Far-Right Proud Boys Deliver Toys To Long Island Hospital

PORT JEFFERSON, NY — The far-right extremist group Proud Boys have made yet another unexpected appearance on Long Island last week.

The group has marched through the streets of Bay Shore, Patchogue, Rockville Centre, and New York City to make their presence known. But last week, they were on a different mission at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, where they dropped off Christmas toys for sick children, as well as presents for patients on Dec. 21.

In a video posted by FreedomNewsTV on YouTube, the men can be seen wearing various forms of insignia — clothing emblazoned with "PB" in gold letters — while preparing a yellow pickup truck with Christmas decorations and loading it with presents as "Let's Go Brandon Christmas" and Burl Ives' "Holly Jolly Christmas" play in the background.

As the group arrived at the hospital in the truck, which has the license plate obscured, they had a blowup of Frosty the Snowman and a man on the truck's roof dressed in a "Santa Claus" costume. In the video, he can be seen throwing up double OK signs.

Once stopped outside the hospital's entrance, the Proud Boys are greeted by what appears to be a handful of staff members, some wearing hospital identification tags, while some record the moment on cell phones.

"God bless," says one woman thanking the group of men.

Another tells them that she will "send a thank-you to the office."

The Proud Boys have been deemed an extremist group by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. They were formed in 2016 and gained extensive notoriety after President Donald Trump lost his re-election bid, as well as after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

In a statement to Patch, Catholic Health Services of Long Island officials say that when staff was notified about the toy drop-off, they were" unaware of the source of the donation."

"Catholic Health honors the dignity of every person and does not support extremist views and actions by any group," the statement read. "During the holiday season, Catholic health hospitals regularly receive toys donated by area organizations and individuals. While there is no affiliation with or endorsement of these groups, the contributions provide gifts and cheer for children who are hospitalized during the holidays."

In a synopsis after the video, FreedomNews TV says the Proud Boys' New York and Long Island chapters raised money for toys and other gifts to be given out by hospital staff to the children and patients at the hospital. It took them nearly four weeks to collect toy and gift donations "from different communities around New York City to distribute," the synopsis continues.

The Proud Boys chose St. Charles based on its "fair vaccine mandates" for its employees, according to a man who goes by the name "David," the synopsis says.

He says the group raised money for almost twice as many toys than it did last year, jumping from $2,000 to about $5,000, and mentions that each year "more people are participating in the event and the organization is able to engage with more communities," the synopsis continues.

Catholic Health denied "the organization’s representative" implying that St. Charles’ "policy for staff vaccinations was different from other hospitals."

"That is incorrect," the statement read. "Like all area hospitals, St. Charles Hospital follows the New York State vaccine mandate for health care workers."