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White Supremacist (Domestic Terrorist) in America Have Killed More Americans Than Terrorist - Page 2
Citing the protections of the First Amendment, prosecutors often use other charges as a workaround to go after members of hate groups.
By Simone Weichselbaum and Joseph Neff

Douglas Story’s white supremacist street cred was easy to find. He had a white pride tattoo and a neo-Nazi license plate. In extremist online forums he made ominous, N-word-filled posts about President Obama: “If someone puts a 30.06 round into the base of his skull, huh ya think?" The Aryan Nations even booted Story from its website when he sought help for converting his AK-47 rifle into a fully automatic machine gun — a federal crime. But none of that factored into his 2012 sentencing after the FBI arrested him in Virginia for possession of that modified gun. A federal judge blocked prosecutors from discussing Story’s white supremacist views, because the First Amendment protects speech, no matter how offensive. Prosecutors could only focus on Story’s illegal weapon.
Joseph Biggs, a 37-year-old organizer for the white nationalist group, was caught on camera inside the Capitol building.
Pilar Melendez

A Proud Boys leader caught on camera storming the U.S. Capitol with a pro-Trump mob has been arrested and charged for participating in the deadly insurrection. Joseph Biggs, a top organizer with the white nationalist organization, has been slapped with three charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding, for his role in the Jan. 6 riots. Prosecutors say the 37-year-old Florida resident is a “self-described organizer” of the Proud Boys, which describes itself as a “pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world; aka Western Chauvinists.” Biggs can be seen in several videos and photos taken inside the Capitol building, including one where someone shouts out his name. In the video, Biggs pulls down his face mask and declares, “This is awesome,” according to a criminal complaint. During his hearing in Orlando, U.S. Magistrate Judge Embry Kidd ordered Biggs released under home confinement with monitoring, stating there are concerns he will attempt to obstruct justice. more...
Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Two Florida men, including a self-described organizer for the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, were arrested Wednesday for taking part in the siege of the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, authorities said. Joseph Biggs, 37, was arrested in central Florida and faces charges of obstructing an official proceeding before Congress, entering a restricted on the groups of the U.S. Capitol and disorderly conduct. According to an arrest affidavit, Biggs was part of a crowd on Jan. 6 that overwhelmed Capitol Police officers who were manning a metal barrier on the steps of the Capitol. The mob entered the building as lawmakers were certifying President Joe Biden’s election win. more...
By Spencer S. Hsu, Tom Jackman and Devlin Barrett

U.S. authorities have leveled the first conspiracy charge against an apparent leader of an extremist group in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, arresting an alleged Oath Keeper who is accused of plotting to disrupt the electoral vote confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory and proposing further assaults on state capitols. Thomas Edward Caldwell, 66, of Clarke County, Va., was taken into custody before 7 a.m. on four federal counts, including conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States in the attack on the Capitol. The conspiracy charge is reserved for offenses interfering with or obstructing the lawful operation of government. A charging affidavit says he helped organize a group of eight to 10 individuals, including self-styled Ohio militia members apprehended Sunday, who wore helmets and military-style gear and were seen moving purposefully toward the top of the Capitol steps and leading the move against police lines. more...
No plot against President-elect Joe Biden has been found.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Two U.S. Army National Guard members are being removed from the security mission to secure Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration. A U.S. Army official and a senior U.S. intelligence official say the two National Guard members have been found to have ties to fringe right group militias. No plot against Biden was found. more...
*** If was not a false flag nor was it the left, BLM or Antifa it was the right who attacked our country and sacked our capitol. ***

Jaclyn Diaz

Federal investigators say they have arrested several alleged members of extremist and white supremacist groups who participated in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol building. At least eight people allegedly affiliated with organizations such as The Three Percenters, The Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, Texas Freedom Force, and other self-described Nazis and white supremacists were among those who joined the thousands that stormed the U.S. Capitol building, according to federal investigators. Details of their arrests highlight how different, yet organized, extremist groups, with members throughout the country, coalesced to support Trump and his (disproven) claims that the November election was stolen. Law enforcement officials were able to track suspects down by using information gleaned from tipsters, social media posts shared by the accused, and news media coverage. One of them is Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, who as a defense contractor at Naval Weapons Station Earle in New Jersey, has a security clearance and access to a variety of munitions, according to court documents. more...
*** Is was groups like the Proud boys, white supremacist and MAGA supporters that attacked the U.S. Capitol not BLM, the left or Antifa as right is trying to claim. ****

The group says it intentionally dressed in black on the day of the riot
Graig Graziosi

The Proud Boys are celebrating their role in the US Capitol insurrection on Wednesday by taking a virtual victory lap on social media. The group - a Southern Poverty Law Center designated hate group that was told to "stand back and stand by" by Donald Trump during a presidential debate earlier this year - posted messages boasting and taking credit for the riot. "For several hours, our collective strength had politicians in Washington in absolute terror. The treacherous pawns (cops) were also terrified," a Proud Boy wrote on the group's Telegram social media page. On Parler, another social media platform that welcomes extremists banned from Twitter and Facebook for violating those sites Terms of Service agreements, the Proud Boys openly supported the Capitol insurrection. "Doesn't look like they're destroying the capital. Looks like they're liberating it," the group wrote. "God bless America and all her patriots. Prior to the rally, the leader of the Proud Boys, Henry "Enrique" Tarrio was arrested for burning a Black Lives Matter sign that was stolen from a church in Washington DC. He was also found in possession of high capacity firearm magazines. A DC judge banned Mr Tarrio from entering the District. more...
Wired

