The Proud Boys burst onto the nation's conscience when former President Donald Trump refused to condemn the group during a nationally televised debate. Instead, he infamously told them to "stand back" and "stand by" as protests continued across the nation. In the days that followed, more and more Americans became familiar with the group and pushed for lawmakers, public figures and businesses to separate themselves from the entity. As a result, digital marketplaces like Etsy, Ebay, Teespring and Amazon began to bar all Proud Boys merchandise from the platform.
"It has come to our attention that content promoting hate and violence has been circulating on Teespring," the company told CBS Money Watch.
"We have no interest in profiting off hate or violence, and in this case we immediately removed the designs as they violate our policies."
In the weeks that followed, online credit card processors began to distance themselves from the group. Ultimately, it became nearly impossible for the group to sell merchandise online and the Proud Boys floundered financially.
“We’re bleeding,” Proud Boys member Enrique Tarrio told the Wall Street Journal.
“We’ve been bleeding money since January, like hemorrhaging money.”
Looking for a financial boost, Tarrio and company began selling Anti-Trump and Black Lives Matter merchandise under an alias. At this time, it's unclear what the name of their online store is. However, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal witnessed a Black Lives Matter t-shirt being printed out at the group's Miami headquarters. Simply put, thousands of online consumers who oppose the Proud Boys could be funding their operation
The Proud Boys are also operating their flagship online marketplace as well. Tarrio explained that the group found a temporary online credit card processor, but he is working on building his own for the long term.
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