Two well-known members of the far-right Proud Boys group have been charged with felony assault for a 2018 attack on an opponent in Portland, according to The Daily Beast.
Proud Boy Donovon Flippo was arrested by police. The other suspect, Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, is currently in American Samoa, but said on Facebook he will return to the mainland to face charges.
The attack in 2018 occurred while Flippo and Toese were driving a truck around Portland, carrying a flag with Donald Trump’s face on it. Timothy Ledwith, a man on the street, recognized Toese and yelled an insult at him, teasing him for losing his shoes in a recorded fight with a anti-fascist protester, according to Willamette Week.
Toese and Flippo then exited their car and chased Ledwith. Toese has said he then punched Ledwith in the face. Photos show Ledwith with a bloodied nose and lip.
After the assault, the two men were briefly arrested and released. In late February, they were finally charged as the result of a sealed indictment by a grand jury.
This isn’t the only time that Toese and Flippo have been implicated in attacks on leftists.
From The Daily Beast:
Toese in particular has become a hero to some on the far right for his role fighting demonstrators. In February, Toese joined members of an allied group called Patriot Prayer in a campaign to “demask” members of antifa, which amounted to them assaulting people on the street and ripping their masks off. Around the same time, Willamette Week questioned why the extensive evidence against Toese hadn’t resulted in any charges against him.
The Portland police department has been criticized for allowing fights between far-right groups and anti-fascists to continue, citing “mutual combat” laws.
“In what city is it legal to engage in a street brawl?” Portland Mayor Tom Wheeler told The Oregonian. “C’mon folks, we’re overcomplicating this. You’re not allowed to fight on the streets of the city.”
The Proud Boys, the “Western chauvinist” group originally created by shithead Vice founder Gavin McInnes, have been struggling lately. Members of the group were arrested in New York last year for another fight, and McInnes left the group shortly after. The FBI has also expressed interest in the group, labeling them extremists. Their former chairman and legal counsel, Jason Lee Van Dyke, also left the group last November.