United States President Donald Trump has refused to outrightly condemn white supremacy during a heated presidential debate, instead telling to "stand back and stand by".
During the debate against Democratic candidate Joe Biden on Wednesday, moderator Chris Wallace repeatedly asked Mr Trump to condemn white supremacist and militia groups and urge them to refrain from violence.
"I'm willing to do anything, I want to see peace," Mr Trump said, after ignoring the question and accusing left-wing groups of being responsible for violent protests that have erupted across the country.
When pushed further, Mr Trump asked for the name of a group to condemn, to which Mr Biden responded with the Proud Boys.
"The Proud Boys, stand back and stand by," he said. "But I'll tell you what, somebody has got to do something about Antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem, it's a left-wing problem."
Antifa, short for anti-fascist, is an umbrella term used to describe a broad far-left movement, .
People identifying as members of the Proud Boys reacted immediately on social media, appearing to interpret the statement as a call to arms.
Alex Kaplan, a researcher with US fact-checking organisation Media Matters, shared a screenshot from the Proud Boys' Telegram account of the group's logo surrounded by Mr Trump's statement.
On Parler, another blogging platform, Enrique Tarrio, who identifies as the Proud Boys' chairman, wrote: "Standing by sir. So proud of my guys right now."
In a subsequent message, Mr Tarrio said he was excited by the mention, but did not take it as a "direct endorsement from the President".
"The question was in reference to white supremacy, which we are not," he said. "Him telling the Proud Boys to stand back and stand by is what we have always done."
The US-based male-only group describe themselves as "western chauvinists" but deny any connection to the far-right. They also have chapters in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Following the debate, Mr Biden shared a screenshot of the Proud Boys' reaction with the caption: "This. This is Donald Trump's America".
Fellow Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took it a step further, labelling the US president a white supremacist.
"People have been warning about this for a long time," she said on Twitter. "This is fascism at our door."
