Summary
This article is a joint effort by Atlanta Antifascists and Niall of the Nine. We uncover the identity of more than half of the Georgia Proud Boys who rallied this June in downtown Atlanta. We also identify several other recently-active Proud Boys in Georgia. We outline the history of the Proud Boys in our state; document a recent anti-LGBTQ+ campaign by the group in Columbus, Georgia; uncover histories of domestic violence and even rape (content warning for child sexual abuse); discuss possible future activities; and give advice for countering this far right gang.
- Introduction
- Overview of Proud Boys in Georgia
- June 25, 2022 Atlanta Incursion
- Anti-LGBTQ+ Harassment in Columbus, Georgia: September 3 and October 1, 2022
- The Leader: Bryson Strickland
- Other Participants on June 25, 2022 in Atlanta
- Some Other Recently-Active Proud Boys
- Conclusion
1. Introduction
The Proud Boys formed in 2016 and set up shop in Georgia not long after. Ever since the early days of Atlanta Antifascists, we have tracked Proud Boys membership and activity in our state. We are now publishing the largest single-day mass identification of Proud Boys in the organization’s ignoble history (see Rose City Antifa for an even larger but more spread out mass identification). The Proud Boys have a record of physically attacking vulnerable minorities, serving as enforcers for far right politicians, and providing recruitment opportunities for even more far right groups, such as neo-Nazis. Because the Proud Boys represent a clear danger to our communities, we refuse to allow them to operate anonymously.
This article is intended to serve two different audiences: a general audience just starting to find out more about the Proud Boys and a researcher audience already very familiar with them. For this purpose, we start at the very beginning and outline the history of the Georgia Proud Boys, then move through several of their recent mobilizations before getting to the mass identification. We hope that by removing their cover of anonymity, publication of this article helps to counter further harassment attempts by the Georgia Proud Boys.
1.1 Overview of Proud Boys in Georgia
The development of Proud Boys organization in Georgia has had three phrases which we can summarize as formation, redefinition, and reconsolidation. The first phase began during the heyday of the Alt Right, when Gavin McInnes announced the formation the “Proud Boys”. The initial national formation pretended to be non-racist, but from the very beginning there was cross-membership and close collaboration with white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups. For example, Proud Boy Alex Ramos, who lived in Georgia, is currently imprisoned for his role in a racist attack on a local Black man during the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Proud Boys were never highly active in the Atlanta metro area, partly due to local resistance but largely due to the poor leadership of their most high profile member in the early years, Yosef Ozia.
After the post-Unite-the-Right backlash of 2017, a period of redefinition began, as Proud Boys realized that open membership in their neo-fascist street gang was increasingly toxic. Almost no public statewide activity from the Georgia Proud Boys occurred in 2018 and 2019. Proud Boy members still recruited via personal networks and held gatherings, but these events were more social in nature and revolved around drinking. During this period, some Proud Boys radicalized further and became explicitly white nationalist. Chris Brooks, who helped target synagogues in Columbus, Georgia on behalf of the racist and fascist Patriot Front, represents this trajectory.
The Georgia Proud Boy reconsolidation phase began in late 2020. Results of the presidential election were close enough in Georgia that Atlanta become a lightning rod. The “Stop the Steal” mobilization in downtown Atlanta during November 2020 attracted national Proud Boy figures such as their leader Enrique Tarrio, in conjunction with other far right celebrities such as Nick Fuentes and Alex Jones. Proud Boys from Georgia had a weak showing at Atlanta rallies, with Andrew Canfield (see below) being the most conspicuous participant. However, the 2020 election and the failed Trump coup of January 6, 2021 lent energy to the Proud Boys even while leaders faced repression. In Georgia, these events provided an impetus for reorganization, and, with the notoriety of the Proud Boys brand, opportunities for recruitment.
While some original members are still involved, our state’s Proud Boys in 2022 are somewhat different from the original 2016-17 group, as well as its 2018 to mid-2020 iteration. The first version of the Proud Boys operated as an “Alt-Lite,” slightly more coded counterpart to the Alt-Right movement of the time. In the years following “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville, Proud Boys retreated from the streets and concentrated on socializing and networking. A more explicitly white nationalist pole of attraction was visible within the Proud Boys during these years. The latest version of the Proud Boys in our state has returned to their roots: street activity and harassment. White nationalist ties have not disappeared, but the group’s public branding is mostly anti-leftist and patriotic.
