Proud Boys and the NYPD: Questions that need to be answered

City-wide political club calls for investigation of the NYPD given its weak enforcement during the Proud Boys night of violence

For Immediate Release: 10/18/2018

Contact: Allen Roskoff, President
ARoskoff@mac.com; C. (917) 553-7180

New York, NY – The Jim Owles Liberal Democratic, a New York City-wide LGBTQ organization that advocates for progressive causes, released a statement today from its President, Allen Roskoff:

“Regarding the terrible violence brought to our city by racist Gavin McInnes and the Proud Boys, we are incredibly concerned by the failure of the NYPD to protect the citizens of New York City from beatings committed by this well-known and documented hate group. The fact that the local Republican Party gave the Proud Boys a platform for their hateful, homophobic, racist, anti-immigrant and sexist rhetoric is no surprise, and the local Republican Party’s deflection of blame is sadly their standard operating procedure. They are without shame and have lost their moral compass long ago.

However, in regards to the NYPD, there’s a deeper and more troubling problem facing us. Were the Proud Boys given tacit approval for their actions by a passive police presence?

We expect the NYPD to react with typical bluster as it seeks to dismiss any meaningful questions into its actions, but our streets must be kept safe and this incident and the failings of the NYPD should concern all fair-minded people.

Here are questions that must be answered:

Are there any NYPD personnel with affiliations to the Proud Boys or any other documented hate group?

Has there been any communication via direct means and/or on social media/Facebook between members of the Proud Boys and anyone in the NYPD before the incidents took place?  And has there been any communication of an advisory nature between members of the Proud Boys and the NYPD since the incident?

Proud Boys is a documented hate group with a proven history of violence. Why were they allowed to roam freely on the streets of NYC after the incident? Would the NYPD offer the same free reign to the Ku Klux Klan or neo-Nazis?

We see evidence of white nationalists employed in police departments across our country. We believe that the NYPD should lead by example and commit to a thorough investigation of its own ranks to weed out any presence of the hateful and dangerous people who believe in the tenets of white nationalism, homophobia and anti-Semitism.

Given the rise of hate crimes coinciding with the election of Donald Trump, we must all remain vigilant and work to safeguard our freedoms from those who would not think twice in denying the LGBTQ community the protections it has won after decades of struggle.”