Although the Proud Boys are anti-Muslim, and define themselves against the perceived threat of Islam, their ideology has a lot in common with radical Islam, according to ACU’s Dr Roose.

“These groups are amongst the first to call Islam out as misogynistic and homophobic and yet they practice the same forms of discrimination,” Dr Roose told Hack.

“These groups, because of their origins in terms of alienation, anxiety, and distancing from the wider mainstream community, actually have more in common with western Islamic State foreign fighters than they do with mainstream political discourse.

“There’s involvement in some form of criminality, there’s a sense of helplessness and despair and a lack of leadership in their life.