Early in the fight (Photo: DCPI)
Oct. 23, 2018 By Tara Law
Police have arrested a Jackson Heights resident who allegedly took part in a violent far-right riot outside a Republican club in Manhattan last week.
Irvin Antillon, a 41-year-old resident of 34th Avenue, and four other members of the alt-right group Proud Boys have been arrested for rioting on Oct. 12.
Antillon has been charged with second degree rioting and third degree attempted assault, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
Antillon is a reportedly a member of the Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights, a branch of the Proud Boys, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Center designates the Proud Boys as a “hate group” that propagates an “‘anti-political correctness’ and ‘anti-white guilt’ agenda.”
Antillon is also a member of the “primarily Latino ultranationalist skinhead crew” B49, Batallon (Battalion) 49, according to the Center.
Police say that on Oct. 12, a group of Proud Boys gathered at the Metropolitan Republican Club in the Upper East Side to attend an appearance by their founder, Gavin McInnes. After the event, about nine members of the group filed out of the club and encountered a group of masked anti-fascist protesters.
Surveillance video shows one of the protesters throwing a plastic bottle at the Proud Boys. A man in a red hat appears to throw the first punch and pulls one of the protesters to the ground.
The surveillance video shows Antillon kicking an individual who is down on the ground in the back, according to a criminal complaint. Another video shows him dragging another person and kicking a third person down on the ground in the back.
Antillon is visible “striking, kicking, stomping and fighting” at least four other people, the complaint stated.
The Proud Boys, however, claim that they were merely defending themselves.
Council Member Daniel Dromm said in a statement that it was “sickening” to hear that one of the men arrested is a Jackson Heights resident.
“As an openly gay elected official, I will stand up to protect our neighborhood from the destruction that this organization is attempting to impose on our country and our community,” Dromm said. “Jackson Heights residents value our long tradition of being a place that is welcoming of everyone.”
