Abstract

The partisan political system has existed in the United States since its founding, and yet the political parties are currently more polarized than ever. Studies show that this intense increase in tension between the left and right wings began with President Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election (Pew Research Center). With Trump’s presidency came the emergence of several far-right militia groups, one of the largest being the Proud Boys. The January 6 insurrection on the Capitol was a climactic demonstration of domestic far-right extremist violence, and over fifty charged participants were members of the Proud Boys. Existing reports tend to characterize the Capitol rioters as largely coherent in their multifaceted prejudices (CPOST). In this report, I investigate the root of these prejudices and misconstrued convictions by looking into the backgrounds of the charged Proud Boys' education.