In one sign of the group’s increased public visibility, this April the Georgia Proud Boys endorsed a political candidate, Christian nationalist and far right conspiracy theorist Kandiss Taylor, in her unsuccessful run for Georgia governor.
Following the pattern of other national Proud Boy groups, the Georgia Proud Boys now show up at LGBTQ+ related children and family events to harass attendees. They may also show up at hot button events involving school boards or elections. They will mask themselves when intending to engage in harassment, but may attempt to blend in unmasked in other circumstances.
1.2 June 25, 2022 Atlanta Incursion
Our publication was spurred by the failed incursion of Georgia Proud Boys into downtown Atlanta on Saturday, June 25th. On that date, there was a mass grassroots protest against the Dobbs Supreme Court decision overturning Roe V. Wade, a decision which had been anticipated for some time. The Georgia Proud Boys incursion was planned and choreographed to harass protesters anonymously. Most members followed a dress code with branded PB apparel and patches; used gaiter masks and sleeves to cover identifying tattoos; and attempted to obscure their convoy license plates. Several members also wore tactical vests. Since the vests did not actually carry armor plates, this was likely just for show and to give a militarized appearance.
It was apparent that some Proud Boys had money to spare: they attempted to produce an effect of shock and awe by driving into Atlanta in a costly armored truck with a custom Proud Boys logo detailed on the side. However, this attempt at shock and awe backfired. One Proud Boy received a traffic citation for obscuring license plates, producing a public record that we used to begin a long but fruitful investigation.
1.3 Anti-LGBTQ+ Harassment in Columbus, Georgia: September 3 and October 1, 2022
A little over two months later, on September 3, 2022, several Proud Boys showed up in Columbus, Georgia as part of a group which tried to intimidate and harass a Drag Queen Story Time event. This time, the Proud Boys did not show up dressed in their colors and did not wear masks. This was a probable attempt to appear as local Columbus residents, as well as a dry run for larger incursions. Approximately a dozen individuals participated in the September 3rd harassment, with about half of the group being recognizable Proud Boys. Some of these Proud Boys were also in Atlanta in June. As our documentation shows, Proud Boys promoted the anti-LGBTQ+ “peaceful protest” in advance.
A statement posted to the Telegram channel for the racist White Lives Matter (WLM) network in Georgia, claimed that “anonymous activists” from WLM also participated in Columbus. The statement was posted to the WLM Georgia messaging channel in early October, but linked to a Ledger-Enquirer article about the September 3rd harassment, with Georgia WLM suggesting that this intimidation had been effective. The WLM statement attached a flyer for an October 1st ColGay Pride event, leaving some ambiguity about which of the two events—September 3rd or October 1st— the WLM “activists” mobilized against. (It is possible WLM helped to target both events.) Whatever the case, it is clear that Proud Boys joined forces with members of the white nationalist network on the streets of Columbus.
On Saturday, October 1, around a dozen Proud Boys showed up in Columbus, Georgia, to bother another ColGay Pride event. This time, the Proud Boys wore masks and displayed their colors, leaving little doubt about their group identity. At present, we have do not have crisp enough images to identify participants from October 1. However, we have little doubt that the group included individuals present at June 25 in Atlanta as well as September 3 in Columbus.
2. The Leader: Bryson Strickland
Full name: Robert Bryson Strickland
Alias: Bobby LittleBear
Date of birth: January 8, 1991
Location: Jackson, Georgia
Work: Team Lead at Creative Multicare, Inc. (according to LinkedIn)
Bryson Strickland has been a Proud Boy since at least the middle of 2020. He also goes by “Bobby LittleBear” within the Proud Boys. One can easily establish that “LittleBear” is Strickland, since the YouTube channel now using the name “Bobby LittleBear” had earlier been used by Strickland under his real name.
Strickland’s “LittleBear” profile on the Telegram messaging application reveals that the is the “GA Prez” for the Proud Boys. This profile claims that he is a fourth-degree Proud Boy: this is a brag that he has engaged in physical violence for his cause.
