In February, the January 6th Select Committee requested that The Khalifa Ihler Institute, represented by Bjørn Ihler, Samantha Kutner, and C.L. Murray, provide a written statement for the congressional record on the Proud Boys’ role and involvement in the attack on the US Capitol.The Khalifa Ihler Institute is honored to share our findings with the January 6th Select Committee and the public.

At the time of writing this, our quantitative data on the Proud Boys (2016-present) comprises 532 incidents, and 1190 networked relationships involving 465 individuals and 199 groups. Our qualitative data span five years and approximately 2,000 hours of in-depth interviewing and ethnographic research.

Our report addresses the following questions:

1. Why did Proud Boys come to DC on January 6th?

2. What Proud Boys activities in 2020 and earlier laid the groundwork for their actions on January 6th?

3. What is the Proud Boys’ ideology and philosophy?

4. What do they publicly profess, and what are their underlying ideologies? To what extent are their actions motivated by opportunism, and to what extent are leaders and members “true believers”?

5. How did their public or de facto ideologies evolve or realign in the lead-up to January 6th, and what impact has January 6th had on their ideologies and philosophies?

6. What role does race, white supremacy, and fear of white replacement play in Proud Boys’ activities?

7. Did the Proud Boys monetize January 6th? If so, how?

8. What impact has January 6th had on the Proud Boys?

9. What is your analysis of the Proud Boys’ organization and objectives as we prepare for the midterm elections and the 2024 presidential election?

This report is intended to provide important insights gained from extensive qualitative and quantitative research on the Proud Boys through a variety of methodological approaches including in-depth interviews, ethnographic research, content analysis of legal documents, social network analysis, and statistical analysis of incidents beginning with the origins of the group to present day.

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All proceeds contribute to the continued research and operations of the Khalifa Ihler Institute, a non-profit förening registered in Sweden.