[direwolf]

The next several weeks/months are gonna be an absolute gong show, and violence is likely inevitable at this point. Trump just pouring gasoline on the fire last night.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...l-out-n1241512

The Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, pledged allegiance to President Donald Trump on Tuesday night after he told the group to "stand back and stand by" during the first presidential debate.

Many people on social media who identify with the group echoed that language, saying they were "standing down and standing by." One known social media account for the group made "Stand back. Stand by" part of its new logo.

On the Proud Boys' account on the social media app Telegram, the group appeared to take the statement as marching orders.

"Standing down and standing by sir," the account wrote. The account then posted two videos of the answer, including one with the caption "God. Family. Brotherhood," in which a man howled at the TV in response to Trump's response.

Megan Squire, a computer science professor at Elon University in North Carolina who tracks online extremism, said Trump's giving the Proud Boys orders was their long-sought "fantasy."

"To say Proud Boys are energized by this is an understatement," Squire said. "They were pro-Trump before this shoutout, and they are absolutely over the moon now. Their fantasy is to fight antifa in his defense, and he apparently just asked them to do just that."

David French, a conservative commentator who has been critical of Trump, tweeted that Trump's comments were "a call to be ready."

"In a nation wracked by unrest, that was one of the most irresponsible and reprehensible statements I've ever seen from a president," French wrote.