An American Legion post commander in California has reportedly been removed from two national leadership roles after he bragged on social media about participating in a street brawl and joining the Proud Boys.
The San Diego Union Tribune reported that photos on two social media accounts show J.B. Clark Post 149 Cmdr. Michael Sobczak, 56, of Escondido, wearing a Proud Boys jacket and marching along with other Proud Boys during a Dec. 12 rally in support of President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., that turned violent.
In a video shared on a Facebook account under the name “Mick Florio,” Sobczak describes a beating he says he gave an anti-Trump activist in self-defense during an earlier protest in Yorba Linda, the news outlet reported.
Sobczak was removed last week from his position as dean of the American Legion College as well as a seat on the national board of the American Legion Riders, the organization’s motorcycle club, Ed Grimsley, the commander of the California American Legion, told the news outlet.
“The American Legion has no room for hate in its membership, nor will we silently tolerate hate in any form,” Grimsley’s statement said, the news outlet reported. “It is no longer about free speech or simple political discourse, rather it morphs into an affront to both Legionnaires and our communities, states and nations.”
Grimsley said because of the American Legion’s organizational structure, it does not have the authority to remove him as post commander — and members of the Escondido post will have to decide what to do.
“They will have to be the ones to start the process — it’s up to them now,” Grimsley told the Union Tribune. “It’s a bad situation — I wish I could do more.”
Sobczak appears to be linked to two social media accounts — a Facebook account under the name “Mick Florio” and a Parler account under the name “Mickey Knuckles.”
“What I do in my private life is private,” Sobczak told the Union Tribune.
Thousands gathered at the nation’s capital the weekend of Dec. 11 for rallies in support of Trump. Members of the Proud Boys clashed with activists and counter-protesters, and there were reportedly four stabbings and 33 arrests, the Union Tribune reported.
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