Was NYPD helping Proud Boys on the subway? Plus: Battle over drag shows; extremists after Jan. 6

Will Carless, USA TODAY
·4 min read
17

All-ages drag shows have become the front line in America's culture wars.

In a major story published late last week, my colleague Andrea Ball and I went deep into how this strange set of circumstances came about. We focused on one all-ages drag show in Roanoke, Texas, where far-right protesters were met by anti-fascists holding assault rifles. But we also examined the broader issues of drag shows for children and why they have, so recently, become targeted by people across the right wing in America.

Friday is also the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection, and in a story Friday, I look at the state of the far-right, taking stock of what has happened to the main extremist groups who were at the Capitol that day. I ask experts: What comes next?

And the Proud Boys, whose leaders are on trial this week, hit the news after the New York Police Department apparently helped them evade transit fares in the Big Apple.

It's been a big week in extremism news.

Special report: A drag show, a protest and a line of guns: How the battle over one issue is tearing at America

A nearly full moon rises behind the Anderson Distillery & Grill on South Oak Street in downtown Roanoke, Texas.
A nearly full moon rises behind the Anderson Distillery & Grill on South Oak Street in downtown Roanoke, Texas.

The culture wars: All-age drag shows

  • In August, a distillery in Roanoke, a small Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, held an all-ages drag show. Local far-right activists showed up to protest and were met by a phalanx of leftists wielding assault rifles. The ensuing confrontation (in which nobody was hurt) made headlines worldwide.

  • How did we get here? Why are drag shows the new arena for the far-right to air its grievances? What do the armed leftists want? And what happens to a small town like Roanoke after an event like this?

  • We set out to answer these questions, interviewing dozens of people and delving deep into the tricky questions of why all-age drag shows are seen by some as a vital resource for the LGBTQ community.

  • Read it: This story offers more depth on the issue than anything else we've seen. You can read it here.

Last week in extremism: Michigan governor kidnap plot ringleaders sentenced, Proud Boy trial: The week in extremism

Who is Stewart Rhodes?: Vegas parking valet, Yale law graduate, unhinged Oath Keepers leader: Who is Stewart Rhodes?

The FBI says Dominic Pezzola, a member of the Proud Boys, used a riot shield belonging to the U.S. Capitol Police to break open a window at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
The FBI says Dominic Pezzola, a member of the Proud Boys, used a riot shield belonging to the U.S. Capitol Police to break open a window at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Insurrection: Two-year anniversary

Two years have now passed since thousands of angry supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed into the U.S. Capitol, searching for politicians to lynch and seeking to stop the certification of the 2020 election. I took a look at what's happened since then and assessed the state of the far-right in a story.

  • In that time almost 1,000 insurrectionists have been charged with crimes ranging from trespassing to seditious conspiracy.

  • My story focuses on the extremist groups that were present on Jan. 6, asking where they are now, and to what extent they are still active.

  • Extremist groups: I break down what's been happening with the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys and other groups, noting that while groups come and go, the underpinning ideologies driving extremism have remarkable staying power.

Proud Boys insurrection plans: 'Devastating piece of evidence': Filing reveals a Proud Boys plan to storm buildings Jan. 6

FBI sympathy for Jan. 6: As FBI probed Jan. 6, many agents sympathized with insurrection, according to newly released email

Two years have passed since thousands of angry supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol.
Two years have passed since thousands of angry supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol.

NYPD appears to help Proud Boys

The trial continued this week for key leaders of the extremist street gang the Proud Boys for their roles in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Meanwhile, members of the New York Police Department were seen on video appearing to help members of the group evade subway fares in New York.

  • Viral videos posted on Twitter show the NYPD escorting members of the hate group from a protest into a subway station, where officers held open an exit gate to let the group through.

  • Police said the actions were attempts to de-escalate a conflict between Proud Boys and counter-protesters who had clashed over – you guessed it – a drag event.

  • NBC Channel 4 reported on the videos. The station quoted New York City Councilman Shekar Krishnan, who represents Jackson Heights where the video was taken, and who called the move unacceptable, adding: "White supremacists act like they are above the law because too often they are treated that way."

  • Context: This isn't the first time the Proud Boys have received preferential treatment from a police department. I reported back in 2020 on an incident where the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police repeated the group's claims to media outlets and drove members of the gang around looking for the people they had just fought with.

  • An investigation I worked on back in 2019 also found that members of police departments around the country were members of Proud Boys-focused Facebook groups.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Battle over drag shows; life after Jan. 6; NYPD and the proud boys