Proud Boys Are 'Radioactive,' Show Signs Of Splintering

Far-right group Proud Boys is showing signs of division in the wake of the Capitol riots that saw supporters of the former president issuing threats against the government.

Five suspected members of the all-male group were charged with criminal conspiracy earlier this week for their role in the Capitol riots. The five men stand accused of working together to prevent Congress from certifying the Nov. 3 election results that put Joe Biden in the White House.

To date, Reuters reported, at least 18 alleged members of the group face charges for their role in the unrest that brought the House of Representatives to charge then-President Donald Trump with inciting an insurrection on the Capitol on Jan. 6, the day lawmakers were certifying the vote.

"They're radioactive now," Daryle Lamont Jenkins, executive director of the far-right monitoring group One People's Project, told USA Today.

The controversy, along with the revelation that former chairman Henry Tarrio was a long-time informant for the FBI, is leading to divisions within the ranks of the various chapters in the country.

"We do not recognize the assumed authority of any national Proud Boy leadership including the Chairman, the Elders, or any subsequent governing body that is formed to replace them until such a time we may choose to consent to join those bodies of government," the newspaper quoted a message from the Alabama chapter as saying.

According to the report, the divisions raise concerns the group could splinter into more extremist factions. But those monitoring fringe groups say it's more likely the Proud Boys are evolving.

"Extremist groups very frequently split, or people will abandon these groups when the leadership behaves in ways that aren't in keeping with the stated values of the organization," Brian Hughes, an associate director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab at American University, told the newspaper. "Those splits are inevitable because exploitation, abuse and informing to law enforcement just go with the territory."

Michael Lasater, the leader of the New Jersey chapter, said the group wants to return to the founding principles, which he described as one of “brotherhood and beer.”

Formed in 2016 by Vice Media co-founder Gavin McInnes, the group had already gone through growing pains when McInnes distanced himself from the movement a year later.

"The critical mass will stay the same," Jenkins said. "It’s still the same people with the same motivations and same agenda, and that’s why we will continue to follow them."

Many of the rioters brought combat helmets, stun guns, body armor and a handful of firearms with them on Jan. 6. Pipe bombs were placed at various locations near the Capital the previous night

The alleged leaders of the attack, those appearing most organized, according to court filings, were the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.