FBI describes 'Proud Boys' as 'extremist group with ties to white nationalism' in law enforcement document

The FBI describes the group Proud Boys as an extremist group with ties to white nationalism in a document provided to reporters by law enforcement in the state of Washington.

This marks the first time the American public has seen the nation's top law enforcement agency officially call the self-described western chauvinist group an extremist organization.

Finally.

'Proud Boys' is most recently best known for running around Manhattan terrifying people who aren't white. The hate group was founded by Vice Media co-founder Gavin McInnes, who keeps saying they're not white nationalist, white supremacist, or alt-right, despite ample evidence to the contrary.

From the Guardian report on the Washington state police document:

The document also says: The FBI has warned local law enforcement agencies that the Proud Boys are actively recruiting in the Pacific north-west, and: Proud Boys members have contributed to the recent escalation of violence at political rallies held on college campuses, and in cities like Charlottesville, Virginia, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington.

The report, and the FBIs warning to south-west Washington police agencies about the Proud Boys role in escalating violence at these events came in August, two months before the group was involved in an infamous weekend of street violence in New York City and Portland, and not long after they participated in street violence in downtown Portland on 30 June.

The document, provided to the Guardian by the government transparency non-profit Property of the People, was part of an internal affairs investigation into a probationary deputy in the Clark county sheriffs department.