New Zealand designates Proud Boys, The Base far-right terrorist groups

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern speaks to media at the EU Commission's headquarters on June 30, 2022 in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: Thierry Monasse via Getty Images
New Zealand has added the Proud Boys and The Base to its list of terrorist groups.
Why it matters: The designation bars New Zealand residents from funding or supporting the two far-right extremist groups. It comes three years after the country's worst terrorist attack, which involved an Australian white supremacist.
Details: In documents outlining the decision, law enforcement wrote that the Proud Boys played a key role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. "Actions and statements by [American Proud Boys] members both before and during the attack demonstrate an intention to cause the death or serious bodily injury to people."
- The document also pointed to their "adherence to white nationalism, extreme racism, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia," citing examples of members signaling "white power."
- Officials said The Base holds similar beliefs and highlighted the group's neo-Nazi ideologies, including "bringing about a 'race war' in the US, the mass execution of people of colour in a coordinated event labelled 'the Day of the Rope', halting the 'great replacement, and the creation of 'white ethno-states' where people of colour are either absent or without democratic power."
The big picture: New Zealand isn't the only country to make the designation.
- Canada has labeled both groups as terrorist organizations, which led to the dissolution of Proud Boys Canada.
- The United Kingdom has outlawed The Base, which it considers an "extreme right-wing terrorist group."
- New Zealand regularly reviews and updates its terrorist list. Each designation expires after three years unless revoked or renewed.