Quick thread about this video I took shortly before the Capitol riot, since Proud Boys leaders like Gavin McInnes are now claiming the guys in orange hats aren't Proud Boys. https://twitter.com/willsommer/status/1346861594559582210

Whether the guys in orange are Proud Boys has suddenly become a very relevant issue to PB leadership after the WSJ reported that a group of people in orange hats — whether the same people or not — helped set off the first attacks on the capitol.

I had plenty of reasons to believe the men in orange were Proud Boys. They had marched to that location as a group, led by Portland-area PB Ethan Nordean. They posed for a picture with PB Joe Biggs in front. But now livestream footage offers even more proof.

In this video shot by a Proud Boys associate, the orange hats show up around 32:49. They're welcomed into the group as a leader figure says, "Proud Boys, tighten up!"

Someone in the Proud Boys video shouts "Take the capitol!", and is scolded by the leader for yelling it. At the same time, the whole group — incl. orange hats — is being directed by Nordean (megaphone) and Biggs (gray flannel), two well known Proud Boys.

Note that this comes after Biggs said on Parler that the Proud Boys would be disguised on Jan 6. Then, with the orange hats as part of the group, they all chant "uhuru" — the Proud Boys slogan! https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2008&v=oSOsG5kN5wc&feature=youtu.be

An hour later, we see on the livestream that the orange hats are still hanging out with the Proud Boys leadership on a totally different side of the captiol (Nordean is off to the left of this screenshot). These aren't just random guys who came up for a selfie!

Orange appears to have been a big theme around the Proud Boys Jan 6. As the group advances on the capitol, three guys with orange armbands walk next to Nordean and Biggs — two top PB leaders nationally — as the livestreamer says "Here come the Proud Boys."