PORTLAND — A member of the far right-wing group the Proud Boys was convicted Thursday of inciting and then participating in a brawl in east Portland in 2021.
A judge found Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, 26, guilty on 10 counts in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
Toese, who is from Vancouver and a regular presence at violent protests in the Pacific Northwest, was charged in January 2022 with five counts of assault, including assault with a weapon, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of riot and two counts of criminal mischief. He was acquitted on one of the assault charges.
During a right-wing rally in Portland on Aug. 22, 2021, Toese stood on a truck bed in front of an American flag and spoke to a crowd using inflammatory language. He made derogatory comments about transgender people and referred to members of the Proud Boys who had been charged for their role in the Jan. 6 insurrection as “political prisoners,” according to an affidavit filed by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.