Proud Boys was started by Gavin McIness. It started as a joke when the left started censoring speakers. The name comes from a Disney song. It was basically just them joking about having a group of men that drank beer, and supported masculine identities and didn’t go along with the Antifa bullshit. As they kept joking about it, more and more people started to join in, and eventually started showing up to protest to counter the censorship of the Antifa kids. When they began clashing with them, it took on a new level with the media and left trying to classify it as white nationalist, as a way to counter it as they do. It’s mostly made up of people tired of the Antifa kids bullying and pushing people around. It kept growing, and as with any group that isn’t controlled, like Antifa and BLM, a wide range of diverse groups and ideologies began merging with it and taking on the name. So you have some bad actors within, along with true patriots just tired of the bullshit. It isn’t a specific “group” although there are some organized “chapters.”
Overall they are good dudes, but they have now been labeled in a negative way and are always portrayed in a racist white nationalist light by the media, who are pushing their narrative.
As with any group right now, it’s best to stay anonymous so as to not get caught in whatever narrative gets pushed. You might be at a simple protest, and end up getting labeled something that is completely false, but could have consequences due to the way it’s spun. A lot of counter intel is conducted at these events by opposing groups, to get faces and names to be exposed as something you aren’t. There are groups who get those names, and then dox you, spreading that information across the net. They target your home and places of work. So be aware of your social media/internet presence. Voting records, property records, and so on are publicly available.
Just some info, for some that might be out of the loop on this stuff.
officialproudboys.com 
