Maxwell Hare and John Kinsman, two members of far-right group Proud Boys, have been convicted for their part in a 2018 brawl that took place on the Upper East Side. The jury deliberated for a day and a half before rejecting Hare and Kinsman’s claims that they were acting in self-defense. The pair were accused of assisting in the beating of four people connected to antifa, a decentralized anti-fascist group, and were convicted on charges of attempted assault and attempted gang assault for their part in the fight, which took place after a speech given by Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes at the Metropolitan Republican Club.
Seven other Proud Boys have pleaded guilty to charges, while an eighth is awaiting trial. The antifa members refused to speak with the police and their identities were never verified. Defense lawyers, who sought to put them on trial in absentia, described the antifa members as hooligans who terrorized conservatives. In his closing argument, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass described the Proud Boys’ actions as “vicious, disproportionate and most important, unnecessary.”
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