White Supremacist (Domestic Terrorist) in America Have Killed More Americans Than Terrorist - Page 1
It is time we talk about angry white men and the angry white women.
by Kathleen Belew | The AtlanticThe mass shooting of Black grocery shoppers in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday follows a string of similar attacks. Gunmen have targeted worshippers at synagogues and mosques and temples and Bible study; they have opened fire on summer camps and people at festivals. We know the names of these places: Charleston; El Paso; Poway; Pittsburgh; Oak Creek; Christchurch, New Zealand. We know the names of the shooters, too, although I won’t list them here, because adding to their notoriety deepens the problem. Some of us also know by now that although we might think these are attacks on specific victim groups—and they are attacks on Black, Jewish, Islamic, Sikh, Latino, and immigrant populations—the aforementioned examples have all been part of one movement. In each event, a white-power activist was the perpetrator. Several of the assailants wrote extensively about their motivations in manifestos that outlined a coherent political ideology. And in the United States, they have been backed by a broad social movement that our legislators have failed to condemn, that our court system has failed to prosecute, and that our society has not stopped. This means that these are not “lone wolf” attacks even when they may appear to be, and certainly not just because a shooter has claimed to have been operating alone. The white-power movement has, since the early 1980s, organized the disparate groups of the militant right (Klansmen, neo-Nazis, militiamen, and others) around cell-style terrorism. Activists deliberately obscure their connections with one another. Yet the historical record reveals an interwoven tapestry of people on the militant right who have united in common cause to target minority communities and to undermine American democracy, and who ultimately hope to provoke race war.
Igor DeryshRep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., accused Republican leaders of enabling "white supremacy" after a shooter who espoused "Great Replacement" theory talking points embraced by some in the GOP killed 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket on Saturday. Police say a white 18-year-old gunman livestreamed his attack on a Tops store in Buffalo, killing 10 and injuring three others. The suspect posted a so-called manifesto online detailing his plan to target a Black community and discussing his white supremacist ideology. The suspect wrote that he was motivated by the "Great Replacement" theory boosted by Republican lawmakers and Fox News hosts like Tucker Carlson, arguing that immigration is being used to replace and diminish the influence of white people. Cheney, who served as the No. 3 Republican in the House before she was ousted by her party for criticizing former President Donald Trump, called out GOP leadership for boosting a conspiracy theory that inspired not only the Buffalo shooter but other mass shooters as well. "The House GOP leadership has enabled white nationalism, white supremacy, and anti-semitism," Cheney wrote on Twitter. "History has taught us that what begins with words ends in far worse. @GOP leaders must renounce and reject these views and those who hold them."
CNN's Jim Acosta talks to NAACP President Derrick Johnson about Tucker Carlson's dangerous rhetoric around replacement theory after an 18-year-old was charged with killing ten people in a racially-motivated supermarket shooting in Buffalo, New York.
Extremist ideology has found favor with media figures like Tucker Carlson and also with elected politicians and others seeking officeRichard LuscombeThe massacre by a white supremacist gunman of Black shoppers at a Buffalo grocery store has drawn renewed scrutiny of Republican figures in the US who have embraced the racist “great replacement theory” he is alleged to have used as justification for the murders. Born from far-right nationalism, the extremist ideology expounding the view that immigration will ultimately destroy white values and western civilization has found favor not only with media figures, such as the conservative Fox News host Tucker Carlson, but a host of elected politicians and others seeking office. Those who have convinced themselves Democrats are operating an open-door immigration policy to “replace” Republican voters with people of color and keep themselves in power permanently include Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, chair of her party’s House conference, and JD Vance, the Donald Trump-approved Republican nominee to represent Ohio in the US Senate.
By Michael LucianoAs he occasionally does, J.D. Vance appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight, where he discussed illegal immigration with the host. At one point he echoed Great Replacement theory, which was first advanced by a far-right French author who claimed elites are replacing Europe’s White population with non-Whites. It has since been adopted by some conservatives in the U.S. In his efforts to out-MAGA the Republican primary field in the U.S. Senate race in Ohio, Vance has done a complete 180 from his fervent anti-Trump stance not that long ago. On Thursday, Tucker Carlson noted that the U.S. is sending military assistance to Ukraine, but is not deploying soldiers to the southern border with Mexico. “Without even weighing into the question of how and to what degree we oughta be supporting Ukraine in its efforts to get the Russians out of their country, why is no one trying to get the invasion of the United States to stop?” Carlson asked Vance. “And why is using U.S. military, in which you serve, a crazy idea?”
Colby HallMorning Joe opened Monday’s show with a sad and sober discussion about the racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo this weekend that left 10 dead. Ben Collins covers disinformation, extremism, and the internet for NBC News and mentioned Fox News prime time host Tucker Carlson as someone who is “directly trying to preach” to the sort of racist extremists like the Buffalo mass shooter. The shooter left a 180-page manifesto that reportedly featured the very same “Great Replacement Theory” rhetoric featured on Tucker Carlson Tonight. Carlson has come under heavy criticism for repeatedly promoting White replacement theory. “This policy is called the great replacement, the replacement of legacy Americans with more obedient people from far away countries,” Carlson said on his show in the Fall of 2021. “They brag about it all the time, but if you dare to say it’s happening, they will scream at you with maximum hysteria.” Joe Scarborough and Eugene Robinson had just spoken about how this rhetoric has been adopted as a political talking point by many high-ranking Republicans. Robinson named the third-ranking Republican member of Congress, Elise Stefanik, pointing his finger of blame at her for promoting the same conspiracy theory.
