SACRAMENTO, Calif — The Sacramento County Republican Party is calling for the resignation of Jeffrey Perrine, a recently-elected member of their Central Committee who is affiliated with the Proud Boys.
In an interview with the Sacramento Bee, Perrine said he was a member of the Proud Boys but wasn't an officer in the organization. He told the Sacramento Bee that county GOP Chairperson Betsy Mahan told him to resign from the position.
“I’ve been a member, but I’m not a head or an officer of any kind in any organization,” Perrine told The Sacramento Bee. “Yeah, I’m still with the Proud Boys. I’m just a member. I’m a part of a fraternity.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center designated the Proud Boys as a hate group. The Anti-Defamation League describes the group as violent, nationalistic, Islamophobic, transphobic, and misogynistic.
"When I first had a conversation with Mr. Perrine he said he was not a member of the Sacramento Proud Boys as the Bee was reporting," Mahan told ABC10. "Later, he told the Bee he was a member of the national organization, but not the local one."
In a statement sent out on Monday, Mahan addressed the issue.
"The Executive Committee of the Sacramento County Republican Party has unanimously called for the resignation of recently elected Central Committee Member Jeffrey Perrine," she said. "This is in response to Mr. Perrine’s expressed desire to maintain his membership in an organization whose views and actions are inconsistent with the values of the Republican Party."
She said Perrine ran in a Central Committee race where the number of candidates was equal to the number of seats and candidates, so he didn't appear on the March 2020 ballot. While Perrine was eligible to take office during the committee's virtual meeting in January, Mahan said that he did not attend and has not been sworn in.
Mahan said any member of a political party can run for Central Committee under state law. She said Perrine intends to argue against the Executive Committee's recommendation and remain on the committee.
At the same meeting, the executive committee intends to present a resolution for approval during the meeting that denounces all groups calling for hate or violence.
"We call on all political parties to join us," Mahan said.
