Founded in 2016 by Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys quickly gained notoriety for their involvement in violent street clashes, their role in the January 6 Capitol riots, and their unwavering embrace of conspiracy theories. Photo: ROBERTO SCHMIDT
New Zealand has lifted the terrorist group designation from the extremist group the Proud Boys, sparking fears their members may resurface.
It started as a fringe movement in the United States - a group of self-described "Western chauvinists" known as the Proud Boys.
A bunch of them were jailed after the 6 January US election riots, and they have now been pardoned by President Trump.
Their legacy of far-right extremism, violent rhetoric, and polarising influence has raised questions not just in American courtrooms but on Kiwi shores too.
"They have been organising in New Zealand, although they deny that is the case," Stuff investigative journalist Paula Penfold tells The Detail.
"Now, the terrorist designation that they were given [in New Zealand] in 2022 has been allowed to expire, and we don't yet know the reasons for that to have been allowed to happen, we don't yet know whether the Proud Boys are still active in New Zealand, but we think it's pretty important that our authorities should find out."
Founded in 2016 by Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys quickly gained notoriety for their involvement in violent street clashes, their role in the 6 January Capitol riots, and their unwavering embrace of conspiracy theories.
While their presence in New Zealand has remained relatively low-key, Penfold - who has been investigating the group for several years - says their ideology has crossed borders with concerning implications.
"We had been working with a researcher of the Far Right who had been compiling a dossier of people he believed had been sympathising and identifying with the Proud Boys for several years by then, going back to around 2019.
"They had been making posts on social media, which were anti-Muslim, and racist, and misogynistic, and were promoting gun culture.
"They had come up with their own New Zealand Proud Boys insignia. They would attend anti-immigration rallies, wearing the distinctive black and yellow polo shirts of the Proud Boys that they wear in America.
"And they would post on social media, in New Zealand, quite openly at that stage, using the term 'uhuru', which is a Swahili word for freedom that they had co-opted, the Proud Boys, and they would photograph themselves doing the 'okay white power' symbol. And they were reasonably open about it."
She says the 15 March terrorist used that same "okay white power" symbol in court, before he was convicted of killing 51 people in two mosques in Christchurch in 2019.
But when Penfold questioned the Kiwi men online about their ties to the Proud Boys, she was met with quick denials.
"They were dismissive. They said they were just a group of friends. Although they did admit at their height, a leader had been in contact with the founder Gavin McInnes in the States, but they denied they were doing anything other than going drinking, and shooting, and hanging out, just as a bunch of mates, a fraternity."
Then, in 2022, the New Zealand government took a bold stance, listing the Proud Boys as a terrorist entity, a move that made global headlines and was praised by anti-extremism campaigners.
"It was big news... and what it would mean in practice was that anyone who supported or funded or participated in Proud Boys actions here was committing a criminal act, imprisonable by up to seven years, so it was a big deal," Penfold says.
But then last month, without any fanfare, the group slipped off the list of designated terrorist entities.
The only statement on the move was released on the website of the New Zealand Gazette - the newspaper of the government. Penfold describes it as bland and brief.
"The designation had been made under the Terrorism Suppression Act... and every three years that designation will expire unless the prime minister seeks to extend it."
When asked why he didn't extend it, a response to Penfold from the prime minister's office "didn't specifically answer that", but she was told "the Proud Boys remain on the radar... and if any new information comes to hand, they will consider it."
"Those who monitor terrorist organisations and far-right extremist groups... are really concerned at this step that the designation has been allowed to lapse", Penfold says.
So as New Zealand grapples with the rise of conspiracy-fuelled protests and declining trust in democratic institutions, the Proud Boys' shadow, although faint, may still be felt.
Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.
You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.