Joe DePaoloCNN’s Abby Phillip called out Tucker Carlson and Fox News in the wake of the mass shooting in Buffalo for pushing the “White replacement” conspiracy theory — which alleged shooter Payton Gendron touted in a manifesto. While moderating a panel on Inside Politics Sunday, Phillip invoked Rep. Adam Kinzinger’s (R-IL) callout of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) for promoting the far-right conspiracy theory — which espouses the notion that there is a plot to replace White people with immigrants. And Phillip noted that Stefanik is far from the only person or entity peddling the theory. “Over the weekend, Adam Kinzinger highlighted the no. 3 Republican in the house, Elise Stefanik’s use of the White replacement theory,” Phillip said. “In an ad he wrote, ‘Did you know Stefanik pushes white replacement theory? The no. 3 in the House GOP, Liz Cheney, got removed for demanding the truth. The Republican leader should be asked about this.” Phillip added, “It’s not just Elise Stefanik. If you watch Fox News, this is the mainstay of their primetime hours. Tucker Carlson discusses it in sometimes euphemistic form, but not really all that euphemistic.” Carlson has come under heavy criticism for repeatedly promoting White replacement theory.
By Khaleda RahmanA video that compiles numerous instances of Fox News host Tucker Carlson pushing a racist conspiracy theory is going viral on Twitter. Adherents of "The Great Replacement Theory" believe a conspiracy is afoot to replace white Americans with immigrants and people of color. So-called replacement theory has inspired recent violence, including the 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, and a 2018 shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. Ideas from the conspiracy theory reportedly filled a manifesto apparently posted online by Payton Gendron, the white 18-year-old who authorities identified as the gunman who targeted Black people in Saturday's rampage at a supermarket in Buffalo. Once a fringe conspiracy theory pushed by white supremacists, replacement theory has seeped into the mainstream and has been promoted by some conservative politicians and commentators. Among the loudest voices is Carlson, who has been arguing that Democrats are encouraging immigration to increase the number of "obedient" voters since joining the network's prime-time lineup in 2016. On Sunday night, MSBC host Mehdi Hasan shared a video on Twitter that compiled several clips of Carlson promoting replacement theory.
Marianna SotomayorRep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), the No. 3 House Republican, and other GOP lawmakers came under scrutiny Sunday for previously echoing the racist “great replacement” theory that apparently inspired an 18-year-old who allegedly killed 10 people while targeting Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo. The baseless conspiracy theory claims that politicians are attempting to wipe out White Americans and their influence by replacing them with non-White immigrants. The theory was cited repeatedly by 18-year-old shooting suspect Payton Gendron in an online document that appeared to have outlined his intention to carry out his planned attack in Buffalo because of its significant population of Black people. Eleven of the 13 people shot at a Tops Friendly Markets store on Saturday were Black, according to police. While Stefanik has not pushed the theory by name, she and other conservatives have echoed the tenets of the far-right ideology as part of anti-immigrant rhetoric that has fired up the Republican base ahead of the midterm elections.
Ewan PalmerAtweet from Florida Representative Matt Gaetz calling a racist conspiracy pushed by Tucker Carlson "correct" has reemerged in the wake of the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. The September tweet from Gaetz, in which the congressman praises Carlson for explaining "what is happening to America," has been reshared online after the "Great Replacement Theory" was cited as an apparent motive for an 18-year-old gunman to kill 10 people and wound three others at the Tops supermarket on Saturday. Gaetz, along with a number of other GOP lawmakers and Carlson, has been widely criticized for helping push the far-right claim that white Americans are purposely being replaced as the dominant race in the country by minorities and immigrants for political gain. "Tucker Carlson is CORRECT about Replacement Theory as he explains what is happening to America," Gaetz tweeted while sharing a Guardian article about the Anti-Defamation League calling for the Fox News host to be fired for discussing the claim on his prime time show. "The ADL is a racist organization," Gaetz added. Gaetz's tweet has reemerged as people accused him of inflaming racial tensions following Saturday's shooting, in which almost all of the victims were Black. While retweeting the original post, SiriusXM radio host and columnist Dean Obeidallah said: "Here's Matt Gaetz in WRITING helping radicalize the Buffalo Terrorist. Others in GOP also helped radicalize the terrorist EXACTLY like ISIS recruiters do with repeating of lies over and over with the goal being action."
Great Replacement Theory and its rhetoric is seeping into conservative media. The GOP should instead be inspired by Frederick Douglass and Jack Kemp.Ben JealousThe mass shooting in Buffalo has drawn attention to the deeply pernicious "Great Replacement Theory," a theory boosted by the Far Right and its allies at Fox News and some conservative media. Tragically, the GOP, the party of Lincoln, is making the same mistakes the old Democratic Party did after the Civil War. They are becoming a party whose modern legacy is being defined by violent white supremacists. If we are ever going to stop this sort of home-grown white supremacist terrorism, it is going to take all of our leaders doing everything they can. It is time for national Republicans to go to Buffalo and reflect on the racist mass killing there, as well as the lives of great Republicans Frederick Douglass and Jack Kemp, who were both connected to that area.
