A newly released video shows members of the far-right fraternity group Proud Boys initiated a Manhattan brawl in October following an event at the Metropolitan Republican Club.
The video, shared by the New York Times on Sunday, shows two men running towards a small group a few feet away, before the violence begins. The Times identified the two as Maxwell Hare and Geoffrey Young, who were both arrested following the October attack.
The violence ensued after an event where Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes gave a speech, at which left-wing protesters were outside chanting “No Nazis, No KKK, No fascist U.S.A.”
The group has been identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
McInnes, who tried to distance the group from alt-right groups and activities, quit the organization in November.
Previously released video, by author and documentary filmmaker Sandi Bachom, showed a different angle of the October incident which didn’t have a clear view of the nature of the attack.
But the most recent video, security footage from a nearby building that recorded the incident from a different angle, shows Hare and Young running towards a group of anti-fascist protesters.
In the video, the man identified as Hare charges one of the protesters, who then throws a plastic water bottle at him, the Times reports. The bottle misses Hare, and he is then seen throwing himself on one of the protesters, landing punches on him.
The other members of the protest group are seen trying to fight back for a bit, before most of them run away, and supporters of Hare join him in the beating.
The new video can be crucial in a court case where Proud Boys have claimed anti-fascist protesters started the brawl. The victims remain unknown which means that prosecutors have to rely heavily on evidence such as these videos.
