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Unverified Legion of Trill member
The Cuban-American leader of the Proud Boys has said the group isn't explicitly for white supremacists, but a previously ousted underling tried to stage an unhinged, anti-Semitic, racist coup
Members of the Proud Boys, a far right organization dedicated to fighting with leftists, hold a rally on September 26, 2020 in Delta Park, on the northern edge of Portland, Oregon. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Kyle Chapman, who's known among the Proud Boys as "Based Stickman," wrote on the encrypted messaging platform Telegram that he would assume the role of president, according to messages obtained by Insider, the South Florida Sun Sentinel, and The Daily Beast. Though Proud Boys leadership claims that the group has roughly 22,000 members worldwide, research from an independent think tank published in May found that number was inflated, estimating a total of 3,000 members.
Chapman used a racial slur to refer to the group's current chairman, Enrique Tarrio, who is Cuban-American, and said the group will now be called the "Proud Goys" ("Goy" is a Yiddish term to connote a non-Jewish person).
Chapman said in a Telegram group with 1,131 members that the Proud Boys will now be focused on "the issues of White Genocide, the failures of multiculturalism, and the right for White men and women to have their own countries where White interests are written into law and part of the body politic."
But the group's actual leader says he's full of it. "He has no power in our organization," Tarrio, 37, told Insider in a phone interview on Thursday.
The chaos comes amid an already disconcerting moment for the largely pro-Trump group, as members refuse to accept President Donald Trump's defeat. It also demonstrates how, despite the group's leadership claiming that the Proud Boys accepts members of all races, a huge swath of its membership feels differently.
Members of the Proud Boys, a far right organization dedicated to fighting with leftists, hold a rally on September 26, 2020 in Delta Park, on the northern edge of Portland, Oregon. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
- A follower of the Proud Boys — a far-right extremist group — posted in an encrypted chat that he was staging a coup to remove the organization's current leader.
- Kyle Chapman, who gained notoriety for striking anti-fascists with weapons at political demonstrations, wrote that he had overthrown Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, and intended on making the group even more racist.
- Tarrio, a Cuban-American, told Insider on Thursday that Chapman was kicked out of the Proud Boys years ago and that his comments about a coup were a "bad joke," as he has no power.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Kyle Chapman, who's known among the Proud Boys as "Based Stickman," wrote on the encrypted messaging platform Telegram that he would assume the role of president, according to messages obtained by Insider, the South Florida Sun Sentinel, and The Daily Beast. Though Proud Boys leadership claims that the group has roughly 22,000 members worldwide, research from an independent think tank published in May found that number was inflated, estimating a total of 3,000 members.
Chapman used a racial slur to refer to the group's current chairman, Enrique Tarrio, who is Cuban-American, and said the group will now be called the "Proud Goys" ("Goy" is a Yiddish term to connote a non-Jewish person).
Chapman said in a Telegram group with 1,131 members that the Proud Boys will now be focused on "the issues of White Genocide, the failures of multiculturalism, and the right for White men and women to have their own countries where White interests are written into law and part of the body politic."
But the group's actual leader says he's full of it. "He has no power in our organization," Tarrio, 37, told Insider in a phone interview on Thursday.
The chaos comes amid an already disconcerting moment for the largely pro-Trump group, as members refuse to accept President Donald Trump's defeat. It also demonstrates how, despite the group's leadership claiming that the Proud Boys accepts members of all races, a huge swath of its membership feels differently.