How Tucker Carlson revived and supercharged the white supremacist “great replacement” conspiracy.By Cynthia Miller-Idriss, MSNBC Opinion ColumnistBefore he was indicted on charges of killing 22 people and injuring 26 others in an El Paso, Texas, Walmart in 2019, the identified gunman had been linked to a document posted online that referred to a “Hispanic invasion of Texas.” The motivation behind that horrific incident — that there is an intentional, global plan orchestrated by national and global elites to replace white, Christian, European populations with nonwhite, non-Christian ones — gets at the core of a recent three-part New York Times series on the rise and ideology of Fox News’ Tucker Carlson. In part one of the series, journalist Nicholas Confessore describes Carlson’s efforts to stoke “white fear” of immigrants and changing U.S. demographics as “recasting American racism to present white Americans as an oppressed caste.” In so doing, Confessore shows, Carlson has drawn repeatedly on the leading far-right conspiracy theory of demographic change, known as the “great replacement.”
Mary PapenfussThe suspect in the fatal shooting of 10 people at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket Saturday was reportedly haunted in his writing by the “great replacement” conspiracy theory — a viciously racist view of the world that has been touted by Fox News host Tucker Carlson and several other far-right personalities. Payton S. Gendron, who is white, repeatedly returned to the conspiracy in his 180-page online manifesto that white Americans are at risk of being replaced by people of color by immigration, interracial marriage and eventually violence, The New York Times reported Saturday. Almost all of the victims in the mass shooting were Black. Gendron, 18, referred to “racial replacement” and “white genocide” in his writings, according to the Times. The first page included a symbol known as the sonnenrad, or black sun, which was once used by German Nazis but has been adopted by white supremacist neo-Nazis, according to the Anti-Defamation League. In an interview on CNN Saturday night, Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), who represents Buffalo, called the mass shooting part of a planned, “organized” effort to attack the minority community within an “element in our society that is blatantly racist, and they’re violent.”
Will Carless, USA TODAYLast month, Brandon Judd, who is a Border Patrol agent and the president of the National Border Patrol Council, a union representing more than 18,000 border patrol agents, sat for an interview with Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer. Wearing a black polo shirt bearing the crest of his union, the shaven-headed Judd stared intently into the camera as Hemmer asked him why he thinks President Joe Biden has allowed “Virtually an open border.” With a shake of his head, Judd responded: "I believe that they're trying to change the demographics of the electorate, that's what I believe they’re doing." As he spoke, the split-screen broadcast zoomed in on footage of people of color apparently crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, and Judd continued: "They want to stay in power, and the only way to stay in power is to continue to stay elected."
ashoaib@insider.com (Alia Shoaib)AN 18-year-old has been identified as the suspect in what authorities describe as a racially motivated mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday that left 10 people dead. A government official told The Buffalo News that the gunman's semi-automatic gun had the N-word written on the barrel in white paint and the number 14 – a known white supremacist slogan. "14 Words" is a slogan coined by David Lane, a member of the white supremacist terrorist group known as The Order, according to the Anti-Defamation League: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." Officials said they were investigating a 180-page manifesto believed to belong to the shooting suspect, which contained racist and anti-semitic views. It referenced the "replacement theory" – a far-right ideology that claims white people are being replaced by people of color – The New York Times reported. Unverified screenshots of the manifesto circulated online after the attack, in which the self-proclaimed "white supremacist" author said that they had not grown up in a racist environment but had been radicalized online.
Martha M. Hamilton, Aaron WienerThe man authorities say opened fire in a Buffalo grocery store Saturday, killing 10, appears to have left behind a white supremacist manifesto centered on the idea of a plot to replace the White population with immigrants. This far-right conspiracy theory, known as the “great replacement theory,” has inspired a lot of recent violence, including the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand, where the shooter warned of “White genocide” before pleading guilty to 51 murders, 40 attempted murders and engaging in a terrorist act.10 killed in racially motivated shooting at Buffalo grocery storeSome of the torch-bearing “Unite the Right” demonstrators, including Ku Klux Klan members and neo-Nazis, who terrorized Charlottesville in 2017 were also motivated by the theory which warns that an increase in the non-White population fueled by immigration will destroy White and Western civilization. The Buffalo gunman, identified by authorities as Payton Gendron, an 18-year-old White man, is believed to have posted online an 180-page manifesto arguing that White Americans were in danger of being replaced by people of color.
By Artemis Moshtaghian, Emma Tucker and Shimon Prokupecz, CNN(CNN) Ten people were killed in a racially motivated mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo on Saturday by a suspect in tactical gear who was livestreaming the attack, law enforcement officials said during a news conference. The shooting occurred Saturday afternoon at a Tops Friendly Markets store. The suspect in the shooting, a White male, is in custody, police said. He was identified as Payton Gendron, 18, and pleaded not guilty to the first degree murder charge brought against him in court Saturday night, Buffalo City Court Chief Judge Craig Hannah tells CNN. Thirteen were shot in the attack and 10 have died. Of those shot, 11 were Black and two were White, officials said. Two people remain hospitalized in stable condition, a spokesperson for Erie County Medical Center told CNN. Saturday's massacre in Buffalo is the latest high-profile mass shooting in which authorities have said the suspect was motivated by hate, including attacks at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas; the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh; Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston and the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. The US Department of Justice is investigating the mass shooting "as a hate crime and an act of racially-motivated violent extremism," according to a statement from US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
tporter@businessinsider.com (Tom Porter)A steady supply of Western weapons has enabled Ukraine's outnumbered military to hold back Russian forces and inflict thousands of casualties during the ongoing war. But experts are increasingly concerned that as Russia's invasion stalls, the Kremlin could choose to retaliate against the West not just through economic and diplomatic means, but also by inciting violent attacks at the heart of the NATO alliance. The tool it could seek to exploit is a network of neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups in Russia, Western Europe, and the US with which it has cultivated ties for decades. "They've done that before in much of Europe and I would not be surprised if they are doing that today — trying to get their intelligence services at the right moment to get these groups agitated," Chris Chivvis, who served as the National Security Council's intelligence officer for Europe from 2018 to 2021, told Insider. He warned of a likely effort to stir "political unrest, political violence" and "get these groups agitated to achieve political effects in countries in Europe, and possibly the United States."
