Far-right organizations, such as the Proud Boys, have been a consistent presence at these events, among the most recent of which took place at the Jacksons Heights Queens Public Library at Jackson Heights, in New York, on December 29, 2022.

While the demonstration attracted significant press coverage, one post on social media, which has been viewed millions of times across several platforms, suggested the New York Police Department (NYPD) offered the anti-drag protestors special treatment on the city’s subway later that day.

The Claim

A video posted on TikTok, Twitter, Reddit and Instagram with the heading “NYPD allow Proud Boys to commit fare evasion in Queens, NYC” shows what appears to be a group of people, some of whom are wearing Proud Boys insignia, using the New York subway without paying a fare.

In the video, which on TikTok alone has been viewed more than 3.3 million times, a person behind the camera asks “Proud Boys don’t have to pay for the fare?” to which one man replies “We’re special, thank you.”

At another point the person filming the video asks “Oh I have to pay for the fare but they don’t right? Is that the situation you’re saying?” to which an NYPD officer appears to reply “That’s correct.”

The video has been shared on other platforms including Reddit, where just one post received more than 46,000 upvotes. But not everyone was convinced that the video showed something nefarious.

“If the proud boys legally obtained a permit for their gathering, this isn’t weird. Usually the city will work out transportation and security as a trade off for smoother logistics. In my city, the police paid for busses to bring BLM marchers back to their parked cars because they organized the marching route with the police and discussed law enforcement presence and roles in the protest. The event ran like butter,” one Reddit user argued.

The Facts

The user who posted the video, Brenna Lip, clarified on Twitter that the group had come from the Drag Story Hour at the Jackson Heights Public Library. Drag Story Hour events see “storytellers using the art of drag […] read books to kids in libraries, schools, and bookstores,” according to the program’s website.

Lip tweeted: “NYPD help Proud Boys commit fare evasion & then tell journalists to go back and pay for the fare.”

Viewers interpreted the video similarly; one comment on TikTok, which received around 56,900 likes, stated “why would the lapd [sic] arrest their own coworkers lol,” while another on Twitter, with 74,000 views, added “Your cops being closely aligned with white supremacists is really not great @NYPDnews”

The Proud Boys and the movement’s alleged ties to New York police have come under public and media scrutiny before. In 2018, its founder Gavin McInnes said he had “a lot of support in the NYPD” and “very much appreciate[s] that, the boys in blue.”

His comments followed a report by BuzzFeed News that the NYPD had not arrested members of the group who had beaten activists protesting a speech by McInnes.

The force released a statement at the time saying “there is no tolerance for violence anywhere in New York City, and the NYPD will do everything in its power to ensure public safety.”

However, without naming the Proud Boys explicitly, a spokesman for the NYPD told Newsweek that the group was being moved through the barriers, not as a favor, but to quell the potential of violence instigated by their presence.

“On December 29, 2022 at approximately 1730 hours there was a protest originating at the Jackson Heights Public Library in the confines of the 115th Precinct,” the spokesman said.

“Protestors and counter-protestors began engaging one another which led to a mobilization being called for crowd control.

“Officers on scene attempted to deescalate the situation and separate the groups involved.

“In order to deescalate the situation and prevent further violence a decision was made to escort one group to the Jackson Heights subway station to remove the group from the area.

“While escorting the group out of the area there were multiple incidents of pepper spray being deployed by unknown individuals at the group with one individual requiring medical attention.

“Due to the urgency and rapidly evolving situation, a determination was made to place the group on the subway and remove them from the area before the situation could escalate further.

“The group left the area without any further incidents.”

The NYPD also stated that 32-year-old John Curry, of Grand Central Parkway, Queens, New York, was arrested at the protest.

A video posted on YouTube on December 31, 2022, fits the NYPD’s account of events, showing New York City police officers escorting a group, some of whom were wearing Proud Boys insignia, through the streets and into the subway.

The officer seen in the TikTok video telling Brenna Lip that the group was riding for free can be seen at the front of the escort.

So, while the video does appear to show protestors wearing Proud Boys insignia making their way through the city’s subway barriers, it appears to be in the context of preventing violence or other disruption elsewhere.

The Proud Boys, which have been among the groups linked to the January 6 riots, have become a familiar presence at Drag Story Hour protests across the States.

The group disrupted such events in California and Texas in 2022. LGBTQ supporters hit back at authorities in Ohio in December for their handling of one such protest in Columbus, where the arrival of 70 Proud Boys and other right-wing groups, including Patriot Front, resulted in the event being canceled.

Newsweek has contacted Brenna Lip for comment.

The Ruling

Needs Context.

While it does seem that members of a group wearing Proud Boys insignia were let through the New York subway system by police without having to pay, the NYPD said the decision was made to prevent violence during a protest and counterprotest at a library on December 29, 2022.

Proud Boys, among others, arrived at the Jacksons Heights Library, in Queens, New York to protest drag artists reading to children.

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Check team