Strickland’s role in reorganizing the Georgia Proud Boys and his stature within the group likely stems from his role in mobilizations in Washington DC against the 2020 presidential election results. On November 14 and again on December 12, 2020, large numbers of Proud Boys joined “Million MAGA March” rallies in DC, hoping to keep Trump in power. Both of these events led to street violence by the assembled Proud Boys. A photo on Strickland’s Telegram account shows him outside Hotel Harrington in DC, masked and wearing tactical vest with a Proud Boys patch. This was almost certainly taken at one of the two “Million MAGA” mobilizations.
Strickland wore the same vest while leading other Proud Boys at the June 25, 2022 Atlanta incursion. However, Strickland’s outfit now also features a “Run DC” Proud Boys patch, which commemorates the Proud Boy mobs in Washington, DC during late 2020. His participation in DC has almost certainly helped with Strickland’s influence over the Georgia group.
As “Bobby LittleBear,” Strickland appears in logs from the “Ministry of Self Defense” Telegram group. This group was created by Proud Boys leaders in preparation for January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC, and was meant to only include Proud Boys who had already proven themselves. We have not presently located Strickland in footage from Washington, DC on January 6th, 2021 although it would be odd for Strickland to be present in a closed organizational chat and then not show up on the day. Five Proud Boys leaders have been charged with “seditious conspiracy” for their roles in the storming of the US Capitol that day.
When not leading the state chapter of the Proud Boys, Strickland works as a Team Lead at Creative Multicare, Inc. (a plumbing company) according to LinkedIn. Reach out to the company and ask them why they are employing a far right leader who organizes his men for harassment missions; who was in Proud Boys organizing channels for January 6, 2021 at the US Capitol; and who admits (by his claim to be a fourth degree Proud Boy) to engaging in violence for his cause. See here for Creative Multicare’s contact information.
Bryson Strickland’s wife, Jessica Nicole Strickland (née House, born 1991), is heavily networked with the wives and girlfriends of other Proud Boy members in our state. Her Venmo transaction history suggests that she received funds on behalf of her husband and the Georgia chapter.
3. Other Participants on June 25, 2022 in Atlanta
3.1 Daniel Barber
Full name: Daniel Wesley Barber, Jr.
Date of birth: February 25, 1984
Location: Stockbridge, Georgia
Work: D&K Lock and Key, LLC (owner)
Daniel Barber is connected to broader networks of Georgia Proud Boys members on social media. He was photographed wearing a “138” hoodie in 2021 in a picture posted to his wife’s public Facebook account. “138” is a code widely used by the Georgia Proud Boys and is a reference to The Misfits song “We are 138” as well as possibly to Georgia State Route 138.
We identified Barber at the June mobilization by comparing build, visible features, and clothing items. In particular, a figure at the June mobilization wore shorts which Barber has also been photographed in, with a folded towel sticking out of a side pocket in a style also worn by Barber. The T-shirt in the above picture is also Proud Boys related: “Western Chauvinism” is a euphemism deployed by Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes, used to indicate a patriarchal and racist far right agenda without the baggage of terms like “white nationalism”.
3.2 Andrew Canfield
Full name: Andrew Jeffrey Canfield
Alias: Mike the Roofer
Date of birth: March 13, 1984
Location: Lilburn, Georgia
Work: Has worked at Netherworld in past
Andrew Canfield is an early member of the Proud Boys member who has appeared at multiple far right events in Atlanta from 2017 onwards. We have mentioned Canfield on our website before. He was recorded next to national Proud Boys leaders at one of the November 2020 “Stop the Steal” rallies in Atlanta opposing the results of the presidential election.
Canfield is often employed at the Netherworld haunted house complex, a popular local seasonal attraction.
We were able to place Canfield at the June 25 Proud Boys mobilization by matching his height and build, as well as matching a hat which Canfield also displayed on social media. During the June mobilization, Canfield introduced himself as “Mike the Roofer” and even posted with a short-lived “Mike the Roofer” Twitter account in the event’s aftermath.
3.3 Matt Crumley
Full name: Matthew Corey Crumley
Date of birth: December 12, 1987
Location: Milton, Georgia or Cumming, Georgia (Got a tip? Let us know.)
