Proud Boy running for Sacramento-area school board confronts candidate

A Proud Boys member who is running for a Sacramento-area school board got into a heated confrontation at a voter event with another candidate who called the organization a “hate group,” video shows.

Jeffrey Perrine — a Proud Boy who recently filed papers to run for the San Juan Unified school district’s Fair Oaks seat — was captured on video attending a voter meet-and-greet for fellow candidate Ben Avey on Saturday.

“Just so you know, bro, you’re scared of me for a reason, and I’m not going to go away,” Perrine can be heard saying.

“And I’m not going to go away. You don’t call me a member of the Klan.”

“Yes, I do,” Avey responded.

In the clip, Perrine could be seen getting close to Avey, who is running for the district’s Orangevale seat, before he was led away by one of his friends.

Avey, a nonprofit leader and former Republican who openly discussed his decision to vote for Joe Biden in 2020, claimed the confrontation was over him comparing the Proud Boys to other hate groups.

“He confronted me, angry that I have called the Proud Boys a hate group and tried to liken them to other groups,” Avey tweeted. 

“I clarified that I believe Proud Boys are the modern-day Klan.”

Avey said he filed a report with the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office over the confrontation.

Perrine — who was previously expelled from an elected position with the Sacramento County Republican Party after reports of his ties to the Proud Boys — said he decided to attend the voter event after seeing Avey tweet about the group.

“Conservative, Independent, or Progressive, we must reject hate groups and their members when they seek public office,” Avey wrote.

“There is no place for the Proud Boys on the San Juan Unified school board.”

Founded in 2016 by Vice co-founder Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys are considered a far-right extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Members are regulars at gatherings such as the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville in 2017 and the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol. 

When asked if he regretted the interaction, Perrine denied any wrongdoing.

“I guess you could say I violated the 18 inches of his personal space, but my hands were at my side,” he clarified.

“Weak men will feel intimidated around alpha men; that’s how it is,” he continued.