Two Proud Boys Found Guilty In Violent NYC Brawl

The New York Times reports:

Since their founding in New York City in 2016, the far-right Proud Boys have cultivated a rough and ready image, with an oft-repeated organizational philosophy: “We don’t start fights. We finish them.”

But on Monday, jurors in State Supreme Court in Manhattan rejected claims by two members of the group, who had said they had been acting in self-defense last fall on the Upper East Side when they took part in the beating of four people described by the police as anti-fascists connected to a loose-knit group called Antifa.

The two defendants, Maxwell Hare and John Kinsman, were convicted on charges of attempted gang assault, attempted assault and riot for their part in a melee after an appearance by the founder of the Proud Boys at the Metropolitan Republican Club on East 83rd Street.

The convictions were only for attempted assault because their four victims, who are reportedly antifa activists, declined to provide evidence of injuries. None of the victims testified. Seven other Proud Boys have already agreed to plea deals and another is still awaiting trial.

NEW | 2 Proud Boys were convicted of attempted gang assault, and more, of an anarchist group that confronted them in NYC last year.

The 2 “Boys” were part of a far-right nationalist org charged in connection to a 2018 brawl w/ anti-fascist group Antifa.https://t.co/bMHuC7L3lW

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) August 19, 2019

Proud Boys are reporting that Maxwell Hare and John Kinsman were found guilty on all counts from charges stemming from a beatdown of antifascists on October 12th at the Met GOP Club. pic.twitter.com/XeF4G7Yiml

— New York City Antifa (@NYCAntifa) August 19, 2019