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Amazon removes ‘stand back and stand by’ merchandise

Orders move down a conveyor belt at the 855,000-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, on February 5, 2019. - Inside a huge warehouse on Staten Island thousands of robots are busy distributing thousands of items sold by the giant of online sales, Amazon. (Photo by Johannes EISELE / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)

(CNN) — Amazon has pulled merchandise featuring the words “stand back” and “stand by,” a phrase now associated with the Proud Boys, a far-right collective that the Southern Poverty Law Center says is a hate group.

“All sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who do not will be subject to action including potential removal of their account,” an Amazon spokesperson told CNN Business, adding that the products have been removed.

The items, which had been sold on Amazon, showed the Proud Boys logo and those words “stand back” and “stand by.”

The words were said by President Donald Trump at Tuesday’s debate when he refused to condemn White supremacists for inciting violence at anti-police brutality demonstrations across the country.

“Who would you like me to condemn?” Trump asked by moderator Chris Wallace. Joe Biden, Democratic nominee, could be heard twice saying, “Proud Boys.”

Trump continued: “Proud Boys — stand back and stand by. But I’ll tell you what. I’ll tell you what. Somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left because this is not a right wing problem.”

Members of the Proud Boys, have been seen in their black and yellow polo shirt uniforms at multiple 2020 Trump campaign rallies. Founded in 2016 by Gavin McInnes, the group is known for its anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric and describes members as “Western chauvinists who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world.”

The group’s site argues its allure stems from the fact that young American men and women are “finished” with “apology culture” but disavows links to the alt-right or to White supremacists. McInnes is suing the Southern Poverty Law Center for designating the organization a hate group.