Matt Gaetz evokes ‘standing by’ language adopted by Proud Boys as he attends court with Donald Trump

US Representative Matt Gaetz invoked language adopted by the far-right extremist group Proud Boys when he appeared in court Thursday to support Donald Trump during his hush money trial. return to the White House.

“Take a step back, and stay with it, Mr. President,” Gaetz wrote, posting a photo on social media of him with other Republicans in Congress standing behind Trump in a hallway outside the courtroom where the former president’s felony trial is in the fourth week of the session. testimony.

The Proud Boys — whose leaders were convicted of seditious conspiracy after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — have used this verbiage since Trump said during a 2020 campaign debate: “Proud Boys, stand your ground and stand your ground. ”

That came in response to a question from debate moderator Chris Wallace asking whether Trump would condemn white supremacist and militia groups that showed up at some social justice protests across the country that summer after the death of George Floyd.

“I don’t know who the Proud Boys are,” Trump said a day later, after receiving widespread criticism for failing to specifically condemn their actions, adding: “Whoever they are, they need to stand down . work.”

Proud Boys leaders and supporters later celebrated Trump’s first words on social media. A channel on Telegram, an instant messaging service, where tens of thousands of the group’s members posted “Stand Back” and “Stand By” above and below the group’s logo.

After Trump’s debate comment, Proud Boys membership “probably tripled,” member Jeremy Joseph Bertino told the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. Bertino pleaded guilty to conspiring with other Proud Boys members to forcibly halt the transfer of presidential power after Trump lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.

Members wearing the group’s black and yellow insignia have appeared on the sidelines of Trump’s rallies across the country this campaign cycle, with Trump making the Jan. 6 attack a cornerstone of his bid. After previously vowing to pardon the rioters, Trump has played a recorded chorus of prisoners jailed for their role in the attack at some rallies, singing the national anthem and calling them “hostages.”

Gaetz, from Florida, was part of a contingent of conservative lawmakers who appeared in court Thursday to support Trump, the latest in a procession of elected Republicans who traveled to the New York courthouse in recent days to support the party’s presumptive presidential nominee to defend. Trump is accused of arranging secret payments to a porn actress to cover up negative stories during his successful 2016 presidential campaign.

When asked in an email whether Gaetz intentionally used the Proud Boys’ verbiage, spokesman Joel Valdez said “the tweet speaks for itself.”

___

Kinnard reported from Columbia, South Carolina. Lisa Mascaro contributed from Washington.

___

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP