The Proud Boys, a faction of the Alt-Right, responded to protests against them by using the same imagery liberals used on signs– Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers mascot. However, when the Proud Boys appropriated the character they used the mascot’s image to promote Nazi and conspiracy theories, Newsweek reporots.
Recently classified by the FBI as “extremist” that have ties to white nationalism, Proud Boys members were in Philadelphia to hold a rally for their supporters. In response, PushBack Campaign’s formed an anti-rally movement against the Proud Boys, and social media backlash against the liberal group began.
Alt-Right Twitter is aggressively co-opting Gritty and making him espouse creepy racist and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories now pic.twitter.com/YfFvUkGOjB
— Michael Edison Hayden ? (@MichaelEHayden) November 19, 2018
Pushback signs declaring, “No White Supremacy In Our Gritty City!” using Gritty’s image were held by liberal protesters. As if to answer the protesters, Newsweek notes, the Alt-Right fired off tweets using the mascot’s image as an anti-Semitic and racist figure
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