Canada puts Proud Boys on terror list
Canada named the far-right Proud Boys a terrorist entity on Wednesday on the grounds that it openly supports violence and played a "pivotal role" in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 that led to the death of five people.
Calling it "a neo-fascist organization," Canada's public safety ministry said the Proud Boys "openly encouraged, planned, and conducted violent activities against those they perceive to be opposed to their ideology and political beliefs."
The group's founder, Gavin McInnes, is Canadian but now lives in the United States.
Being on the list means the group's assets can be frozen by banks and financial institutions, and that it becomes a crime for Canadians to knowingly deal with assets of the listed entity.
Anyone belonging to the group also could be blocked from entering the country.
Founded in 2016, the Proud Boys began as an organization protesting political correctness and perceived constraints on masculinity in the United States and Canada, and grew into a group with distinctive colors of yellow and black that embraced street fighting -- and whose adherents can often be seen flashing a white power sign...
The group's profile was raised in September when former U.S. President Donald Trump, when asked in a debate if he would denounce white supremacists and militia groups, instead had this message:
TRUMP (SEPTEMBER 29, 2020) "Proud Boys: Stand back and stand by, but I'll tell you what; I'll tell you what. Somebody's got to do something about Antifa and the left..."
Twelve other groups were added to Canada's list of terrorist entities, including three neo-Nazi groups, and eight organizations described as affiliates to al Qaeda and Islamic State.
