On May 1, ahead of a secret meeting to oust their chairman for being too inclusive, the Republican Party of Multnomah County, Oregon signed a contract to receive security forces from a local man named Daniel Tooze.
“We were greatly pleased to discover you, and your extensive experience with church events, weddings, and various patriotic events,” three of the party’s top leaders wrote Tooze in a letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Daily Beast. “Dan, as we have discussed our focus is on having a safe event with no problems.”
But Tooze was not your average security guard, as Willamette Week first reported. He was, as a quick Google search would have shown, a prominent associate of the Proud Boys, the far-right paramilitary group deeply implicated in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. He has previously shared pictures of himself in the group’s uniform, with a caption identifying the group by name.