Cecilia Lenzen"Like, are the minorities white supremacists, too?" the TikToker asked. Another TikToker, known as Kiki Rae Real (@kikiraereal), stitched the video to clock her with the facts. "It's the way you tokenize your Black Republican friend for me," Kiki said in her video. "No, definitely not racist behavior." Since before the slave trade began, there have always been people from minority communities who have been "duped, tricked and misled" into adhering to white Supremacist beliefs, Kiki said. They were led to believe that if they worked with white people, that would somehow benefit them with privilege and power. Then, maybe they could one day "equal" white people, Kiki said. But that's a lie, she added, because white people still hold the power. "Your friend, and other Black people like her, are agents of white supremacy due to internalized racism," Kiki said in the video.
Recruits report a need for belonging and significance as well as the desire to fight for what they see as a noble cause.By Anne Speckhard, Molly Ellenberg and TM GarretWhite supremacist ideologies, whether they are associated with neo-Nazi, Christian Identity, Creativity, or Arastú/Odinist groups, hold hatred of Jews and blaming of Jews for the world’s ills as central tenets. And yet, scholars and researchers consistently find that members of white supremacist groups must be taught to be antisemitic. Why is that? The answer might lie in the exposure that white people have to members of these different minority groups. The 2020 census recorded 46.9 million Black or African Americans living in the United States and 62.1 million Hispanic or Latino Americans. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have at least 10 percent of their residents identifying as Black or African American. Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia have at least 10 percent of their residents identifying as Hispanic or Latino. In contrast, there are 5.8 million Jewish adults living in the United States, and no single state has at least 10 percent of their residents identifying as Jewish.
White supremacy will always attract nonwhite believers.By Julio Ricardo Varela, MSNBC Opinion ColumnistIt should come as no surprise that there are several Latino male white nationalists who have gotten disproportionate attention in recent years, but in a country that keeps misunderstanding why the U.S. Latino community is nowhere near close to being a monolith, it is critical to examine how this notion of Latino white nationalists still feels strange to some. Last week’s news that Enrique Tarrio, the former Afro-Cuban leader of the Proud Boys, was arrested on federal charges surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has sparked some interest in an apparently paradoxical reality: nonwhite Latino men worshiping at the altar of American white supremacy and providing cover to ensure that white nationalists stay mainstream.
By Molly Bilinski | The Morning CallPolice are investigating after antisemitic and white supremacist propaganda was distributed to Bangor residents, officials said Monday. The paper materials were found in clear plastic bags on residents’ yards and driveways, according to a post on the borough police Facebook page. The Morning Call reached out to police Chief Scott Felchock for more information. “The Bangor Police Department denounces hate in any form,” according to the post. " … If anyone has video of a vehicle or person, please forward it to your local police department. This information has been forwarded to our local FBI partners.”
trtworld.comThe nexus between white supremacists in the US and neo-Nazis in Russia reveals a deep history of convergence between the two sides. US intelligence is convinced that Russian authorities provide “indirect and passive support” to neo-Nazi groups operating in America and other countries. Yahoo News has had the chance to examine the issue more in detail. Documents obtained by the journalists revealed that the Kremlin "probably tolerates support from some private Russian organisations" for white nationalist movements because it is consistent with the Kremlin’s goal of aggravating social divisions in the West. Intelligence agencies have acknowledged that Russian groups have tried to recruit and provide paramilitary training to North American associates in order to "expand their presence in the West, increase membership and raise money." According to these assessments, this pumping of resources into Western supporters of white supremacy "poses a potential threat to Western security by encouraging and making possible attacks on ethnic minorities and government facilities." more...
Tom BoggioniIn video posted to Twitter by user @Alexcentral77, members of the white nationalist hate group Patriot Front who marched through Washington on Saturday are seen backing up and then running as they are being filmed loading into vans to leave the area. On Saturday, videos posted online showed members of the group marching on the National Mall, wearing masks and carrying shields and American flags hung upside down. Later they were seen loading into Penske cargo trucks to depart. According to a report from the Daily Beast, the departure did not go smoothly as there was not enough vans to bear them away. more...
Jerod Macdonald-Evoy, Arizona MirrorRepublican Congressman Paul Gosar tweeted out a video meme last week, which he later deleted, that has roots in neo-Nazi and white nationalist culture. The since-deleted tweet, which was saved by the internet archive, begins with a cartoon image of a man looking dismayed as a number of headlines are displayed while the song “Little Dark Age" by MGMT plays. Before the song crescendos, a buff cartoon with Gosar's head superimposed on it appears in a doorway before the cartoon character, and a montage of Gosar is played before another photoshopped image of the congressman's head on a muscular man is shown while a spinning “America First" logo is shown around his head. more...
