Meta removes hundreds of Facebook, Instagram accounts linked to Proud Boys
Tony Avelar/AP
FILE - Facebook's Meta logo sign is seen at the company headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. on Oct. 28, 2021. Facebook parent Meta says it has removed a network of accounts linked to the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group it banned in 2018. Meta said on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022, that it recently uncovered and removed about 480 Facebook and Instagram accounts, pages and groups linked to the Proud Boys. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)
Facebook's parent company Meta announced Thursday that they had removed many accounts affiliated with a far-right extremist group.
The Associated Press reported that around 480 Facebook and Instagram accounts, pages, and groups associated with the Proud Boys were taken down. The social media company banned the group in 2018.
The company said this year they've removed about 750 accounts linked to the Proud Boys, the news outlet reported.
Back in March, the Justice Department announced Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, was charged with conspiracy for his alleged role in planning the attack on the U.S. Capital on Jan. 6, 2021.
Tarrio and four other members of the group were federally charged with seditious conspiracy in June, the Associated Press reported.
According to the news outlet, the trial is slated to begin on Dec. 12.