Credit: Photo by Dave Decker

Credit: Photo by Dave Decker

At a Friday Trump campaign rally at Florida’s largest retirement community The Villages, a man wearing a Proud Boys hat was spotted repeatedly flashing the “White Power” hand gesture directly behind the president’s podium.

At one point the president says “We have made America proud again.” The man then responds by throwing up the gesture, while smirking towards the camera. 

Since the 2016 election, the far-right extremist group Proud Boys has typically been relegated to the wings of Florida politics. But ever since Trump ordered the self-described “Western Chauvinists” to “stand back and stand by” at the first presidential debate, the group has become increasingly visible, especially at recent Republican campaign rallies in Florida. 

Just days following the debate, Proud Boys were present at Donald Trump Jr.’s Tampa rally. And, last weekend, multiple members of the group provided event security for a “Pro America” event in Milton, Florida, that featured Congressman Matt Gaetz, reports WEAR-TV. 

It’s important to note that Gaetz has a long history of cozying up with far-right figures like the Proud Boys (including white supremacist Holocaust deniers). 

The congressman expressed this during his weekly podcast, where he claimed (in the most Trumpian way possible) that he didn’t know anything about the group. "I don't know much about the Proud Boys in terms of their doctrine and ideology, but I do know a Proud Boy and he's a gay rights activist," said Gaetz, seemingly referencing a Florida provocateur who claims to be “embedded” in the group. 

The congressman also stated that the Proud Boys can’t possibly be violent racists because they were helping secure an event that featured “Black voices for Trump.” 

"As I was leaving the event, someone came up to me and said did you notice who was helping with security," Gaetz shared on the podcast. "I said no and she said, the Proud Boys. I thought, my goodness, the Proud Boys providing security and safety for the Black voices for Trump attending a pro-America rally in the Deep South… doesn't seem to match their characterization."

Gaetz later confirmed to WEAR-TV that the Proud Boys did in fact provide security for the event. 

Like QAnon and Blacks For Trump, the Proud Boys have now become a regular fixture at GOP events. Of course, none of this should be too surprising. Trump has forced the fringe into the mainstream, and very few leaders in the GOP seem to care enough to disavow any of it.

We’re now at the point where major GOP super PACs are dumping massive amounts of money at QAnon-pushing Republican candidates, so why wouldn’t the GOP embrace a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group that was part of the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally?  

Correction: A previous version of this story inadvertently quoted Trump as saying “stand down, and stand by,” when he actually said "stand back and stand by." We regret the error.  

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This article appears in Oct 29 – Nov 4, 2020.

Colin Wolf has been working with weekly newspapers since 2007 and has been the Digital Editor for Creative Loafing Tampa since 2019. He is also the Director of Digital Content Strategy for CL's parent...