How to resolve AdBlock issue? SARATOGA SPRINGS — An unexpected gathering by members of the Proud Boys in Saratoga Springs Aug. 5 resulted in condemnations from city officials and calls initiating a report to learn what, if any, advance notice was provided to the public safety department, and whether any laws had been broken.
“On Saturday afternoon a group known for their misogynistic, Islamophobic, transphobic, and anti-immigration views, and propensity for violence - including on Jan. 6, 2021 when its members stormed the United States Capital - briefly marched in Saratoga Springs,” the mayor said, in a statement released Aug. 7.
A handful of social media posts, apparently made by random passersby, depicted approximately three dozen masked people draped in black or yellow T-shirts, standing in front of parked cars on the west side of Broadway in Saratoga Springs while a tape recording of the “Star-Spangled Banner” played. A yellow pickup truck festooned with American flags and bearing a sign that read Law & Order atop its cab, stood on the west side of the Caroline Street and Broadway intersection. The postings were minimal in scope and did not provide extensive context of the event.
“This is not a normal group of individuals seeking to influence public debate,” Mayor Kim said, “(they are) a hate group known for acts of violence against people based on their vile, despicable, white supremacist views.”
The report - requested by the mayor of the Commissioner of Public Safety, specifically queried whether information was provided to the police department prior, during, and/or after the event, if any police actions were taken by the department, whether laws were violated by the march, and recommendations to prevent a repeat incident in the future.
Public Safety Commissioner Jim Montagnino responded with a four-page report indicating no advance information was provided to the department prior to the gathering, and that police were alerted to the march via a call from a citizen.
An officer subsequently “responded to the scene, interviewed one or more of the members of the group, and recorded the license plate(s) of at least one vehicle,” according to the report. Police dispatch was also directed to notify other area law enforcement agencies of the group’s presence and the direction of their travel.
In Ballston Spa, Village Trustee Liz Kormos reported via a social media post that she was informed by a resident that members of the Proud Boys had marched in that village, also on Saturday, Aug. 5.
Surveillance videos and other images captured of the event in Saratoga Springs are being reviewed to identify members who participated in the march.
“We have a license plate, we’re following leads and are looking into identifying some of the participants,” Commissioner Montagnino said Aug. 9.
While unaware of any offense committed under state or federal law, Montagnino offered that the march qualified as a parade, and as such, a permit would had to have been issued in advance of the gathering. With no known permit granted, Montagnino recommended organizers and participants of the gathering be charged with violations of the City Charter.
“It’s basically treated like a violation, a petty offense, under the penal law,” Montagnino said. “My recommendation is that we proceed – and since it’s a Code violation it would be prosecuted by the city attorney, as opposed to the district attorney – which would be a county official.”
According to a police Incident report filed in connection with the gathering, a man identified as the group leader handed the officer a business card for “Uncle Sam’s Proud Boys” and said the group was based in Troy.
On its home page, the Uncle Sam’s Proud Boys website states: “We are proud Western Chauvinists who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world,” and lists as its core values: “Minimal Government, Maximal Freedom, Anti-Political Correctness, Anti-Drug War, Closed Borders, Anti-Racism, Anti-Racial Guilt, Pro Free Speech, Pro Gun Rights, Glorifying the Entrepeneur (sic), Venerating the Housewife, Reinstating a Spirit of Western Chauvinism.”
A counter-rally, titled Not On Our Watch - Unity against Fascism, will take place 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13 at the corner of Broadway and Church St, outside the Saratoga Springs Post Office branch. The rally purpose is: “all people are welcome, ideas and groups that foster hate and violence are not,” organizers say. The event is sponsored by Saratoga Peace Alliance, Veterans For Peace – Adirondack Chapter 147, Saratoga-Warren-Washington Progressive Action.
