White nationalists and neo-Nazis themselves have cited McInnes as a gateway to the alt-right. If the Proud Boys “were pressed on the issue, I guarantee you that like 90% of them would tell you something along the lines of ‘Hitler was right. “Let’s not bullshit,” Brian Brathovd, aka Caerulus Rex, told his co-hosts on “The Daily Shoah,” an antisemitic podcast popular with the alt-right. Other hardcore members of the alt-right have argued that the “Western chauvinist” label is just a “PR cuck term” McInnes crafted to gain mainstream acceptance. Kessler was expelled from the group after the violence and near-universal condemnation of Charlottesville rallygoers.
Former Proud Boys member Jason Kessler helped organize that event, which brought together a broad coalition of extremists including Neo-Nazis, antisemites and militias. Proud Boys have appeared alongside other hate groups at extremist gatherings such as the “ Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are known for anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric. The Proud Boys’ actions belie their disavowals of bigotry: Rank-and-file Proud Boys and leaders regularly spout white nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists.
