#ProudBoys, which was being used by the far-right group Proud Boys was trending on Twitter on Sunday after gay men used it to flood the feed with photos of their loved ones, families and memes.
Recently, the Proud Boys made headlines after they celebrated President Donald Trump’s response when asked to condemn White supremacists during the debate last week.
Instead, the President blamed the “Antifa and the left” for the recent violence and told Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by.”
However, the gay men of Twitter made the hashtag famous for a totally different reason.
One of the men who participated was Matt Dechaine, who posted photos of himself and his husband in an attempt to take over the hashtag.
“Seeing the hashtag was so uplifting,” said England-based Dechaine.
“It feels like the movement for positive change for all is gathering momentum all the time and I’m glad to be a small part of it. By coming together rooted in respect and love for each other, the world can be so much better!”
Others used the hashtag to share their stories of love, including Bryce Tache.
“Next year my husband I will celebrate 25 years together. We had to move to Canada to legally marry and adopt 2 of our sons. We’re back in the US. Our family has grown. And we’re fighting to save this country. Here’s us voting for Biden, Harris and a Blue ticket. #ProudBoys,” he posted.
Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio retorted, saying he doesn’t understand what exactly were the men are trying to accomplish.
“I think it’s hysterical,” said Tarrio.
“This isn’t something that’s offensive to us. It’s not an insult. We aren’t homophobic. We don’t care who people sleep with. People think it’s going to bother us. It doesn’t.”
“One of the messages they want to send with this is that they’re trying to drown out our supporters, they’re trying to silence us. … When you’re trying to drown out other people’s thoughts, I don’t think there’s anything progressive about that. Why don’t these people just engage?” he added.
The Cuban American is also the leader of the grassroots group Latinos for Trump.