3N Issues National Warning to Proud Boys After Violent Attacks on White Nationalists in Oregon City
Group Threatens to Retaliate
for Brutal Assault of Alleged Members
By Gary Glennell Toms
On June 26, From The G-Man posted a report entitled Proud Boys Unmask Neo-Nazis During Violent Confrontation, which was published by The Daily Dot. According to the report, a violent altercation took place on June 24 in Oregon City, Oregon between members of the far-right Proud Boys and several men who were reportedly associated with a local neo-Nazi group called the Rose City Nationalists. The attire of the latter group is similar to that of Patriot Front. “Video of the incident shows Proud Boys yelling expletives and pushing back Rose City Nationalists during a counterprotest at an LGBTQ+ pride event,” the report noted.
During the melee, Rose City Nationalist members were viciously kicked, punched and stomped after being knocked to the ground. Members of the Proud Boys also began to “demask” or remove face coverings worn by the RCN, while being told they were not welcomed in Oregon City. The video went viral on Twitter and other social media platforms.
On June 29, From The G-Man obtained a video that was flagged by the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s research team. It was allegedly posted on Telegram by the Northwest Nationalist Network, also known as 3N. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) website describes the group as follows:
“The Northwest Nationalist Network (3N) is a coalition of white supremacist groups and networks based in the Pacific Northwest that was founded in early 2023. The coalition distributes propaganda and holds in-person demonstrations to spread their white supremacist ideology. Since its formation, 3N has also often targeted the LGBTQ+ community. By working together as a coalition, these small groups and networks bolster their propaganda distribution efforts and attendance at demonstrations. The 3N coalition is made up of a range of white supremacist groups and networks, including the Oregon-based Rose City Nationalists and Vinland Rebels, and Pacific Northwest-based chapters of the Active Club network and the White Lives Matter (WLM) network.”
In the video, an alleged 3N member explains that a personal grievance between the Oregon City combatants “placed innocent Nationalists in the crosshairs” and that there will be consequences if Proud Boys members do not “seek safe harbor in local Nationalist organizations.” The representative then states that this is “a final warning” to every Proud Boys member in the country.
After reviewing and posting the Daily Dot report, From The G-Man contacted and shared the aforementioned report with Jeff Schoep. From 1994 until early 2019, he was the commander of the National Socialist Movement (NSM), the largest neo-Nazi organization in the United States. In early 2019, he left the movement. “For the first time, in over 25 years, I was able to take time for self-reflection. It was during this time that I realized many of the principles I had once held so dearly and sacrificed so much for were wrong,” said Schoep.
Currently, he is working to convert hate group members and eradicate white nationalism through his non-profit organization Beyond Barriers. He also serves as a consultant for the Simon Wiesenthal Center and regularly attends federal, state and local law enforcement conferences to discuss the dangers of extremism and radicalization.
In the following letter, which was submitted exclusively to From The G-Man, Schoep provides his assessment of the confrontation in Oregon City and ongoing disputes between groups like Proud Boys, 3N and other white nationalist/supremacist organizations.
The former NSM leader spoke at major law enforcement forum in 2021.
Dear Editor,
These disagreements or infighting on the right may seem like something new to the general public, but it certainly isn’t and is more common than many would like to admit.
First, it is important to differentiate something that mainstream media has gotten wrong for years. The Proud Boys are not and have never been a white supremacist group. That’s always been a bold-faced and easily-provable falsehood. Enrique Tarrio, an Afro-Cuban man, leads the Proud Boys. Well, he did lead them. Now, they may or may not have a new leader. However, I am not sure who that would be if the leadership did change after Tarrio went to jail. The Proud Boys have always been a multi-racial group. While they do align politically on the right, lumping them in with white nationalists is not factually accurate.
Patriot Front members, on the other hand, are certainly white nationalists.
The groups tossing out the “fed” label at one another is also par for the course, especially amongst groups leaning more towards the fringes on any extreme. I can say in the 27 years I spent in the extreme far right, being labeled an undercover federal agent was one of the most common insults used by members of the movement. Nearly every white nationalist leader, at one time or another, has been labeled a so called fed by competing groups or individuals. In my opinion, those accusations were commonly associated with the Ku Klux Klan. It was so commonplace it seemed as if any member who left or was thrown out of the group, the fed accusations started to fly, almost instantly. Often and typically with no proof whatsoever!
The paranoia over feds, which not only meant an actual FBI agent, but any sort of informant, comes from a very real place and is a legitimate concern for groups like Proud Boys and white nationalists, as law enforcement infiltration is commonplace within far right circles. Additionally, infiltration from far left groups and watchdog organizations is a constant threat for members of hate groups. That being said, it is also reasonably commonplace for rivals to label one another as suspected feds or informants without any evidence in order to de-legitimize their rivals.
Regarding the mask removals or “demasking,” this is a relatively new issue. Historically, the Klan masked up to hide their identities, and some U.S. states later enacted laws to unmask the Klan. If one looks at pictures of KKK rallies from different states, they will notice the Klan is masked in some demonstrations and their faces are showing in others. That is due to state mask mandates. Since Covid, I am not sure if mask laws apply anymore. That would be an interesting thing to look into.
Many of the modern far right groups steer clear from masks and view wearing masks as a sign of cowardice. The faces coverings also remind many far right activists of Antifa, their adversaries on the extreme far left.
Patriot Front appears heavily focused on optics and how they appear. They have a dress code and the mask seems to be part of that dress code. In today’s environment of doxxing and cancel culture, the idea of masking the identities of their activists is likely to protect unknown activists from being doxxed and allows those individuals to be active in the street operations while remaining anonymous.
When I was involved in the NSM, a large percentage of the membership never engaged in street activism because they could not risk the possibility of being doxxed and losing their jobs as a result.
I think it is ridiculous to assume entire groups are feds or informants. However, it is safe to assume any and all fringe groups are infiltrated on some level. Groups that wear masks will continue to cast aspersions on ones that do not. Each has their own agenda and reasoning for their methods.
It is plausible that similar clashes can and will happen between factions that do not get along.
Alliances and truces ebb and flow and change faster than you can snap a finger. A group that is violently fighting another group can form a truce tomorrow, and just as quickly go back to fighting. I recall a personal incident. A guy from another group would call me up and make threats, and the next day he would apologize. Another example would be one crew fighting another after an event, and a week later everyone is friendly. That actually happens. At times, it was a very strange and volatile environment.
Having said that, I do not expect an all out war between these factions because it would not be in their best interest going forward. Clashes may continue, but that will depend on what the leadership of each faction dictates to their people. Proud Boys and Patriot Front are, technically, not competing over members, as one group is multi-racial and the other is white nationalist. That does add a slightly different dimension to the feud and leaves some things more open-ended regarding the wait and see perspective. If I was to guess, there may be more clashes if the groups cross paths in the short term.
In closing, I really hope the public understands what I said earlier about the Proud Boys. When the group was formed, I was still involved with the NSM. The NSM and other Nazi/white nationalist groups never considered Proud Boys part of the white nationalist movement. Mainstream media and left wing activists were solely responsible for making that claim. The Proud Boys were and still are considered more like a boys club with right wing Republican vibes, rather than far right. I have provided two recent memes that have been widely disseminated throughout neo-Nazi and Proud Boys channels. They clearly illustrate the level of dislike between the two.
The Proud Boys allegedly produced and distributed this flier attacking white nationalists and Communists.
White nationalists allegedly launched a counter-attack with this flier.