Pictures of Matt Crumley shared on Facebook show him wearing the same Proud Boys hat and distinctive sunglasses as one of the masked participants in the June 2022 Proud Boy mobilization. Matt Crumley’s wife, Serena Stanley-Crumley, is connected to the wives and girlfriends of many Proud Boys in Georgia and the South. Aside from a strong match based on distinctive sunglasses, height, build, and visible features, Crumley owns a maroon 2013 Dodge Ram. This matches the maroon truck in the Proud Boys convoy this June in Atlanta. Matt Crumley was spotted in the driver’s seat during the mobilization.
In 2016, Matthew Crumley was charged with child rape in Cobb County. The rape is alleged to have taken place when he was a juvenile, and his victim was a much younger juvenile. One court filing is reproduced below. We do not know how many in the Georgia Proud Boys network were aware of Crumley’s child rape charge, but documentation was not particularly difficult to uncover during our research.
All too frequently, members of the far right project their own abusive desires and histories onto marginalized communities. The Proud Boys attack all transgender and non-gender-conforming people with the slur of “groomers” to make it seem as if their group is on the side of protecting children. As we have seen repeatedly in our monitoring of far right groups, literal child abuse and grooming is often committed, covered up, and excused within these groups. Crumley was photographed as part of the group menacing the family-friendly Drag Queen Story Time event in Columbus, Georgia this September. An actual child rapist engaging in organized harassment of events with children is a major concern.
At the time of writing, it is unclear whether Crumley also participated in the October 1st Proud Boys mobilization against another ColGay Pride event. We will update this article if we receive documentation placing him at the scene.
3.4 Creighton Davis
Full name: Ronald Creighton Davis
Date of birth: September 4, 1990
Location: Blackshear, Georgia
Work: Facebook mentioned work at Jerry J’s/Hog-N-Bones (Homerville) and Lee & Davis Country Meats (Waycross). Contact us if you can offer updates.
Creighton Davis’ Facebook profile is linked to many other Proud Boys in our state. He is identifiable from the June 25 Proud Boys mobilization in Atlanta through his leg tattoo, which was visible in pictures from the day. (Davis wore black arm warmers that day to obscure some other tattoos.)
Interestingly, Davis appears to have worn a “Run DC” patch while taking part in the Atlanta incursion. The only other person to wear this patch was Bryson Strickland. Davis displaying this patch suggests that he may have participated in one of the Washington, DC “Million MAGA” rallies in late 2020 which featured large and violent Proud Boys contingents.
Davis spread the word about the September 3rd anti-Drag Queen Story Time mobilization in Columbus, Georgia, and appears to have been among the harassers on the day. We presently do not have enough documentation of the Proud Boys’ return visit to Columbus on October 1st, to determine whether Davis participated in that later mobilization. We will update this article if we receive materials allowing us to make a determination.
3.5 Ian Furgeson
Full name: Ian James Furgeson
Alias: “VapeShopPatriot”
Date of birth: December 30, 1981
Location: moved back to Georgia from North Carolina earlier this year.
Work: Works as a tower climber
Ian Furgeson went unmasked during the June mobilization in Atlanta. Despite clear photos of his face, we had difficulty identifying him, because he did not appear as a member of the Georgia Proud Boy network we were familiar with. Thanks to arelephanteau, a North Carolina based antifascist, we learned that this person was Ian Furgeson, AKA “VapeShopPatriot.” Furgeson lived in metro Atlanta, moved to North Carolina for several years, and only returned to Georgia earlier this year. Furgeson does not hide his Proud Boy affiliations. For example, he shared a video of himself in Proud Boys garb at December 2020’s second “Million MAGA March” in Washington, DC, surrounded by other Proud Boys.
In 2018, Furgeson, dressed in Trump attire, entered a vape shop in Tucker and filmed himself in an argument with the vape shop clerk. After the video went viral, the clerk was fired by the vape store and Furgeson attempted to launch a career as a Trumpist social media influencer, calling himself “VapeShopPatriot”. His day job as a cellular tower climber soon put him at the epicenter of a burgeoning conspiracy theory about 5G cellular reception, and he began to publish videos claiming that his job was making him sick. However, his illness turned out to be undiagnosed multiple sclerosis. He eventually received treatment and returned to work as a tower climber. A YouTube video from July showed him working in midtown Atlanta.
