Alt-right group the Proud Boys have once again told members and supporters to stay away from a protest rally in Washington DC — calling it a "trap".
The anti-communist conservative group told the more than 32,000 followers of its channel on messaging app Telegram on Friday not to attend the protest, ostensibly in support of hundreds facing trial for their part in the January 6 occupation of the Capitol building.
"Just a reminder that we will not be attending any rally in DC this weekend," the post reads.
"These events are obvious traps. The federal government would love for us to fall for them, so that they can use the inevitable fabricated violence against the political prisoners of January 6th".
Earlier, Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin approved the deployment of 100 National Guard troops to the federal capital at the request of the US Capitol Police — the force which failed to stop protesters entering the seat of Congress to protest the confirmation of Joe Biden as president.
"We will instead be using that time to improve our local communities and build a better future for our friends and families," the Proud Boys statement continues. "We suggest you do the same."
"If you insist on going to a rally, which is your right. As always, be smart and stay safe. God bless you all."
Unarmed protester Ashli Babbitt, US Air Force veteran, was shot dead by USCP Lieutenant Michael Byrd on January 6 while climbing through a broken window into the lobby of the House of Representatives chamber. Months after the riot, federal authorities dropped a murder investigation into the death of fellow USCP officer Brian Sicknick, accepting an autopsy report that his death that evening was from natural causes.
The message signs off with the customary "POYB" — standing for Proud Of Your Boy, a song from the Disney animated film Aladdin, which the group has adopted as its motto.
In a Telegram channel message on September 2, the group told members: "If you rally in DC right now, you are a f*ggot."
Another hoax debunked by the Proud Boys in the last year was that of a breakaway, anti-Semitic faction dubbed the "Proud Goys".
Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio was arrested in the capital on January 4, two days before the Stop the Steal rally outside the White House, where then-president Donald Trump addressed some 200,000 supporters protesting alleged ballot fraud on November 3 2020 elections.
He was charged with hate crime offenses for burning a Black Lives Matter banner he took from a church in December last year — with the help of two Black women. Tarrio pled guilty to lesser charges, including destruction of property, and was sentenced to five months in prison. late last month. He began serving his sentence on September 6.