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| Proud Boys Fight at G.O.P. Club Spurs Calls for Inquiry; Cuomo Blames Trump | Proud Boys Fight at G.O.P. Club Spurs Calls for Inquiry; Cuomo Blames Trump |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A brawl outside a Republican club in Manhattan involving a far-right group and anti-fascist activists spurred calls for an investigation into the violence and whether the police acted properly in breaking it up. Some Democratic politicians, including Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, also criticized the club for inviting the head of the far-right group, the Proud Boys. | A brawl outside a Republican club in Manhattan involving a far-right group and anti-fascist activists spurred calls for an investigation into the violence and whether the police acted properly in breaking it up. Some Democratic politicians, including Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, also criticized the club for inviting the head of the far-right group, the Proud Boys. |
| Mr. Cuomo on Sunday asked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to look into the incident, and assigned a State Police hate crimes unit to assist with the New York Police Department investigation of the violence, which he linked to President Trump. | Mr. Cuomo on Sunday asked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to look into the incident, and assigned a State Police hate crimes unit to assist with the New York Police Department investigation of the violence, which he linked to President Trump. |
| “This is Trump at his worst,” the governor said on a call with reporters. “It is wholly consistent with everything he has done since he started running for president.” | “This is Trump at his worst,” the governor said on a call with reporters. “It is wholly consistent with everything he has done since he started running for president.” |
| He added: “Once you unleash hate and division and you demonize differences, you lose control of it. You can’t target it. It’s lighting a match in a field of dry grass. The wind takes it and it just takes off.” | He added: “Once you unleash hate and division and you demonize differences, you lose control of it. You can’t target it. It’s lighting a match in a field of dry grass. The wind takes it and it just takes off.” |
| On Sunday, the Police Department released images of “persons of interest,” and asked people to come forward with any additional information. | |
| Mr. Cuomo and other Democratic politicians have criticized the leadership of the state Republican Party for inviting Gavin McInnes, a provocateur who founded the Proud Boys, to speak Friday evening at the club, where he performed a re-enactment of the murder of a Japanese socialist. At least two fights broke out as Mr. McInnes was leaving the event, and the police arrested three people and charged them with assaulting a 30-year-old man. | Mr. Cuomo and other Democratic politicians have criticized the leadership of the state Republican Party for inviting Gavin McInnes, a provocateur who founded the Proud Boys, to speak Friday evening at the club, where he performed a re-enactment of the murder of a Japanese socialist. At least two fights broke out as Mr. McInnes was leaving the event, and the police arrested three people and charged them with assaulting a 30-year-old man. |
| [Read more about the clashes and the arrests.] | [Read more about the clashes and the arrests.] |
| Mr. McInnes’s group, the Proud Boys, is a self-proclaimed fraternity of chauvinists, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has deemed a hate group. Mr. Cuomo called the Republicans’ invitation of Mr. McInnes a “vile” political tactic aimed at energizing their base for the midterm elections. | Mr. McInnes’s group, the Proud Boys, is a self-proclaimed fraternity of chauvinists, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has deemed a hate group. Mr. Cuomo called the Republicans’ invitation of Mr. McInnes a “vile” political tactic aimed at energizing their base for the midterm elections. |
| But Ed Cox, chairman of the state Republican Party, said Democrats, including the governor, were trying to turn the violence into a political opportunity, even though they failed to speak out immediately after vandals targeted the club about 2 a.m. Friday, ahead of Mr. McInnes’s visit. The vandals, dressed in black, spray painted anti-fascist graffiti on the doors, glued the locks and threw bricks through the windows before darting off into the night, according to the police and Mr. Cox. | But Ed Cox, chairman of the state Republican Party, said Democrats, including the governor, were trying to turn the violence into a political opportunity, even though they failed to speak out immediately after vandals targeted the club about 2 a.m. Friday, ahead of Mr. McInnes’s visit. The vandals, dressed in black, spray painted anti-fascist graffiti on the doors, glued the locks and threw bricks through the windows before darting off into the night, according to the police and Mr. Cox. |
| “The governor does not condemn it, the governor does not say anything,” Mr. Cox said. “But then when there is later violence, he then says that it’s all Donald Trump’s fault. What kind of governor is that?” | “The governor does not condemn it, the governor does not say anything,” Mr. Cox said. “But then when there is later violence, he then says that it’s all Donald Trump’s fault. What kind of governor is that?” |
| On Sunday, the governor acknowledged the vandalism and showed support for the police investigation into the incident. Geoff Berman, the executive director of the New York State Democratic Party, had condemned the vandalism as “repugnant” on Friday afternoon before Mr. McInnes’s visit. | On Sunday, the governor acknowledged the vandalism and showed support for the police investigation into the incident. Geoff Berman, the executive director of the New York State Democratic Party, had condemned the vandalism as “repugnant” on Friday afternoon before Mr. McInnes’s visit. |
| The bedlam outside the club on 83rd Street embodied the tensions between far-right groups and anti-fascist demonstrators that have been playing out in violent scenarios across the United States. Last year, a woman died after a motorist drove through a crowd of counterprotesters at the Unite the Right rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va. | The bedlam outside the club on 83rd Street embodied the tensions between far-right groups and anti-fascist demonstrators that have been playing out in violent scenarios across the United States. Last year, a woman died after a motorist drove through a crowd of counterprotesters at the Unite the Right rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va. |
| Mr. Cuomo said the violence surrounding Mr. McInnes’s appearance was foreseeable. But Mr. Cox said the provocateur had spoken at the club last year without incident. The club began receiving threats days ahead of Mr. McInnes’s Friday appearance, and reported them to the local police precinct, Mr. Cox said. | Mr. Cuomo said the violence surrounding Mr. McInnes’s appearance was foreseeable. But Mr. Cox said the provocateur had spoken at the club last year without incident. The club began receiving threats days ahead of Mr. McInnes’s Friday appearance, and reported them to the local police precinct, Mr. Cox said. |
| Members and associates of the Proud Boys have been implicated in violence since its inception. A day after the brawl in Manhattan, members participated in a march in Portland that ended with clashes with anti-fascist counterprotesters. | Members and associates of the Proud Boys have been implicated in violence since its inception. A day after the brawl in Manhattan, members participated in a march in Portland that ended with clashes with anti-fascist counterprotesters. |
| The group, which takes its name from a show tune in the Disney musical “Aladdin,” has claimed to be anti-racist, but it draws members from white supremacist groups. Mr. McInnes cited the presence of white supremacists in declining to participate in the Unite the Right rally; but members of the Proud Boys did attend the rally a year ago in Charlottesville and a known associate was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison for his role in a gang assault of a counterprotester. | The group, which takes its name from a show tune in the Disney musical “Aladdin,” has claimed to be anti-racist, but it draws members from white supremacist groups. Mr. McInnes cited the presence of white supremacists in declining to participate in the Unite the Right rally; but members of the Proud Boys did attend the rally a year ago in Charlottesville and a known associate was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison for his role in a gang assault of a counterprotester. |