Furgeson has been highly public about his far right beliefs. However, he has not been so public about his history of domestic violence. In 2011 he was charged in a Santa Rosa County, Florida battery case which was specifically labeled as domestic violence. This violence is seemingly part of a broader pattern. Ferguson had earlier been arrested for a 2006 assault in Dekalb County, Georgia, but the state eventually declined to prosecute after Furgeson completed a pre-trial diversion program.
3.6 Shane Godbee
Full name: Daniel Shane Godbee
Alias: GA Shane
Date of birth: June 10, 1975
Location: Girard, Georgia
We were able to identify one of Proud Boys at the June mobilization as Shane Godbee by matching physiques. Further solidifying the identification, Godbee has been photographed wearing the same Proud Boys hat as the bulky masked figure in Atlanta.
Godbee can be found in Proud Boys networks on social media. His wife posted a photo to Facebook in February, showing Daniel Godbee wearing a customized Georgia Proud Boys hoodie including the name “GA Shane” plus the word “infidel,” which has been adopted by far right Islamophobic activists.
Godbee is listed on Georgia business filings for a company named Precision Tile & Remodeling, LLC. However, this company appears to have been administratively dissolved in 2020 after just one year, when Godbee did not submit annual paperwork. If you have information on Godbee’s current work, please get in touch.
3.7 Erik Harris
Full name: Erik Lane Harris
Alias: Big E
Date of birth: June 11, 1977
Location: Hampton, Georgia
Work: Works in a company hiring CDL drivers
Erik Harris attempted to cover his tattoos during the June mobilization, but he was not entirely successful. He is embedded in Georgia Proud Boys networks on social media.
In addition to his role in the June 25 Atlanta incursion, Erik Harris was clearly visible in photographs and footage from harassment of the Drag Queen Story Time event in Columbus, Georgia on September 3rd. Less documentation exists of the Proud Boys’ return visit on October 1st to harass another ColGay Pride event, this time wearing masks and dressed in Proud Boys colors. We will update this article if we can establish Harris’ participation in the most recent harassment.
Erik Harris has posted job ads in Spalding and Henry County Facebook groups seeking licensed commercial drivers for scrap metal hauling, and is therefore likely to be the business owner or manager for a company in the scrap metal hauling business. Please get in touch if you have further information on Harris’ company. We are especially interested in any potential business ties to Jeff Cammllarie (see below), another Georgia Proud Boy who is in the scrap metal recycling business.
3.8 Christopher Hutchinson
Full name: Christopher Wayne Hutchinson
Aliases: Honky Kong, Christopher Odiinsson
Date of birth: December 22, 1979
Location: Fitzgerald, Georgia
Hutchinson did not wear a mask during the mobilization and was therefore easily identified. On the Trumpist social media site Gettr, he identifies himself as a Proud Boy through his profile picture wearing Proud Boys colors and his reposts of PB materials. The tattoo behind his ear is a “valknut”, a Germanic symbol that has been appropriated by white supremacists, though not exclusively used by them. In a recent photograph, Hutchinson posed wearing a “Whiteboy” shirt manufactured by a brand that markets itself to the “peckerwood” white prison/street gang culture.
Reach out if you have information of Hutchinson’s work or other activities.
3.9 Panet Peterson III
Full name: Panet E Peterson III
Date of birth: June 7, 1983
Location: Ellenwood, Georgia
Panet Peterson is the driver of the black Nissan Frontier that was part of the Proud Boys’ convoy on June 25. He was ticketed when leaving the event for obscuring his license plate. In online photographs, Peterson has been photographed with other Proud Boys, wearing the same boots and Proud Boys cap as at the June mobilization. He is embedded in the Proud Boys social network and is often pictured together with Daniel Barber.
Please get in touch if you have information on Peterson’s employment, or other tips about him.
3.10 Glenn Price
Full name: Glenn Eugene Price
AKA: Gene Price
Date of birth: July 4, 1983
Location: Statesboro, Georgia
Glenn Price plays bass in “The D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F. Country Band” and is sponsored by Warrior Instruments of Rossville, Georgia. He has the Warrior logo tattooed on his right forearm, and was identified as being present at the June mobilization through this tattoo.