The idea that anti-racist is a code word for “anti-white” is the claim of avowed extremists.By Ibram X. KendiBelow a Democratic donkey, the Fox News graphic read ANTI-WHITE MANIA. It flanked Tucker Carlson’s face and overtook it in size. It was unmistakable. Which was the point. The segment aired on June 25—the height of the manic attack on, and redefinition of, critical race theory, which Carlson has repeatedly cast as “anti-white.” It was one of his most incendiary segments of the year. “The question is, and this is the question we should be meditating on, day in and day out, is how do we get out of this vortex, the cycle, before it’s too late?” Carlson asked. “How do we save this country before we become Rwanda?” Some white Americans have been led to fear that they could be massacred like the Tutsis of Rwanda. CRT=Marxism, Marxism→Genocide Every time, read a sign at a June 23 Proud Boys demonstration in Miami. Other white Americans have been led to fear America’s teachers—79 percent of whom are white—instructing “kids to identify in racial terms,” as Blake Masters, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Arizona, said in May. more...
Immigration laws have always been used to protect the idea of a white America.BY REECE JONESRepublican politicians and commentators are continuing to embrace the white supremacist replacement theory about non-white immigration to the United States. Fox News host Tucker Carlson has said Democrats wanted “the replacement of legacy Americans with more obedient people from far away countries.” Referring to an “invasion” of Haitian migrants, Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick said, “In 18 years, if every one of them has two or three children, you are talking about millions and millions and millions of new voters.” Patrick concluded, “This is trying to take over our country without firing a shot.” Until recently, the “Great Replacement” theory"had been banished from public discourse, circulating only at the white supremacist fringes. The term was coined by French author Renaud Camus, who put a name to an idea that had existed in Europe and the United States for centuries. more...
Analysis by John Blake, CNN(CNN) The Brute. The Buck. And, of course, the Thug. Those are just some of the names for a racial stereotype that has haunted the collective imagination of White America since the nation's inception. The specter of the angry Black man has been evoked in politics and popular culture to convince White folks that a big, bad Black man is coming to get them and their daughters. I've seen viral videos of innocent Black men losing their lives because of this stereotype. I've watched White people lock their car doors or clutch their purses when men who look like me approach. I've been racially profiled. It's part of the psychological tax you pay for being a Black man in America -- learning to accept that you are seen by many as Public Enemy No. 1. But as I've watched three separate trials about White male violence unfold across the US these past few weeks -- the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, the Ahmaud Arbery death trial and the civil case against organizers of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville -- I've come to a sobering conclusion: more...
Proud Boys call for 'stacking up' bodies 'like cord wood' after Rittenhouse verdict
Matthew ChapmanOn Friday, NPR reported that extreme right groups are rejoicing at the acquittal of Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse — and are fantasizing about instigating more violence in their private channels. "In one Telegram channel for the far-right Proud Boys, some noted they had taken the day off work to await the verdict," reported Odette Yousef. "'There's still a chance for this country,' wrote one. In another channel, a member stated that political violence must continue. 'The left wont stop until their bodie(s) get stacked up like cord wood,' he wrote." As the report noted, "Rittenhouse himself is not known to be a member of an extremist group. But the trial, which from its beginning became a cause and rallying cry among conservatives who champion gun rights, has been particularly alarming to extremism researchers." more...
These personal care companies use varying levels of code to mask twisted agendas.Mark HayOn a cursory scan of its website and Instagram page, Mighty White Soap Co might look like an innocuous, cutesy personal care brand, albeit one with an arguably archaic and tone-deaf name. But a closer look turns up some offbeat offerings mixed in among its seasonal designs, colorful swirls, and floral patterns, like a soap embedded with glow-in-the-dark letters that read CIA. And a review of all their product names reveals a disconcerting mélange of unremarkable odor monikers (“Autumn Caress”), strange references to obscure far-right memes (“Clown World”), and an apparent fixation on white consumers (“Morally White,” “Caucasian Abrasion”). more...
Researchers say it will allow them to gain important new insights into how extremists operate onlineBy Drew Harwell, Craig Timberg and Hannah AllamEpik long has been the favorite Internet company of the far-right, providing domain services to QAnon theorists, Proud Boys and other instigators of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — allowing them to broadcast hateful messages from behind a veil of anonymity.But that veil abruptly vanished last week when a huge breach by the hacker group Anonymous dumped into public view more than 150 gigabytes of previously private data — including user names, passwords and other identifying information of Epik’s customers. more...
The violent, fascist energy of January 6 didn't just disappearBy Amanda MarcotteAfter the January 6 insurrection at the U.S Capitol, domestic terrorism experts were worried about the potential for more violence. And for good reason. The violence that day and the night before was instigated by Donald Trump and his allies were still continuing to not just push the Big Lie, but float prophetic claims about a miraculous Trump reinstatement in August. Failed prophecies can often trigger anger and more eagerness towards violence. I doubt that hope was far from Trump's mind as he continued to hype his conspiracy theories.But as the summer wears on, it seems that at least some of the violent, fascist anger that Trump has been stoking for years is now being aimed in a new direction: people who are trying to limit the spread of COVID-19. more...
The alert was sent to local police agencies by federal officials.ByJosh MargolinRacist extremist groups, including neo-Nazis and other white supremacists, are encouraging members who contract novel coronavirus disease to spread the contagion to cops and Jews, according to intelligence gathered by the FBI.In an alert obtained by ABC News, the FBI’s New York office reports that "members of extremist groups are encouraging one another to spread the virus, if contracted, through bodily fluids and personal interactions." more...
