District Attorney's office announced 27-year-old Maxwell Hare and 39-year-old John Kinsman were convicted of attempted gang assault, attempted assault, and riot charges. Their sentencing is expected on Oct. 11.
Videos posted on YouTube show the clashes between the two groups outside the Metropolitan Republican Club on the Upper East Side.
The clash happened following an appearance by Gavin McInnes, who founded the group which describes themselves as "western chauvinists."
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Ten members and associates of the Proud Boys were arrested in the days following the clash. Prosecutors are not charging the defendants with assault because the charge requires evidence of injury.
"As violent extremism rises in America, a Manhattan jury has declared in one voice that New Yorkers will not tolerate mob violence in our own backyard," said District Attorney Cyrus Vance. "These defendants transformed a quiet, residential street into the site of a battle-royale, kicking and beating four individuals in a brutal act of political violence."
Lawyers for Hare and Kinsman had indicated their clients believed they needed to resort to force.
"Antifa's only missing accessory was war paint," the lawyers wrote in one filing. "They gathered and lay in wait in the Upper East Side to aggressively attack the Proud Boys exiting the club."
The Southern Poverty Law Center, a liberal advocacy organization, has designated the all-male Proud Boys as a hate group. McInnes, a Vice Media co-founder, quit the Proud Boys a month after the clash that followed his speech.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