Price’s wife, Ashley Elizabeth “Lemon” Price (née Hoff, born 1990) is connected on social media to many Proud Boys as well as their wives and girlfriends. Lemon Price promotes the Girl Power Alliance, a Christian network marketing operation. We would welcome information on what Glenn Price does for money, so send us a message if you can help.
3.11 Bobby Woron
Full name: Robert Michael Woron
AKA: Bobby Woron
Date of birth: November 24, 1976
Location: Covington, Georgia
At least until he changed his account to private, Bobby Woron was highly active on TikTok. He also had a Facebook account (now private) where he flaunted his affiliation with the Proud Boys in a February 2021 post.
Although Woron was masked at the June mobilization in Atlanta, we were able to identify him through matches for height, build, and items of clothing (see crisp photo from June 25th here.) In particular, the masked figure’s black embroidered Proud Boys hat as well as his belt matches Woron.
If you have further information on Woron, especially about his work, please reach out.
4. Some Other Recently-Active Proud Boys
We are limiting the entries in this section to individuals who have clearly signaled involvement in the Proud Boys since January 6, 2021. Being connected to some Proud Boys online, or active involvement at an earlier date, is not enough for inclusion.
If someone is listed in this section, this does not necessarily mean they were not at the June 25 mobilization in Atlanta. Some (but not all) of the Proud Boys discussed below likely did participate in the mobilization. If we obtain more evidence and can be certain of someone’s involvement, we will update this article and move their entry to the “Participants” section.
4.1 Kevin Angell
Full name: Kevin Robert Angell
Aliases: Deadshot, Jeberia Antilamari
Date of birth: May 18, 1987
Location: Butler, GA
Work: Angell Tactical Ranch (owner)
On social media, Kevin Angell has a dense web of online connections to other Proud Boys. He indicates his affiliation to the group with a playlist of “Proud Boy Songs” on his YouTube channel. He is the owner of Angell Tactical Ranch, which received a Federal Firearms License this year. As an Afghanistan veteran with at least one service-connected condition, we expect Angell also receives disability payments from Veterans Affairs and may not entirely depend on the success of his firearms business to survive.
A Facebook account under the name “Jeberia Antilamari” is almost certainly operated as a backup account by Angell. (We made this determination by comparing Angell’s contacts and friendship circles to those of “Antilamari”.) The “Antilamari” account seems to have been one of the first to share a flyer for the September 3rd anti-LGBTQ+ mobilization in Columbus, Georgia. Kevin Angell also promoted the September 3rd harassment on his personal Facebook account. On the day, Angell was photographed alongside other Proud Boys and bigots while they tried to heckle the Drag Queen Story Time event. Until crisper images are available, we cannot determine whether Angell was part of the masked Proud Boys group in Columbus on October 1st.
4.2 Chance Averett
Full name: Chance Michael Averett
Date of birth: March 16, 1979
Location: Columbus, GA
Work: manager at B&B Cable Construction
Chance Michael Averett is connected to many of the Georgia Proud Boys on social media. He signaled his affiliation with the group in June 2021, when he posted a brief clip of a Proud Boys flag flying to his Facebook account. The video appears to be from a Proud Boys gathering at Panama City Beach, Florida.
Averett promoted the September 3rd harassment against Drag Queen Story Time in Columbus on his Instagram account. However, he appears to have been visiting Panama City Beach again on the day of the event. Without more photographs or footage, we cannot tell whether Averett was at the second anti-Drag Queen Story Time mobilization in Columbus on October 1st. We will update if materials allow us to make a determination. In the aftermath of the October 1st harassment, Averett posted to Instagram fuming that the Columbus mayor and police department support “grooming,” presumably because cops kept the Proud Boys group separate from attendees of ColGay Pride’s event.
According to his Facebook, Chance Averett is a manager at B & B Cable Construction of Columbus, Georgia.
4.3 Jeffrey Cammllarie
Full name: Jeffrey Harold Cammllarie
Date of birth: 31 March, 1964
Location: Atlanta, GA
Work: Amerigo Metal Recycling (owner). Also listed on state business filings for Shredded MTL, LLC.
