Leaked Video Helped Lead to the Conviction of a Far Right "Proud Boy" (Swinney)

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Shane Burley
@shane_burley1
Check out my new article about the recent conviction of far-right antagonist Alan Swinney. I talk with both one of the jurors who voted to convict him and the person who leaked the video that helped convict.

Leaked Video Helped Lead to the Conviction of a Far Right "Proud Boy"
Deeper reforms are necessary to combat the conditions that allow far right groups to flourish.
truthout.org
12:13 PM · Oct 15, 2021

https://truthout.org/articles/leaked-video-helped-lead-to-the-conviction-of-a-far-right-proud-boy/

The flurry of violence from far right street gangs and militias in cities like Portland, Oregon, have become so common in the years since former President Donald Trump’s rise that they have become an expected part of the U.S. political theater. Groups like the Proud Boys regularly descend into liberal cities to attack counterdemonstrations, notably when the Black Lives Matter protests erupted around the country in 2020 in response to the killing of George Floyd.

Rather than being able to depend on the police for protection, activists have regularly pointed to the inability or unwillingness of police to intervene in these attacks, often seeing police standing far away when the far right readies weapons, only to return to policing when it’s only anti-racist demonstrators left. This has been seen in the dozens of confrontations that have happened between the far right and anti-fascists in Portland, including on August 22 of this year, when activists pushed a Proud Boy rally away from the city center.

One year earlier, on August 22, 2020, a “Back the Blue” rally was held in Portland in front of the Multnomah County Justice Center, the legal building that had been the center of abolitionist protests for months. There, Proud Boys and other far right groups led a string of assaults on counterdemonstrators, including hitting them with batons, shooting them with paintball guns and mace, and even drawing loaded firearms. Police stayed several blocks away, asking all protesters to “police themselves” over their megaphone, yet were heavy-handed with nonviolent anti-racist protesters later that same day. With the far right groups allowed access to the city and leaving without intervention, it seemed as though they simply were given impunity to attack the anti-racist protesters.

That was until one of the leaders of the group, Alan Swinney, was arrested and charged with multiple violent felony counts stemming from his behavior during the protest. Over a year later, the guilty verdict has been handed down, making a clear statement to the community about what kind of violence these figures are capable of.

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