Pair of Proud Boys convicted in brawl

NEW YORK » Since their founding in New York City in 2016, the far-right Proud Boys have cultivated a rough and ready image, often declaring: “We don’t start fights. We finish them.”

But Monday, jurors in state Supreme Court in Manhattan rejected claims by two members of the group, who had said they had been acting in self-defense last fall on the Upper East Side when they took part in the beating of four people described by police as anti-fascists connected to a loose-knit group called antifa.

The two defendants, Maxwell Hare and John Kinsman, were convicted on charges of attempted gang assault, attempted assault and riot for their part in a melee after an appearance by the founder of the Proud Boys at the Metropolitan Republican Club on East 83rd Street.

That brawl mirrored clashes in other cities that had pitted far-right groups, calling for “free speech” or chanting nationalist and racist slogans, against leftists, including antifa, who have physically confronted those they deem to be fascists or Nazis.

Although members of the male-only Proud Boys have battled leftists across the country, the trial in Manhattan appeared to mark the first time people connected to the group had been before a jury in connection to these incidents.

The jury deliberated for 1 ½ days before delivering its verdict. Hare was found guilty of attempted gang assault, riot and three counts of attempted assault. Kinsman was found guilty of attempted gang assault, riot and two counts of attempted assault. The jury also found that Kinsman’s actions were “justified” with respect to the lowest counts of attempted assault.

Kinsman was heard saying “wow” in a low voice as the verdict was read.