Jeffrey Cammllarie owns and operates Amerigo Metal Recycling of Lake City, Georgia. He is also listed as an agent for another company, Shredded MTL, LLC, with the business registered to his home in Atlanta. On its website, the Georgia Recyclers Association lists Cammllarie as its Vice President.
Cammllarie’s payment history on Venmo clearly indicates that he is a Proud Boy. In 2021, Cammllarie transferred money to Jessica House (now Strickland, the wife of the Georgia Proud Boys’ President) for “a good cause” and again later in the year for “polo shirts” (typical Proud Boys clothing). He made payments to Proud Boys members Kevin Angell and Shane Godbee; to NEBM&Co., a company which sold a range of Proud Boys apparel; as well as to other individuals who sold Proud Boys merchandise.
Jeff Cammllarie can be seen among the group harassing Drag Queen Story Time in Columbus, Georgia on September 3rd. While the figure in Columbus wears sunglasses, has slightly longer hair than in other photos of Cammllarie, and has grown a short beard, the figure is still a clear match and, to cinch the identification, wears a distinctive watch owned by Cammllarie.
Cammllarie is not only a member of the Proud Boys. According to a 2021 data leak from the far right Oath Keepers, Cammllarie is a life member of the organization. The Oath Keepers, like the Proud Boys, were one of the organizations centrally involved in the January 6, 2021 storming of the US Capitol. This has not led Cammllarie to withdraw his support for the Oath Keepers. Rather, he openly displays his Oath Keepers hat at the Amerigo Metal Recycling office.
If you are concerned by an active Proud Boy and anti-LGBTQ+ harasser representing the recycling industry in Georgia, reach out to the Georgia Recyclers Association about its Vice President.
4.4 Adam Fink
Full name: Adam Craig Fink
Date of birth: April 30, 1981
Location: Albany, Georgia
Work: Buys and sells yard/property maintenance equipment.
Adam Fink openly identifies himself as a Proud Boy on Facebook, including a Proud Boys logo on his page and using an image of a “FAFO” patch as his profile picture. “FAFO” stands for “Fuck around and find out,” which the Proud Boys have adopted as a slogan. Fink’s profile is connected to other Proud Boys in our state, indicating that he really is part of the Georgia Proud Boys scene and is not merely declaring himself a Proud Boy without further action.
Adam Fink appears to make a living by selling used yard maintenance equipment. We would welcome further information on his activities around Albany.
4.5 Guy Kuhnhausen
Full name: Guy Lee Kuhnhausen
Date of birth: August 14, 1972
Location: Douglasville, Georgia
Work: Construction work
On Facebook, Guy Kuhnhausen is networked with other Proud Boys in our state. He publicly signaled his Proud Boys affiliation in September, when he posted a photo of himself in a yellow hoodie, wearing a black cap with a stylized Proud Boys rooster. (Black and yellow are the Proud Boys’ colors.)
Kuhnhausen has an extensive criminal record. Most of that record is drug-related, but it also includes an Alford plea for a 2003 aggravated assault under the family violence act.
4.6 Yosef Ozia
Full name: Joseph Norman Ozia
AKA: Yosef Ozia
Date of birth: June 30, 1993
Location: Marietta, Georgia
Work: Electrician
Yosef Ozia is another longtime member of the Proud Boys in Georgia, who we know from Proud Boy outings such as 2017’s Islamophobic “March Against Sharia” rally in Atlanta, as well as their attempts to counter an imaginary “Antifa” plot later on that year.
While Ozia is one of the more prominent Black members of the Proud Boys nationally, he has no problem with the unabashed white supremacists within the organization. For example, Ozia has ties to Chris Brooks, who helped target synagogues on behalf of Patriot Front in 2019.
On Twitter, Ozia references his continued Proud Boys affiliation, calling himself “POYB Yosef.” “POYB” is short for “Proud of your boy,” a Proud Boys catchphrase.
5. Conclusion
The Georgia Proud Boys will continue along their current trajectory, which we can summarize as follows:
- Informal recruitment via existing social networks, strongly clustered around the Atlanta exurbs but with members also located in middle, coastal, northern and southern Georgia.
