Patrick George Kiehl is the president of the Placerville “Hangtown” Proud Boys. He owns Liberty Handyman LLC, and currently lives in Pollock Pines with his wife Bonnie Mae. He was also active in the NorCal punk/hardcore music scene in the early 2000’s. Kiehl has been involved with Proud Boys in the Northern California area since at least 2018, and has been connected to numerous far-right extremist actions and events since then. This article offers an overview of the Proud Boys as an organization, a timeline of Kiehl’s activity, information on the Hangtown Proud Boys chapter, and Kiehl’s personal details/identifying information.
Who are the Proud Boys?
Nearly five years into their existence, the Proud Boys have gained infamy for their thinly-veiled fascism and bigotry-fueled violence. They are hard-core Trump loyalists, and are known for street harassment and targeted assaults against members of the LGBTQ community, as well as anyone they deem to be antifa, BLM or generally counter to what they represent. The organization is also rife with racism, sexism, transphobia and Islamophobia. Proud Boys often dress in the group’s colors (black and yellow) and can be seen sporting black and gold Fred Perry polos and red MAGA hats. The Proud Boys have expressed their outrage at the electoral loss of President Trump both locally and nationwide by leading rampages through Washington DC on November 14th and December 12th. They carried out the legacy of the KKK by attacking historically black churches in Washington, DC on December 12, because these churches flew the BLM banner high with pride. Their status as a neo-fascist faction became clear when the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers attempted a coup to secure Trump’s presidency on January 6, 2021. In the context of the past 5 years, and especially with the volatile two months that lead up to the attempted coup on January 6th, 2021, the existence of any Proud Boys chapter is extremely concerning. Unfortunately, the Sacramento area boasts the dubious distinction of having three Proud Boys chapters. Patrick Kiehl has a long history of leadership within the Proud Boys, having been the president of the Sacramento chapter, and is currently the president of the Placerville chapter.
Activity Timeline
On August 4th, 2018, Kiehl traveled to Portland with other Proud Boys such as Shawn K from the Central Valley to participate in a far-right rally organized by the Patriot Prayer group led by Joey Gibson. Patriot Prayer rallies were happening frequently in Portland during this time, attracting pro-Trump, far-right, and white supremacist factions from all over the country.
On May 7th, 2020, Patrick Kiehl attended a ‘coronavirus is a hoax’ rally at the California State Capitol. At this time, he was the president of the Sacramento Proud Boys. Kiehl and his fellow Proud Boys gathered openly at the event, sporting their signature colors and insignia, and bearing a Proud Boys flag. These weekly rallies not only attracted the Proud Boys, but also attracted members of the virulent anti-Muslim movement, the Three Percenters.
The largest of these rallies occurred on May 1st, bringing thousands of attendees to downtown Sacramento. A group of neo-Nazis handing out anti-Semitic literature were quoted saying ” this is the most receptive crowd” they had ever passed out their literature to.
On November 14th, 2020 Patrick Kiehl (now the president of the Placerville Proud Boys chapter) was seen in Sacramento at the second ‘stop the steal’ rally. These rallies were being held weekly for the next two months. Kiehl can be seen in Proud Boys colors while members of that faction along with affiliates attacked anti racist demonstrators who were countering this far right rally. In the early days of the Stop the Steal rallies, the Proud Boys positioned themselves as security for the rally organizers, but quickly began to push a drastically more militant agenda. They became fixated on Cesar Chavez park, seeing it as a leftist rallying point and as a place for our unhoused neighbors to find refuge. As the weeks went on, Proud Boys and militia members made up the majority of the rally-goers. Eventually on November 21, 2020 over 80 Proud Boys and affiliates marched from the capitol to Cesar Chavez park, attacking anyone who got in their way.
On December 9th, the Hangtown Proud Boys showed up to a Toys for Tots event in Placerville, CA. Many of them flashed the ‘OK’ hand gesture, which is widely used to symbolize white power. Scandal ensued, leading the mayor of Placerville to denounce the Proud Boys. In an interview Kiehl gave to Channel 13 in response to the situation, he outed himself as the president of the Hangtown Proud Boys.
Kiehl also discussed the formation of the Placerville group and his involvement in the following Facebook exchange:
On December 20th, 2020, Patrick Kiehl appeared alongside other Proud Boys including Brandon Witte and Cole Scott at a protest at Destiny Church in Rocklin. Community groups had come out to protest the Church’s refusal to adhere to COVID safety protocol, as well as homophobic comments made by church leaders. Patrick Kiehl and other far-right agitators showed up to harass these protesters in support of the church.
Patrick Kiehl of the neo-fascist Proud Boys was also at the Destinty church in Rocklin today harassing those that were standing against bigotry. Kiehl has been at some of the pro fascism rallies in Sac that have been going on for 7 weeks now. More here -(https://t.co/hAHX14qY9d) pic.twitter.com/zCVMGMKKER
— Antifa Sacramento (@AntifaSac_) December 21, 2020
Patrick George Kiehl was born in Contra Costa county, but has a long history in the Sacramento area going back over 20 years. He was involved in the punk/hardcore music scene here in Sacramento, and if anyone has any additional information about his history we’d appreciate it. Here is the YouTube channel he created in May of 2012.
Kiehl also owns a business, Liberty Handyman Services, and works with another member of the Proud Boys. This particular Proud Boy that Patrick works with who appears in the advertisement for the handyman service can also be seen next to Kiehl in the following group photo.
The Doxx
Spouse: Bonnie Mae Kiehl (Maiden name Davis)
Identifying features: bomb tattoo under left eye
Business: Liberty Handyman LLC (feel free to leave bad reviews on Yelp and Thumbtack.)
If you have any information on Patrick Kiehl, any other members of the Placerville Proud Boys, or any other members of the Proud Boys in the Sacramento area or Central Valley please get in touch with us via email antifasac (at) riseup.net