Canada

New Zealand Classifies Proud Boys as Terrorists

JUN 30 2022·Updated SEP 20 2022

Story

Image credit: Associated Press [via The Wall Street Journal]

The Facts

Far-right US group, the Proud Boys, was declared a terrorist organization by New Zealand's government on Thurs., who cited its involvement with the Jan. 6 riots, violent messaging, and hypernational and chauvinistic ideology.
NPR
The group is one of 19 to have been given an official terrorist designation in the country. The status makes it illegal to fund, recruit, or participate in the groups in New Zealand, and allows authorities to take action against those who do.
guardian
Although there isn't yet any evidence that the group is active in New Zealand, since the death of 51 worshippers in a supremacist shooting at two Christchurch mosques in 2019, the island nation has been more attuned to far right threats.
Time
In June, Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, the Proud Boys' former leader, and four others linked to the group were charged in the US with seditious conspiracy for what federal prosecutors described as a coordinated attack on the Capitol building in Washington DC.
guardian
New Zealand isn't the first nation to designate the Proud Boys as a terror group, with Canada having done so last year.
The Wall Street Journal

Sources Split

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The Spin

Left narrative

New Zealand is right to designate the Proud Boys as a terror group. They've recently faced the consequences of white supremacist violence with the Christchurch mosque shootings, and their vigilance in identifying and labeling potential threats should be applauded. The group's coordinated violent attack on the US Capitol was an act of terrorism and warrants this designation.

Al Jazeera

Right narrative

There is no basis for designating the Proud Boys as a terrorist organization. Most chapters of the group are simply activists attending rallies and protests, and limiting the freedom of individuals to do these activities is an infringement of free speech. It is also an overtly politicized decision targeting the right-wing in the US.

Breitbart