Two Prominent Proud Boys Charged With Felony Assault in Portland

Two members of the Proud Boys, a far-right, pro-Trump men's group, have been charged with felony assault over a 2018 attack in Portland, Ore., prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Tusitala "Tiny" Toese and Donovon Flippo are accused of assaulting Timothy Ledwith on June 8, according to The Oregonian. Ledwith told police he was crossing the street when he saw the two men, along with a third, in a truck stopped at the traffic light. They were shouting about President Trump and chanting "Build the wall!" Ledwith said.

They allegedly yelled homophobic slurs at him, got out of the truck, and confronted him, at which point Toese punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground. Ledwith suffered a mild concussion and needed stitches for a split lip. He declined to file a police report at first, but later decided to after hearing allegations of a similar attack by Toese and Flippo against a black teen at a Vancouver, Wash., mall.

The incident was one of many over the last two years in Portland, where the Proud Boys have held right-wing rallies and roamed the streets starting brawls with left-wing protesters. Toese is the right-wing activist most frequently arrested in Portland, according to the Willamette Week.

Despite this, Toese and Flippo had not faced prosecution for the alleged attack until now, even though Toese admitted to police that he punched someone. An investigation by the Willamette Week raised concerns that Portland police might be biased in favor of far-right groups and even sheilding ringleaders like Toese from being arrested for open warrants, while cracking down much harder on left-wing "Antifa" groups.

The Proud Boys group, founded by conservative provocateur Gavin McInnes, made headlines last year after starting a brawl in Manhattan, throwing bottles and punches at Antifa protesters following a speech by McInnes at a city Republican club. Members of the group were arrested following a political backlash to the attack, and McInnes quit the group soon after.