Sonam ShethFederal investigators have learned that white supremacists in the US discussed plans to use the coronavirus as a bioweapon, Yahoo News reported, citing a weekly intelligence brief from a division of the Department of Homeland Security. The brief covered the week of February 17-24 and was written by the Federal Protective Service.It said violent extremists "continue to make bioterrorism a popular topic among themselves," adding: "White Racially Motivated Violent Extremists have recently commented on the coronavirus stating that it is an 'OBLIGATION' to spread it should any of them contract the virus." more...
The poor turnout underscores how the country's unpopular and disorganized extremist movements have been driven underground.By Brandy ZadroznyIn semi-private, encrypted chats, neo-Nazis and other far-right extremists planned rallies in dozens of cities Sunday to promote their racist movements and spread their ideologies to larger audiences. Hyped by organizers as events that would make “the whole world tremble,” the rallies ran into a major problem: Hardly anyone showed up. The “White Lives Matter” rallies, the first major real-world organizing efforts by white supremacists since 2018, were planned on the encrypted app Telegram after many aligned groups were alleged to have taken part in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S Capitol. more...
One victim, whose car had been broken into, had no idea his checks and identity had been taken by a white supremacist prison gang until the Daily Beast called him for comment.Justin RohrlichFederal wiretaps targeting cell phones used by Southern California white power gangs allegedly trafficking methamphetamine also turned up a surprise identity theft racket being run by an alleged member of the notorious Lakeside Gangsters, a “multi-generational criminal street gang” with ties to the Aryan Brotherhood and Supreme Power Skins, according to an FBI search warrant application obtained by The Daily Beast. The investigation began as part of “Operation Shamrock Shake,” a joint investigation led by the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force-Gang Group targeting the Aryan Brotherhood, a prison gang, and its “subordinate white power street gangs,” the Supreme Power Skins, the Nazi Low Riders, and the Lakeside Gangsters, the document states. Although Aryan Brotherhood members make up just .1 percent of California’s overall prison population, they are responsible for some 50 percent of all homicides inside state prisons, it adds. more...
John Oliver is taking aim at Tucker Carlson after the Fox News host’s rant about women in the military. The Last Week Tonight host says he doesn’t want to give Carlson oxygen, but due to his influence, it needs to be addressed. video...
Proud Boy figures control a web of limited liability companies hawking protein supplements, FAFO merchandise, and $200 bullhorns.By Tess Owen and Greg WaltersWhat would it take to bankrupt the Proud Boys? One of the oldest historically Black churches in America may soon find out. Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, the Proud Boys’ leader, has so far refused to answer a lawsuit filed on January 4 by the Metropolitan AME Church accusing him and other members of committing acts of terror by destroying Black Lives Matter signs in Washington, D.C., in December. more...
BY JACK DUTTONThe founder of a California-based white supremacist group who is wanted for allegedly inciting a riot and taking part in violence in the U.S. is being tracked down by Bosnian police, after he was expelled from neighboring Serbia. According to a report by Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), Robert Rundo, one of the founders of a US far-right organization called Rise Above Movement (RAM), entered the eastern European country on February 11. Rundo and others are accused of physically assaulting people who were protesting against then-U.S. President Donald Trump in California in 2017. more...
Trevor Hughes USA TODAYWASHINGTON – A screaming man with his fist raised, a Byzantine cross emblazoned in red on his T-shirt. A white flag with a lone green pine tree and the words "An Appeal to Heaven" fluttering over the angry crowd. The Christian flag whipping in the wind from a parked pickup. Those images on display at the Jan. 5-6 rally and riot in Washington, D.C., have raised concerns that some of former President Donald Trump's most ardent and dangerous supporters, including groups such as the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, QAnon, 3 Percenters and America Firsters, are cloaking themselves in biblical language to justify their actions. The flags and other displays are the latest examples of how white terrorists throughout history, including the KKK, have cited Christianity to justify what they claim is their God-given right to control races and ethnic groups, experts said. more...
*** No matter what the liars on the right say it was not Antifa or BLM capitol of the United States of America. Trump’s MAGA supporters, proud boys, oath keepers, qanon and white supremacist sacked the capitol of the United States of America in an attempt to stop the vote counting to keep Trump in power. ***Madison HallAs rioters breached the Capitol on January 6 to disrupt the certification of President Joe Biden's electoral victory, Capitol Police tried to protect members of Congress by sealing off parts of the building's underground tunnels, according to federal court filings unsealed on Thursday. According to a sworn affidavit by an FBI special agent, members of the Proud Boys group made concerted efforts to ensure the tunnels stayed open for fellow insurrectionists to come and go, using a variety of tools and objects. The Proud Boys are a far-right gang that operates across the US and is classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an "extremist group." Canada, one of the US' closest allies, declared the group a terrorist organization. more...
OK, so a lot of them were white men. But there are other traits, too, new research shows.Kelly WeillWhen Trump supporters flooded D.C. on Jan. 6, many had traveled from hometowns where they felt like political outcasts—and where hate groups like the Proud Boys acted like a beacon for the far right, new research suggests. Nearly 200 people are facing federal charges for their alleged attacks on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Prominent among them are members of the Proud Boys, a far-right paramilitary group that Canada designated as a terrorist organization on Wednesday. Even though most of the rioters were not Proud Boys, researchers from the University of Chicago and University of Michigan found that people who lived near Proud Boys chapters were more likely to have attended the riot or the rally that preceded it. more...
