The Proud Boys' New Plan for Power
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Slate Podcasts
4.5 • 6K Ratings
🗓️ 14 July 2022
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Proud Boys started as a loose coalition of men who filtered misogyny and racism through an ironic, “just joking” veneer. But once Donald Trump told them to “stand back and stand by” from the debate stage, it became clear that something more serious was happening. After taking part in the Jan. 6 insurrection, the Proud Boys have become even more active in GOP politics, choosing candidates, and even running candidates from their own ranks.
Guest: Andy Campbell, Senior Editor at HuffPost and author of upcoming book We Are Proud Boys.
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Transcript
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| 0:36.8 | Earlier this week, the January 6th Select Committee built this case. They pointed out a tweet |
| 0:43.6 | that Donald Trump sent in the middle of the night on December 19th. And this tweet, the committee said, |
| 0:49.2 | it was a bat signal for organized extremists all over the country. You remember this tweet, |
| 0:59.7 | the one that talked about a big protest in DC on January 6th and ended with a flourish. |
| 1:05.9 | Be there, will be wild. Here's committee member Jamie Raskin. |
| 1:10.7 | As we'll see, Donald Trump's 142 AM tweet electrified and galvanized his supporters, especially |
| 1:18.0 | the dangerous extremists and the oath keepers, the proud boys and other racist and white |
| 1:22.8 | nationalist groups, spoiling for a fight against the government. The committee mapped out how this |
| 1:29.2 | one message pinged around the internet. It felt as if a mob was being organized. |
| 1:37.4 | This is testimony from an anonymous source inside Twitter itself. The person's voice has been |
| 1:42.4 | disguised. They explain how they watched Twitter users light up at the invitation to come to DC. |
| 1:49.4 | Very much believe that Donald Trump posting this tweet on December 19th was essentially |
| 1:57.4 | speaking a flag in DC on January 6th for his supporters to come and rally. |
| 2:05.5 | And you were concerned about the potential for this gathering becoming violent. |
| 2:10.0 | Absolutely. It was very clear that individuals were ready willing and able to take up arms. |
| 2:20.5 | Then this enthusiasm on Twitter, it jumped to Reddit and YouTube. |
... |
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