‘Don’t Tell’: Comedian Releases Alleged Texts From Gavin McInnes Confessing He Staged Arrest
A far-right comedian accused Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes of faking his arrest on a livestream of his show last week.
McInnes, who went from co-founding Vice magazine in the 1990s to earning infamy in the Trump era as an alt-right troll, appeared to have the livestream of his online show interrupted by law enforcement on Friday.
He then disappeared, making no public comments or appearances since, as allies claimed he had been arrested by the FBI.
Then a fellow traveler called him out. Racist and anti-Semitic comedian Owen Benjamin posted to Instagram a screenshot of alleged texts in which McInnes apparently admitted the incident was a prank.
“Prank. Don’t tell,” one of the texts reads.
NEW – Proud Boy founder Gavin McInnes’ on-air FBI raid & presumed arrest were apparently faked.
Racist troll comedian Owen Benjamin posted on Instagram earlier today supposed texts from McInnes stating it was all a “prank.” Bejamin calls his stunt an “attention grift.” 🤡 pic.twitter.com/Wz7JZEGGqZ
— Miami Against Fascism 🌴☕️ (@MIAagainstFash) August 29, 2022
Benjamin accused McInnes of stoking fear of law enforcement among his followers. In his Instagram post, he wrote “it’s pretty obvious this was never a joke it was an attention grift at the expense of his listeners and American institutions.”
Benjamin’s post appeared to draw the ire of Josh Denny, a former Food Network host who has a show on McInnes’s platform.
“And any ‘comedian’ that tanks another guy’s bit before it’s finished is just a jealous, bitter cunt,” Denny wrote on Twitter on Monday.
Despite apparently admitting the incident was a joke, days before Denny took to Twitter to insist it was “not a bit.”
“Just got off the phone with our people. It’s not a bit,” he wrote on Twitter on Friday, before suggesting McInnes was imprisoned because of his political beliefs.
“Gavin was AGAINST going to Jan 6. He was AGAINST Charlottesville (and told Proud Boys they were out of the club if they went) but he’s rotting away in jail because he dared to question authority,” he wrote, adding he was working to free McInnes from jail.
So it seems unlikely that McInnes is in jail. As reporter Jared Holt noted, McInnes has a habit of doing these kinds of stunts for attention. The latest one didn’t even convince his own fans.
So where is Gavin McInnes? Los Angeles Magazine has a good theory: the south of France. A tipster told the magazine they spotted McInnes with his wife and children in Marseille.
