The morning after Donald Trump told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” during the presidential debate, one of their members was arrested in Portland, Oregon on 12 charges — including six felonies.
According to KOIN, Alan Swinney, who is a self-identified member of the Proud Boys, was taken into custody on Wednesday (Sep. 30) on charges of assault, pointing a firearm at another person, unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful use of mace.
On Aug. 15, Swinney allegedly pointed a revolver at someone during a Black Lives Matter protest “which placed that person in fear of imminent serious physical injury,” read the indictment.
He also used a paintball gun on two separate occasions to physically injure another person. Swinney used mace and physically assaulted people who were protesting against police brutality and racial injustice after George Floyd was killed.
Meg McLain was one of the victims who was shot by Swinney’s paintball gun. She filed a $250,000 lawsuit against him for shooting her in the chest with a paintball. She says the incident has caused her distress, pain, discomfort and interfered with her daily life activities. She reportedly reported the incident to the police, but they did not arrest him.
McLain included a screenshot of a tweet from Swinney’s Twitter account in her court documents. “Whoever’s in charge in Portland can fuck all the way off. You’re not going to tell me how I can defend myself,” he wrote.
Aside from witness statements, an Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter caught Swinney — on video — pointing his gun at people during the protests.
On Tuesday afternoon (Sep. 29), Swinney posted to Twitter asking people to help him with his legal fees. “Help me fight these people,” he tweeted. “Every retweet makes a terrorist lose his or her mind.” His Twitter account has since been deleted.
The Proud Boys member was arraigned on Thursday (Oct. 1) and pleaded not guilty to all 12 charges. His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 13.