March 04, 2021
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
Prosecutors say 40-year-old Kyle Boell, of Philadelphia, used a Twitter account to send threatening and demeaning messages to a woman in November. Boell, a self-described member of the Proud Boys, faces misdemeanor charges of harassment and making terroristic threats.
A self-described member of the Proud Boys, an extremist right-wing group, allegedly sent threatening and demeaning messages to a woman in the days after the presidential election.
Kyle Boell, 40, of Philadelphia, sent dozens of harassing Twitter messages to the woman between Nov. 8 and Nov. 15, the District Attorney's Office said Thursday.
The messages, sent from the Twitter handle "@TATTEDASSHOLE80," allegedly commented on the woman's weight and appearance and made explicit references to sexual activity and intimate body parts.
Boell has been charged with misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats and harassment.
The Proud Boys considers itself a men's organization with "Western chauvinist" ideals, but it has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The group's leaders often use misogynistic, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim and white nationalist rhetoric.
Federal authorities have said the group was complicit in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
Boell's alleged messages to the victim were quoted in part by prosecutors.
"Walked all threw Philly tonight u fat b**** .... Antifa is done in Philly f*** around u fat b**** and u will find out," Boell allegedly wrote. "Go report me call the cops. F*** u im a ghost."
Boell also claimed to have urinated on the victim's place of business and said he was glad she had the chance to meet members of the Philly chapter of the Proud Boys, according to prosecutors.
"The actions alleged here are abusive, vile and dangerous," First Assistant District Attorney Judge Carolyn Temin said. "Like all bullies, Kyle Boell is basically a coward who was afraid to use his real name and sent his disgusting messages to a woman while hiding behind the moniker 'TattedAsshole80.'
"Our office will hold Boell accountable for his crimes, as we do in all crimes that target vulnerable people. Women deserve to live their lives freely and to speak their values boldly without fear of harassment, threats or violence."
The Philadelphia Proud Boys have claimed in the past that they are a multiethnic organization. Last summer, the organization found itself in the middle of a spat with D.A. Larry Krasner's office and the Fraternal Order of Police after some of its members were photographed at the local union lodge following an event attended by former Vice President Mike Pence.
At the time, John McNesby, president of FOP Lodge No. 5, condemned the group's "hateful and discriminatory speech" despite its apparent camaraderie with officers who were at the Pence event afterparty. The Proud Boys later said McNesby "stabb(ed) us in the back."
