The Proud Boys are not a joke.

As I said, don’t panic, but there is certainly reason to be concerned with Trump’s shout-out to the fascist street gang calling themselves the Proud Boys. Make whatever excuses and say whatever you like, but the group themselves seem to have taken his call to “stand back, stand by” seriously enough.

Some of their antics and imagery may seem less than threatening, but these are indeed dangerous people. The group’s founder, Gavin McInnes, is quoted as saying, “I want violence. I want punching in the face. I’m disappointed in Trump supporters for not punching enough,” and they have been involved in a number of violent incidents in recent years. It should also not be ignored that they are working with other extremist groups such as the Three Percenters, who are known to have infiltrated police departments around the country. Trump’s continued ranting about the ballots is also not helping this situation, especially considering that much of the rest of Trump’s base doesn’t seem too bothered by the idea of violence, either.

I’m not writing this to scare anyone away from the polls, in fact, these jerks would love for that to happen. However, this is something people should be aware of. Exposing such filth is part of how we get rid of it.