What do we know about the Proud Boys, the group Trump ordered to 'stand by' during last night's debate?

Here's some of what we've learned about them during our reporting over the last four years:

In June 2017, a "Free Speech" rally organized in Boulder, CO by a Proud Boys chapter attracted a cluster of neo-nazis organized online via the Daily Stormer.

https://unicornriot.ninja/2017/far-right-proud-boys-hold-free-speech-rally-attended-colorado-neo-nazis/

Just over a month later (July 2017), one of the same neo-nazis seen at the Colorado Proud Boys' Boulder rally was arrested after vandalizing the Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Center in Colorado Springs. https://unicornriot.ninja/2017/neo-nazi-william-planer-arrested-vandalizing-synagogue/

While the Proud Boys were still a newer group at the time, it came as no surprise for open Nazis to attend their events- Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes has openly held antisemitic and racist views for some time.

In August 2017, several Proud Boys attended the neo-nazi Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville (they often deny this)

Current Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio participated in militia security for the rally, which was organized by a former Proud Boy.

https://unicornriot.ninja/2017/violent-white-supremacist-rally-charlottesville-ends-murder/

Unite The Right organizer Jason Kessler had already parted ways w/ Proud Boys leadership - but that didn't mean they weren't still useful to him.

Leaked chats show he discussed using Proud Boys as cover to pass as "average Trump supporters..under attack" https://unicornriot.ninja/2017/data-release-discord-logs-expose-regional-networks-planning-unitetheright/

2017 Discord chats from 'Anticom', another fascist group involved in planning the Charlottesville rally, show how they viewed the Proud Boys as exploitable.

Some in Anticom wanted to join the PBs; others saw them as a "sacrificial lion":

https://unicornriot.ninja/2017/anticom-discord-server-shows-months-neo-nazi-incitement/

When Jason Kessler was trying to pull off 'Unite The Right 2' in summer 2018, he again tried to solicit Proud Boys' help in organizing the event: https://unicornriot.ninja/2018/leaked-violent-racists-use-facebook-chat-to-plan-unite-the-right-2/