A video has emerged of a Proud Boys follower describing that he is "kinda dumb" and too "stuck in his ways" to change when questioned about his views at a protest by the far-right group.
The clip was posted by activist Vixxy Vyohr, who was covering a demonstration by the Proud Boys in Denver, Colorado on Saturday, November 21, which was backing the baseless claims that Donald Trump lost the election to Joe Biden because of widespread voter fraud.
In the footage, the man, who hides his face with a Proud Boys mask, describes to a 17-year-old that he is "kinda dumb" and doesn't "really research much" and instead lives "by the kneejerk."
"I just think and move like a f*****g dog," he adds.
When the offscreen 17-year-old disputes the man's claims that he is dumb and assures him that he can change, the man replies that he is 43 and "stuck in his ways."
When the teenager once again tells the Proud Boys supporter to stop thinking he is not smart, the man thanks her and adds: "For what it's worth, I don't want this to be the way it is."
Vyohr tweeted the video out while describing how the man's words were "important in terms of conversations surrounding deradicalization and working class unity."
The video has been widely shared and viewed tens of thousands of times on social media.
This will be my last clip and I think it's one of the most poignant of the day. The Proud Boy both sums up the reactionary mindset of the average American in 2020 and have what seems to be a moment of genuine reflection while talking to a young protester. #denverprotest pic.twitter.com/aF1pOTAhCT
— Vixxy Vyohr (@AnarchoFoxx) November 22, 2020
Another clip of the interview taken from a different angle shows that the pair were discussing the death of Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Black man who died after being put into a chokehold by three white officers in Aurora, Colorado in August 24, 2019.
The Proud Boys protest coincided with a demonstration from people demanding justice and accountability for the death of McClain.
The 17-year-old interviewer asks hypothetically what the man would do if he saw police officers kneeling on her neck and how he would feel if she died as a result.
The man said he would be sad her and her family, before admitting he does feel sad for the families of the Black people who have died as the result of police brutality. The Proud Boys supporter then makes the claim that he is "kinda dumb" and that he does not fully research such topics.
Elsewhere, the man describes that he is wearing a "Right Wing Death Squad" badge while attending the protest because it is an "internal meme."
The man is also asked about Kyle Chapman, the white nationalist who recently announced he would be forming a breakaway group called "Proud Goys" to address the "failures of multiculturalism" which will "no longer allow homosexuals or other 'undesirables' into our ranks" after falling out with leaders of the Proud Boys.
The Proud Boys supporter dismissed suggestions that Chapman is the group's leader while referring to him as a "f*****g f****t" before apologizing for the homophobic slur.
"He's a racist Nazi, straight up," he adds. The man is then questioned how he can think Chapman is a racist despite previously declaring that he doesn't believe racism exists.
"I don't believe that there's actually hundreds of people who hate Black people," he adds.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
