In a highly questionable move, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has allowed the Proud Boys, a far-right group with a track record of extreme violence, to slip off the New Zealand terrorist watch list. Despite advice from the NZ Police and other government agencies, Luxon’s administration opted not to renew the designation under the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002, effectively decriminalising support for a group linked to the January 6 US Capitol riot that caused nine deaths, including the deaths of five police officers.
Earlier this month, RNZ reported:
It's no longer illegal to be a proudly violent Proud Boy
A bunch of them were jailed after the 6 January US election riots, and they have now been pardoned by President Trump.
Their legacy of far-right extremism, violent rhetoric, and polarising influence has raised questions not just in American courtrooms but on Kiwi shores too.
"They have been organising in New Zealand, although they deny that is the case," Stuff investigative journalist Paula Penfold tells The Detail.
"Now, the terrorist designation that they were given [in New Zealand] in 2022 has been allowed to expire, and we don't yet know the reasons for that to have been allowed to happen, we don't yet know whether the Proud Boys are still active in New Zealand, but we think it's pretty important that our authorities should find out."
Founded in 2016 by Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys quickly gained notoriety for their involvement in violent street clashes, their role in the 6 January Capitol riots, and their unwavering embrace of conspiracy theories.
This decision, shrouded in secrecy, raises serious questions about the National-led government’s priorities and its troubling alignment with extremist ideologies. As we dissect this choice, we must also confront broader patterns of complicity, from ACT’s flirtations with white supremacists to National’s cosy relationship with Trumpian politics, and the urgent need to curb the influence of fascists in Aotearoa.
The Proud Boys’ designation, established in 2022, was a response to their role in the Capitol riot and their crypto-fascist tactics. Yet, Luxon’s inaction suggests a troubling dismissal of his own agencies expert advice and previous decisions made by the Jacinda Ardern administration.
Why would he take such a risk? Evidence points to political expediency. National’s coalition with ACT and NZ First, the most right-wing New Zealand government in decades, may be reluctant to alienate conservative voters by targeting far-right groups.
But questions remain. Why would, for instance, the National coalition of chaos fail to designate the Proud Boys, a group who murders police officers, as terrorists while putting other white supremacist groups on the list?
Last week, the NZ Herald reported:
Extremist white supremacist group behind race war plots remains on NZ terrorism watchlist
A violent neo-Nazi hate group with international reach has been relisted as a terrorist entity by the New Zealand Government, amid ongoing efforts to prevent extremist ideologies from taking root or operating within the country.
The Base is a white supremacist “militant accelerationist paramilitary group” that advocates for the violent overthrow of existing governments to establish white “ethnostates”.
The group’s ideology is said to be “rooted in extreme racism, antisemitism, and the belief in an impending race war”.
It is active in the US and Canada, with reports of training cells in Europe, South Africa and Australia.
The group, also known as TB, was first designated as a terrorist entity in New Zealand in June 2022 alongside another US group, the Proud Boys.
The decision also appears to align with diplomatic pressures from the Trump administration, which has pardoned Proud Boys members, even those who murdered police, and downplayed their threat. Many Proud Boys are reportedly linked to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), engaging in human rights abuses by abducting law abiding migrants and detaining them in concentration camps without due process. Allowing such individuals, some convicted of killing police, freedom to travel to New Zealand is reckless and indefensible. Clearly, fascists with blood on their hands should be barred from our shores, full stop.
This isn’t an isolated incident. The National-led government’s flirtation with extremism is part of a broader and uglier pattern. ACT leader David Seymour, for instance, has accepted donations from individuals openly advocating for violence against Muslims, including those boasting about bombing mosques. Such associations aren't mere oversights; they signal a willingness to court extremist support for political gain.
Similarly, the recent invitation of James Lindsay, a US commentator who peddles debunked “white genocide” conspiracies, to speak at ACT’s 2025 Rally underscores how far-right ideologies are being promoted and platformed by our right-wing politicians. Lindsay’s rhetoric, cloaked in free speech dogma, fuels division and emboldens white supremacists to hate on minority groups.
In 2022, Salon reported:
Meet James Lindsay, the far right’s “world-level expert” on CRT and “Race Marxism”
In a Feb. 5 appearance on Glenn Beck’s talk show — which Beck called “probably the most important podcast perhaps that we’ve ever done” — self-proclaimed critical race theory expert James Lindsay issued a dire warning. While discussing dark right-wing theories about “The Great Reset” and Democratic-run reeducation camps for the unvaccinated, Lindsay warned that a severe reckoning was at hand for the world’s elites: “It’s coming for them. They’re going to lose all of their power. They’re going to be exposed for crimes the likes of which we’ve never seen in human history.”
...
In 2018, as a math PhD running a business that fused massage therapy with martial arts, and a supporting character in the foundering New Atheism movement, Lindsay became a national name by pulling off a deft hoax that made liberal academics look dumb. Along with two co-conspirators, Helen Pluckrose and Peter Boghossian, Lindsay drafted 20 fake research papers with outlandish premises — to research canine “rape culture” at dog parks, or a proposition that men use dildos on themselves to overcome transphobia — and submitted them to a series of often obscure scholarly journals.
Around a third of the papers were accepted, and in 2018, the hoaxers, all of whom then called themselves liberals — although Boghossian was closely associated with accused white supremacist and “race realist” Stefan Molyneux, who has argued that Black people are “collectively less intelligent” than other races — revealed the experiment as an exposé on the terminal wokeness of academia, particularly the identity-oriented fields that the three called “grievance studies.”
When government-aligned parties amplify such divisive voices, they legitimise hate, undermining the social cohesion Aotearoa prides itself on.
Luxon’s government also helps to promote extremist views while also mirroring the Trump administration’s playbook, particularly in its erosion of indigenous rights. National’s coalition has pushed unpopular policies like the review of the Treaty of Waitangi, which undermines Māori sovereignty and echoes Trump’s marginalisation of Native American communities. This alignment isn’t coincidental.
As Trump pardons Proud Boys and weakens democratic norms, National’s soft stance on far-right groups suggests a shared ideological drift. Both governments prioritise appeasing conservative bases over protecting marginalised communities, whether it’s Māori here or migrants in US detention (concentration) camps. This convergence is a stark warning: when leaders downplay extremism, they pave the way for its normalisation.
The need to reduce white supremacist influence in New Zealand has never been more urgent. The Proud Boys, with their history of violence and ties to authoritarian regimes, are not a theoretical threat. Their lapsed designation risks emboldening local white supremacist sympathiser.
Aotearoa must not become a haven for fascists or a stage for their propaganda. Luxon’s government must reverse course, heed the advice of their security experts, and reinstate the Proud Boys’ designation as terrorists without further delay. Beyond that, it must reject the influence of extremists, whether through donations to ACT or invitations to divisive figures.
New Zealanders deserve a government that stands firm against hate, not one that cuddles it for political points. This is a moment for vigilance. The National-led government’s actions, ignoring advice, platforming extremists, and aligning with Trump’s racist agenda, threaten the values of inclusivity and justice that define Aotearoa. We must demand accountability, reject fascism in all its forms, and protect our communities from those who would divide us. The Proud Boys belong on the terrorist watch list, and white supremacists belong nowhere near our politics.
