Arizona woman charged over Capitol protest claims to be member of Proud Boys
A woman from Arizona, who was charged over protest held at the Capitol on Jan. 6, has claimed that she was previously recruited by the the Proud Boys, something that is against the group’s rhetoric about women.
Felicia Konold, 26, of Tucson, who is charged with conspiracy, civil disorder and other federal charges, made the remarks in a Snapchat video she posted after the Capitol protest, adding that the she is already a member of the group’s chapter in Kansas City.
"The lawsuit, filed Tuesday morning in Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that Trump and Giuliani, in collaboration with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, conspired to incite the riots ... in violation of the Ku Klux Klan Act" https://t.co/B0OxTxw7Fx
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) February 16, 2021
She also showed a two-sided “challenge coin,” belonging to the Kansas City Proud Boys to prove her point.
The claim by Konold surprised some experts monitoring extremist right-wing movements in the US.
"It is ironic that such a deeply misogynistic organization has attracted someone who is a woman to join their organization,” said Eric Ward, a senior fellow with the Southern Poverty Law Cente, as cited in an AP report. "It tells us there is dissention in the ranks of Proud Boys right now.”
He added that “the fact she has that coin, the challenge coin, tells me there is something happening around gender in the Proud Boys — and it is something worth paying attention to.”
Proud Boys’ apparent U-turn towards women comes after the group suppressed the idea of establishing a Proud Girls offshoot on the social media in December, calling auxiliary groups “ridiculous ideas.”
“Don't ride our coattails,” one post read. "Want to support us? Get married, have babies, and take care of your family.”
On January 6, then-US President Donald Trump incited his own supporters, including members of Proud Boys, to storm the US Capitol building, where lawmakers were in the process of confirming now-President Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election.
The protest resulted in the death of at least five people, including a police officer who was guarding the Congress building.
It also prompted a historic second impeachment vote against Trump, which finally ended with acquittal of the former president. Lawmakers had cited Trump’s incitement of an insurrection against the US government in the single article of impeachment.
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