- General avoidance of open armed confrontation. They are likely wary of the increased law enforcement scrutiny brought by open carrying at events, given that Proud Boys such as Enrique Tarrio and Alan Swinney have been convicted of firearm charges. Some of the Georgia Proud Boys also have domestic violence charges which preclude them from legal firearm ownership.
- Focusing on harassing vulnerable and unarmed groups, especially LGBTQ+ groups and events. In the June mobilization, they were visibly shaken by local community defense, which had shown up open carrying in order to protect reproductive rights protesters. In future, the Georgia Proud Boys will likely seek events in which they can outnumber and overpower unarmed people.
- Waiting for opportunities to engage in violence against political and cultural enemies. During the 2020 election, Atlanta became a hotspot of threatened electoral violence due largely to the anti-Black racism of the far right, which associates “corruption” with Black election officials and poll workers. This could happen again, creating an atmosphere of randomized racial terror for Black poll workers.
- Quiet cross-membership and coordination with open white nationalists. Proud Boys and members of the White Lives Matter network protesting together in Columbus, Georgia is one recent example of this. Jewish groups and synagogues are not targeted directly by the Proud Boys, but individual Proud Boys who are also members of antisemitic and neo-Nazi formations have targeted Jewish people and will continue to do so in future.
There are many ways to counter the Proud Boys and protect vulnerable communities from their attacks. The crucial first step is to make a stand together. Our group is part of a broad, popular antifascist communication network that consists not only of experienced activists but anyone on the ground who, for example, happens to take a picture of a Proud Boy and then sends it in to us. We could not have written this article without the outside help of many, many people. Some of them we have credited, while others prefer to stay anonymous in order to prevent far right retaliation against themselves or their families.
Whenever anyone runs across a Proud Boy either on the ground or in social media, here are some tips when collecting and passing on the information. Share this infographic freely.
We encourage people to examine this article’s list of Proud Boys and do whatever they can to obstruct further mobilization by the Proud Boys. The highest priority Proud Boys to focus on are those with the most resources. Jeff Cammllarie, as the owner of a large recycling center and the Vice President of the Georgia Recyclers Association, perhaps has the greatest amount of resources available for funding the Proud Boys. The Georgia Recyclers Association needs to be made aware that a member of a far right street gang is one of their executive committee. In the aftermath of this article, follow our social media, where we will provide other opportunities for naming and shaming Proud Boys in their local communities.
When physically countering Proud Boys at events, we also have suggestions based on prior actions both in Georgia and nationwide:
- The Proud Boys do not typically start physical fights when they are outnumbered. However, after an event, they have been known to stalk individuals and smaller groups and attack them on their way back to their cars and homes. After an event targeted by Proud Boys, make sure that your participants leave safely and in large groups.
- Clearly, the Proud Boys have ridiculous aspects: men up into their sixties calling themselves “boys” and running around with rooster logos on their hats, beating each other up while yelling the names of breakfast cereals and taking oaths not to masturbate. When planning to oppose the Proud Boys, take advantage of opportunities for mocking them, but balance this with careful threat modeling about their capacity for violence. Always keep situational tactics in mind: if they want to be taken seriously, then mock them; but if they want to not be taken seriously in order to fly under the radar, then make sure they are taken seriously.
- The Proud Boys will attempt to advance their political goals by claiming a role as protectors of families and children. Whenever possible, counter their propaganda with the truth, and explain to any uninformed members of the public that their organization shelters domestic abusers and even child molesters. Histories of drug abuse are also widespread among the Georgia Proud Boys: we do not list the numerous hard drug charges uncovered in this investigation simply because we believe that the state’s criminalization of recreational drug use is unethical in principle and racist in its enforcement. However, we would like to underline the hypocrisy of how the Proud Boys pretend to stand for “traditional values” and paint their enemies as “degenerates”.
- Two groups of people in smaller Georgia cities and rural areas – organizers of LGBTQ+ events and organizers of reproductive rights rallies – should be especially alert, and should communicate with each other and with broader antifascist networks in advance of their events and consider developing contingency plans for Proud Boy attendance.
As always, please contact our group if you have more information on the Proud Boys or other far right groups in our region.