_(50658122193).jpg){kind=link}
When Donald Trump told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” leading up to the 2020 election, it was cause for alarm. His directive to the white supremacist group caused concern about the connections they have to state power.
The Proud Boys, like plenty of other white supremacist groups, have been friendly with or involved in police forces nationwide. One Connecticut officer quit the group out of “fear” he’d be attacked for membership. Another officer in California was put on leave after being caught affiliating with them. But this isn’t abnormal.
Local police have been known to side with the Proud Boys before, and this is why the narrative of white supremacists “infiltrating” police is dangerous. The police have always enforced white supremacy. Don’t forget the attack on the Capitol.
Police officers from all over the country joined the January 2021 attack on the Capitol, although it’s been framed as protesters versus police. There were police on both sides!
Media narratives perpetuate the idea that police and white supremacists are separate, but history tells us the institution of policing was born out of and maintains the interests of the white supremacist criminal legal system. That’s why we work to dismantle, not simply reform, racist policing structures!