As the protest was winding down on Saturday, CNN took a few minutes to stop and speak with Proud Boys Chairman Enrique Tarrio.
Proud Boys, for those of you not familiar with the organization, is surrounded by controversy.
The group defines itself as Western Chauvinists, which Tarrio defines as someone being patriotic and who very much loves this country.
While that is their self-designation, the Southern Poverty Law Center has characterized the organization as a hate group.
On sites like Wikipedia, the organization is classified as a far-right neo-fascist group.
Because the organization regularly participates in rallies where known white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups also attend, they have been put in this classification.
However, the group is made up of men of numerous races, religions, and political beliefs.
The chairman of the organization, Enrique Tarrio, is Cuban, which kind of blows the racist narrative out of the water.
Additionally, the group openly condemns white supremacy.
Point being, just how to classify this group will be something you will have to make up your own mind about.
Battling with CNN
CNN reporter Sara Sidner was tasked with interviewing Tarrio after the rally, which to that point had been free of violence.
As you will hear Tarrio say, they came, they said their piece, they knelt in prayer, and they left.
On their way out, though, they were attacked by ANTIFA.
Ironically, as Sidner was talking about how peaceful the protest was, there is a split-screen showing ANTIFA attacking people on the streets AFTER the Proud Boys had finished their protest and were about to leave.
Now, I am not going to give my opinion on where this group stands one way or the other, but Sidner clearly had her own opinion.
She makes several mistakes throughout the interview and is constantly called out by Tarrio, and she remains combative with him the entire time.
One of the biggest debates between the two is when Tarrio corrects her on calling the group male chauvinists rather than western chauvinists and more or less insists he is a male chauvinist simply because it is a men’s club…
Again whether you agree with Tarrio or not, or think his group is a hate group or not, is irrelevant when you see how badly this reporter twists what was said and what happened both during this event, the mass shootings, and even during this interview.
Sidner’s wrap-up of the interview blatantly misstating the purpose of the rally, saying that “basically, at the end, he says look, we are just trying to whittle and waste the resources of Portland,” which was not the point of what Tarrio was saying.
What Tarrio did say was that by coming out there, he is going to force the mayor of Portland to actually do something about ANTIFA rather than allowing them to take over the streets as they have done for months now.
By doing these rallies and forcing Wheeler to use his resources, he is going to force the mayor to address the situation once and for all.
If Sidner chooses to characterize Tarrio’s rally in this manner, then what about the Women’s Marches or any other protest?
Every rally and every protest demand the city or state spend resources, so her point is mute, other than to twist the narrative against Tarrio and the Proud Boys.
As hard as she tried, though, she failed, because Tarrio clearly got the best of her by simply calling her out during the interview for every misstatement she made.
It is just a shame the media does not do the same when they are interviewing the likes of Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren, who constantly twist the words of Trump to suit the racist narrative they continue to push against Trump.
We depend on our readers to help us get the word out. So, if you agree with this article, please like and share the article on your favorite social media outlet. You are also encouraged to sign up for our newsletter to ensure you can stay informed. To sign up for our newsletter, click here.