9 Proud Boys, 3 Antifa suspects wanted in Manhattan clash after GOP speaker
UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) -- Police are looking to arrest 12 people in connection with a violent clash that erupted outside of a Republican club in Manhattan Friday night following a speech by the founder of a controversial far-right group.
Video shows men throwing punches, kicking a person knocked to the ground and chanting "USA" outside of the Metropolitan Republican Club on the Upper East Side. It happened after a speech by Gavin Mcinnes, the founder of the "Proud Boys," a far-right group describing themselves as "Western Chauvinists."
The suspects wanted for riot and attempted assault are identified as nine members of the Proud Boys and three members of Antifa, who police say circled around the block to continue the altercation after officers initially stopped it.
Authorities say attempts to keep opposing members separated at the end of the speech were foiled when the masked members of the Antifa protest group looped around the block and intercepted members of the Proud Boys who were being escorted by police.
Both sides were initially separated by police on East 83rd Street when the Proud Boys left the Metropolitan Republican Club, but the Antifa group was able to confront them again one block south on East 82nd Street. The NYPD played video of the Antifa members attacking the group.
Additionally, three suspects are in custody for another fight at 84th Street and Lexington Avenue. Charges are pending.
The Metropolitan Republican Club also made headlines this week when spray-painted doors and broken windows were discovered, along with a threat: "This is merely the beginning."
"You will see that this is an act of political violence, done by cowards in the middle of the night," Republican State Committee Chairman Edward Cox said in response.
Some elected officials expressed outrage over the violence. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is calling for the FBI to investigate.
"Here's a message from a Queens boy to the so-called 'Proud Boys' -- New York has zero tolerance for your BS," Cuomo said.
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