Richard WolffeAt Trump’s impeachment trial, Republicans have one more chance to turn their backs on the extremists. Will they take it? In 2001, nine days after terrorists attacked the United States and its federal government, a Republican president stood before Congress with the overwhelming support of a terrified nation, as he presented a stark choice to the world. “Every nation in every region now has a decision to make: either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists,” said George W Bush to loud applause in September 2001. “From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.” Thus was born the post-9/11 era, which survived for the best part of two decades, costing trillions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives, and realigning American diplomacy and politics in stark terms. Republicans fought and won two elections on the basis that they were strong and unequivocal in defending the nation, while Democrats were weak flip-floppers who tried to have it both ways. more...
By Amanda ColettaTORONTO — Canada on Wednesday declared the Proud Boys a terrorist entity, adding the far-right group to a list that includes al-Qaeda, ISIS and al-Shabab as part of an effort to crack down on what senior government officials called one of the country’s “most serious threats.” The announcement by Public Safety Minister Bill Blair comes less than a month after Proud Boys allegedly joined the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol after attending a rally by then-President Donald Trump in the hope of overturning the presidential election. Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died in that attack. It also follows a warning last week by the Department of Homeland Security about the heightened threat of “ideologically motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition” and “perceived grievances fueled by false narratives.” more...
Following the Capitol insurrection, Amazon removed The Turner Diaries from its shelves. Will it be enough?By Aja RomanoFollowing the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, Amazon took the unusual step on January 12 of removing all copies of a novel called The Turner Diaries from its virtual shelves. That may seem like a drastic stance given the debate over censorship and free speech that has accompanied these types of purges. But it’s one that signifies just how notorious the book has become, and how much real-world damage it’s arguably caused. Written and self-published by a racist man who founded a dangerous white supremacist organization, The Turner Diaries has long been viewed as a fundamental manual of extremism. While other more well-known cultural artifacts like The Catcher in the Rye (a favorite of presidential and other assassins) or The Anarchist Cookbook (a well-known “murder manual” for terrorists, mass shooters, and other extremists) have captured the public consciousness as bait for potentially violent, disaffected loners, The Turner Diaries has been little-known for decades outside of extremist circles. But within those extremist circles, it became well-established as a core text due to its use as, essentially, a training manual for America’s largest neo-Nazi organization — and then the internet made it more accessible than ever. more...
Federal law enforcement shifted resources last year in response to Donald Trump’s insistence that the radical left endangered the country. Meanwhile, right-wing extremism was building ominously.By Adam Goldman, Katie Benner and Zolan Kanno-YoungsWASHINGTON — As racial justice protests erupted nationwide last year, President Donald J. Trump, struggling to find a winning campaign theme, hit on a message that he stressed over and over: The real domestic threat to the United States emanated from the radical left, even though law enforcement authorities had long since concluded it came from the far right. It was a message that was quickly embraced and amplified by his attorney general and his top homeland security officials, who translated it into a shift in criminal justice and national security priorities even as Mr. Trump was beginning to openly stoke the outrage that months later would culminate in the storming of the Capitol by right-wing extremists. Mr. Trump’s efforts to focus his administration on the antifa movement and leftist groups did not stop the Justice Department and the F.B.I. from pursuing cases of right-wing extremism. They broke up a kidnapping plot, for example, targeting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, a Democrat. more...
Ashley Terrell‘Today is 1776,’ said Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert. More Republican Congress members are facing scrutiny after the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6. When asked whether the country heading to Civil War, Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona said “We’re in it. We just haven’t started shooting at each other yet.” According to The New York Times, nearly 150 House Republicans were in support of former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election. Gosar and many other Republican members of the House are said to have deep ties to the extremist groups that caused a riot and stormed the halls of Congress in protest of President Joe Biden’s certification. more...
By Dailymail.com Reporter and Associated PressA member of the Proud Boys kept hundreds of guides for making bombs and homemade weapons in his home and planned 'to kill every single 'm**f**er' he could during the Capitol riots, according to prosecutors. Dominic Pezzola, 43, also known as 'Spaz', was indicted Friday on charges including conspiracy, civil disorder and unlawfully entering restricted buildings or grounds for his part in the January 6 insurrection which left five including a Capitol cop dead. Prosecutors are calling for him to remain behind bars until his trial after federal agents discovered a thumb drive containing detailed instructions on making guns, poisons and IEDS inside a room that only he is said to use in his Rochester, New York, home. more...
Are we entering a new era of political violence?By Zack BeauchampThat the United States made it through President Joe Biden’s inauguration without any major act of violence is a relief. But the fact that we had to be seriously worried about it — to the point of deploying 25,000 National Guard troops to secure Washington, DC — illustrates that the threat of far-right violence is here to stay. Indeed, on January 27, the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin warning that the threat from right-wing extremists “will persist in the weeks following the successful Presidential Inauguration” — that extremists “may be emboldened by the January 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. to target elected officials and government facilities.”A country that once stood itself up as a model of liberal democratic stability is now beginning to reckon with the fact that it is at serious risk of a major wave of political violence. Federal agents have been warning of a surge in far-right violence since at least 2009, but Trump’s malign influence supercharged the threat. The Trump years have seen a flurry of deadly right-wing violence: the murder of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville; 16 pipe bombs mailed to prominent Democrats and media figures; the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue; and then the Capitol assault, a literal attack on the democratic process by an armed mob fueled by bigotry and conspiracy theories. more...
