Fresh off visit to Trump trial, Matt Gaetz takes to Twitter to echo Proud Boys shoutout

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., backed Donald Trump at his hush money trial Thursday, and echoed the former president's infamous 2020 presidential debate line calling on the notorious Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by."

Trump is on week five of his trial for allegedly falsifying business records to hide campaign finance violations in a 2016 hush money payment issued to porn star Stormy Daniels. Republicans have lined up behind Trump throughout the week, blasting the judge, the witnesses and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, some of which Trump is barred from doing under a gag order.

Gaetz had plenty of critiques to share outside the courthouse, but took it a step further on X, posting a photo of him behind the former president with the caption, "Standing back and standing by, Mr. President."

Trump trial breaking news:Latest updates as Michael Cohen returns as hush money witness

Does Gaetz align with Proud Boys? 'The tweet speaks for itself'

The line called to mind Trump's failure to condemn white supremacist groups that grew during his presidency at a 2020 presidential debate. Asked about the Proud Boys, which the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as a hate group, Trump said, "Proud Boys – stand back and stand by. But I'll tell you what, somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left."

Sign-up for Your Vote: Text with the USA TODAY elections team.

Megan Squire, a professor of computer science at Elon University in North Carolina who studies online extremism, told USA TODAY at the time that the group's social media channels showed they interpreted Trump's words as encouragement.

"They were extremely excited by what he said," Squire said. "They felt validated."

When asked if Gaetz aligns with the Proud Boys as the post suggests, a spokesperson from his office said, "the tweet speaks for itself."

Regarding Gaetz's reference to the former president as "Mr. President," the spokesperson noted that he refers to Trump as "President Trump" out of respect, and does the same for President Joe Biden. Gaetz objected to the certification of Biden's Electoral College victory during the official count in 2021.

Several Proud Boys members since sentenced to prison

The Proud Boys, who describe themselves as “a pro-Western fraternal organization for men," have a history of violence, including attacking a group of antifascist protesters in Manhattan in 2018.

Several Proud Boys members are now in prison after helping to lead the mobs of people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, while Congress was counting Electoral College votes to certify the election, including some sentenced by a Trump-appointed judge. Some are serving times ranging from 10-to-20 years.

Former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio, was sentenced to 22 years, even though he was not in Washington, D.C. when mobs breached the Capitol. He was convicted of six crimes including seditious conspiracy, interference with law enforcement and aiding destruction of government property, after prosecutors argued that he was a leader in the plot.

More than 1,000 people have been charged with crimes related to Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump himself has been indicted on four federal counts for allegedly conspiring to steal the 2020 election in relation to his actions on Jan. 6, 2021.

Matt Gaetz joins onslaught of Republicans getting around Trump trial gag order

Gaetz joined a lengthy lineup of Republicans who have made appearances at the Manhattan courthouse during Trump's hush money trial.

“We’re here of our own volition because there are things that we can say that Trump is unjustly not allowed to say,” Gaetz said at a press conference outside on a Thursday morning break. “This is a corrupt judge. These are corrupted witnesses. This is a corrupt prosecution that belies any sense of the facts or the law. We’re going to keep speaking out against this.”

Trump is under a gag order that prevents him from speaking about the witnesses, jury, prosecutors and family members of the court. Over the last few days, vice president potentials, former presidential candidates and other Republican heavy hitters have stepped in, criticizing former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, Judge Juan Merchan and his daughter.

At least one Republican has criticized his colleagues for their courthouse appearances; Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, told reporters Wednesday, "I think it’s a little demeaning to show up in front of a courthouse, particularly one where we’re talking about an allegation of paying a porn star."

Who is Matt Gaetz?

Gaetz is a far-right congressman representing the western-most part of the Florida Panhandle, including Pensacola.

He led the charge to oust former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, bringing the motion to vacate and organizing a small group of Republicans to join him in going against members of his own party. A few of those lawmakers who voted out McCarthy also joined Gaetz in bashing the hush money trial Thursday, including Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz. and Rep. Bob Good, R-Va.

Getting McCarthy ousted elevated Gaetz's potential for higher office like governor of Florida

But McCarthy said in April that Gaetz ousted him to stop an ethics complaint about an alleged sexual encounter between Gaetz and a 17-year-old. Gaetz has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, and the Department of Justice dropped its investigation in February of 2023.

Contributing: Bart Jansen, Courtney Subramanian, Jordan Culver USA TODAY; Jim Little, Pensacola News Journal