Proud Boys Members Appear in Official Trump Campaign Video
Supporters of the far-right Proud Boys group can be seen in an official President Donald Trump campaign video released earlier this year following a rally in Colorado.
The arms of one person holding a MAGA hat and wearing a black and yellow Proud Boys jacket can be seen towards the end of video, parts of which were filmed at Trump's rally at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs in February.
A similar black and yellow jacket can also be seen briefly earlier in the video, entitled "Stronger."
The Colorado Times Recorder first identified the people in the clip as belonging to the group of several Proud Boys members who attended the rally in matching jackets.
The group were also photographed flashing the "OK" hand symbol—a gesture that has been simultaneously co-opted by the far-right to show a support for white supremacy as well as a trolling tactic to trick the media and liberals into thinking the fingers spell out WP (white power).
The OK hand gesture was added to the Anti-Defamation League's database of hateful symbols in September 2019.
"We are aligned with Trump in that we believe in America First," one of the Proud Boys supporters at the rally, who only wished to be identified as Nate, previously told the Colorado Times Recorder.
Nate also denied that the group are white supremacists. "There's an America First agenda. And 'America' means everybody that's here in America," he added. We're sick of people dividing each other across lines of race and ethnicity."
It is unknown if Trump's campaign were aware they were including supporters of the Proud Boys, who are listed as an "extremist group with ties to white nationalism" by the FBI, in the official campaign video.
Focus on the far-right group, known for its violent clashes with antifa in cities such as Portland and New York, has been renewed after Trump failed to fully denounce them during Tuesday's presidential debate.
Moderator Chris Wallace asked the president if he condemns the violence committed by white supremacist and militia groups on the country's streets, as well as acts carried out by left-wing protesters.
When asked to denounce Proud Boys in particular, Trump told them to "stand back and stand by."
"But I'll tell you what, somebody's gotta do something about antifa and the left," Trump added. "This is not a right-wing problem. This is a left-wing problem."
The group almost immediately celebrated the comments, with some seeing it as permission from the president to carry out further attacks.
Merchandise including Proud Boys T-shirts with slogans reading "stand back, stand down" have also appeared online.
Trump has since claimed that "I don't know who the Proud Boys are" after he was once again accused of failing to denounce white supremacy with his comments.
"I mean, you'll have to give me a definition, because I really don't know who they are," Trump added.
"Whoever they are, they have to stand down. Let law enforcement do their work."
The White House has been contacted for comment on the campaign video.