A number of members of Congress have links to organizations and movements that played a role in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol.By Luke Broadwater and Matthew RosenbergWASHINGTON — The video’s title was posed as a question, but it left little doubt about where the men who filmed it stood. They called it “The Coming Civil War?” and in its opening seconds, Jim Arroyo, who leads an Arizona chapter of Oath Keepers, a right-wing militia, declared that the conflict had already begun. To back up his claim, Mr. Arroyo cited Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona, one of the most far-right members of Congress. Mr. Gosar had paid a visit to the local Oath Keepers chapter a few years earlier, Mr. Arroyo recounted, and when asked if the United States was headed for a civil war, the congressman’s “response to the group was just flat out: ‘We’re in it. We just haven’t started shooting at each other yet.’” Less than two months after the video was posted, members of the Oath Keepers were among those with links to extremist groups from around the country who took part in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, prompting new scrutiny of the links between members of Congress and an array of organizations and movements that espouse far-right beliefs. more...
By Christopher BritoOn International Holocaust Remembrance Day, this 92-year-old survivor said it's a special, but somber occasion for him. "It's kind of a celebration and the fact that those of those of us who did survive were able to make a pretty nice life for themselves and continue," Ben Lesser told CBS News in a Zoom video call on Wednesday. "But of course, we can't forget our dear departed ones," he said. Wednesday marked 76 years after the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. Lesser was familiar with the atrocities there. He said that he survived the work and death camps in Auschwitz-Birkenau and Dachau, Poland, two death marches and the infamous Dachau death train — where dozens of train cars carried the corpses of thousands of prisoners to Dachau near the end of World War II. Lesser is believed to be the last known survivor of the latter. more...
National terrorism bulletin suggests attack may embolden extremists and set the stage for additional attacksAssociated PressThe US Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday issued a national terrorism bulletin warning of the lingering potential for violence from people motivated by anti-government sentiment after Joe Biden’s election. The bulletin suggests the riot by a mob of Donald Trump supporters at the US Capitol on 6 January may embolden extremists and set the stage for additional attacks. DHS did not cite any specific plots, but pointed to “a heightened threat environment across the United States” that it believes “will persist” for weeks. It is not uncommon for the federal government to warn local law enforcement through bulletins about the prospect for violence tied to a particular event or date, such as the Fourth of July holiday. But this particular bulletin, issued through the department’s national terrorism advisory system, is notable because it effectively places the Biden administration into the politically charged debate over how to describe or characterize acts motivated by political ideology and suggests that it sees violence aimed at overturning the election as akin to terrorism. more...
The Proud Boys, who have a history of scuffling with left-wing anti-fascist activists, have long been some of Trump’s most vocal, and violent, supporters, and he has returned the favor, telling them during one of the presidential debates to “stand back and stand by.”New York TimesWritten by Alan Feuer and Frances RoblesThe leadership of the Proud Boys has come under increased scrutiny as agents and prosecutors across the country try to determine how closely members of the far-right nationalist group communicated during the riot at the Capitol this month and to what extent they might have planned the assault in advance, according to federal law enforcement officials. At least six members of the organization have been charged in connection with the riot, including one of its top-ranking leaders, Joseph Biggs. Biggs, a U.S. Army veteran, led about 100 men on an angry march from the site of President Donald Trump’s speech toward — and then into — the Capitol building. more...
Opinion by Jonathan CapehartWhen domestic terrorists fueled by outlandish conspiracy theories spun by a white supremacist president of the United States stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 to overthrow the government, I was shocked. But not surprised. Our history is filled with eruptions of violence when our nation’s entrenched system of white supremacy feels that its place at the center of American life is threatened. David Blight, Ron Chernow and Nikole Hannah-Jones, three chroniclers of our fraught racial history, were the perfect people to put the Capitol insurrection into greater perspective. “We have plenty of precedents for what happened on January 6, not at the federal level, but in white-on-black violence in the South during Reconstruction,” Chernow told me in a primer he emailed to me before appearing on my Sunday show on MSNBC. “During this dreadful period, we had numerous cases of rampaging whites invading legislatures.” Chernow is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of a biography of President Ulysses S. Grant. more...
Early in Trump’s presidency, emboldened neo-Nazi and fascist groups came out into the open but were met with widespread revulsion. So the tactics of the far right changed, becoming more insidious – and much more successfulby Brendan O’ConnorIn March 2018, on a cold, grey Monday afternoon in East Lansing, Michigan, about 500 militant antifascists gathered in a car park with the intention of stopping Richard Spencer, the high-profile white nationalist, from speaking at Michigan State University (MSU). Spencer had not been asked to come by any student group on campus, but had instead invited himself. After the university denied his initial request to speak a few months earlier, Spencer sued. As part of the settlement agreement, Spencer agreed to speak in the middle of spring break at the MSU Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education, a venue more than a mile away from the main campus. There in the parking lot, the antifascists kept one another warm, dancing to hardcore and hip-hop played over a wheeled-in guitar amplifier, sharing cigarettes and news from elsewhere. Some people talked about the leaked chat logs of the fascist gang Patriot Front, members of which were on their way to campus that very moment. Others discussed the arraignment of one of Spencer’s followers the night before on weapons charges after he pulled a gun on protesters. About 40 police officers in riot gear huddled at the far end of the car park. Bike cops on patrol swirled by. more...