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Conflict With Conservative Group At Atwater Village Bar Goes Viral

ATWATER VILLAGE (CBSLA) — A conflict at an Atwater Village bar has gone viral. One of the groups involved has been identified as a hate group.

The entire incident is causing quite a stir both online and in Atwater Village where people were even driving by screaming out their windows they want The Griffin shut down.

The video that's now going viral shows a group of men wearing Make America Great Again hats arguing with other bar patrons outside of the bar.

People in the neighborhood identified the group as the Proud Boys. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, it's a hate group. Neighbors say they complained to management, but the Proud Boys were allowed to stay.

Twitter has since exploded with posts about the incident. This tweet from Justin Caffier, a writer with Vice has been retweeted thousands of times over:

Actor/comedian Kumail Nanjiani adding "Do not go to The Griffin in Atwater."

The Proud Boys responded on Twitter saying "we were hanging out having beers. Josh and his friends showed up looking to start a problem. They did. Then they cried online. The end."

It wasn't long before the owners of The Griffin also responded saying in part:

"Neither I nor my business partner support any Nazi or white supremacist groups and this is not a Nazi bar. I advised that we use a tactic that I've used in the past with gang members or people that are obviously in there to cause problems -- kill them with kindness and they'll get bored and go away. It's my bar and I'm ultimately responsible for what happened last night and I feel terrible and actually sick to my stomach."

Now thousands of people have taken to Yelp, posting one star reviews, urging people to avoid The Griffin.

"I think it's a little frightening if this becomes a gathering point for this type of festering movement," said Gregory Schoon.

LAPD said they were called around 10:30 Saturday night for a large fight. They say they asked both sides to leave and they cooperated.

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