House of Commons passes motion to designate Proud Boys a terrorist entity

The House of Commons has passed a motion to designate the Proud Boys a terrorist entity.

The motion passed with unanimous consent, but at this point it’s not an official designation.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair is still gathering evidence to possibly make it an official designation.

If that happens, the Proud Boys would join groups like al-Qaeda, Hezbollah and the Islamic State on Canada’s national list of terrorist organizations.

Founded by Canadian Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys are a right-wing group that is unapologetically misogynist and increasingly linked to white supremacy and hate.

The group was banned by Facebook and Instagram in October 2018 for violating their hate policies.

The Proud Boys first made headlines in Canada when several self-identified members in the Royal Canadian Navy disrupted an Indigenous protest in Halifax in 2017, and has since grown its international profile and membership.

Several members were reportedly among those who stormed Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., following a speech by Donald Trump last week.