Back in 2009, Daryl Johnson was an analyst at the Department of Homeland Security focusing on far-right extremist groups. But when a report he wrote about their danger sparked criticism from conservative pundits, DHS shunted Johnson aside and gutted his office. Now, with at least six dead at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, Johnson is once again calling on the government to recognize that domestic terrorism isn't just about jihad. Daryl Johnson had a sinking feeling when he started seeing TV reports on Sunday about a shooting in a Wisconsin temple. "I told my wife, 'This is likely a hate crime perpetrated by a white supremacist who may have had military experience,'" Johnson recalls.

It was anything but a lucky guess on Johnson's part. He spent 15 years studying domestic terrorist groups -- particularly white supremacists and neo-Nazis -- as a government counterterrorism analyst, the last six of them at the Department of Homeland Security. There, he even homebrewed his own database on far-right extremist groups on an Oracle platform, allowing his analysts to compile and sift reporting in the media and other law-enforcement agencies on radical and potentially violent groups.

But Johnson's career took an unexpected turn in 2009, when an analysis he wrote on the rise of "Right-Wing Extremism" (.pdf) sparked a political controversy. Under pressure from conservatives, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) repudiated Johnson's paper -- an especially bitter pill for him to swallow now that Wade Michael Page, a suspected white supremacist, killed at least six people at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. For Johnson, the shooting was a reminder that the government's counterterrorism efforts are almost exclusively focused on al-Qaida, even as non-Islamist groups threaten Americans domestically. more...
As the FBI warns of violence, anti-government extremists are ready to get in on the chaos.
Story by Michael J. Mooney

In the menagerie of right-wing populist groups, the boogaloo bois stand out for their fashion, for their great love of memes, and, to put it plainly, for the incoherence of their ideology. Which is saying a lot, considering that the riot at the Capitol last Wednesday featured partisans of the long-gone country of South Vietnam, Falun Gong adherents, end-times Christians, neo-Nazis, QAnon believers, a handful of Orthodox Jews, and Daniel Boone impersonators. The boogaloos weren’t a huge presence in that mob. But according to federal officials, the attack on the Capitol has galvanized them and could inspire boogaloo violence in D.C. and around the country between now and Inauguration Day. The FBI warned earlier that boogaloos could launch attacks in state capitols this Sunday, January 17. The boogaloos don’t appear interested in fighting for Donald Trump—they tend to despise him, mostly because they think he panders to the police. But for the past year, boogaloo bois all over the United States have been cheering on the country’s breakdown, waiting for the moment when their nihilistic memes would come to life and the country would devolve into bloody chaos. more...
Witnesses say Trump was oblivious to the gravity of the situation as five died, Congress was violated and his vice-president faced the very real possibility of being lynched
by Julian Borger in Washington

If there was one single moment when the veil of American resilience crumbled and the Trumpist assault on democracy turned into an invasion, it arrived just before 1pm on Wednesday. That was when a group of pro-Trump militants burst through a flimsy outer barrier on the north-west side of the Capitol building and advanced on a secondary barricade guarded by four frightened police officers, dressed only in basic uniforms and soft caps. One of the officers can be seen resting his hands on the barrier in as casual a manner he can manage, in an attempt to defuse the confrontation. He clearly had no idea what was coming. On the other side, a young man in a white hoodie and a red Make America Great Again cap, pulls at the metal barricade but it holds. Then an older man, also red-capped but in full military uniform, takes the youth by the shoulder and whispers something in his ear as the swelling crowd around them chants “USA”. Ten seconds later, the crowd pushes together, the metal fortification collapses, and the Capitol police officers are overwhelmed. The crowd surges past rushing towards the great white domed building atop Capitol Hill. more...
Eduard Florea allegedly used his Parler account to threaten the Democrat senator-elect and discuss armed caravans heading to the US Capitol.
David Mack Buzz Feed News Reporter

A self-described member of the extremist Proud Boys group allegedly used Parler to threaten the life of Georgia Senator-elect Raphael Warnock and discuss traveling to the US Capitol to cause violence, authorities said Wednesday. Eduard Florea, 40, was arrested at his home in Queens, New York, by the FBI on Tuesday night. There, authorities said they found more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition despite Florea previously having been convicted in 2013 of a firearms-related felony. Appearing in Brooklyn Federal Court, he was charged with being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition. If convicted, he faces 10 years in prison. "For those of you out there with similar intentions, heed this warning — knock it off, or expect to see us at your door,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney. Citing unnamed law enforcement sources, multiple media outlets reported that Florea has described himself online as a member of the Proud Boys, the white nationalist and misogynist hate group. According to a criminal complaint, Florea allegedly ran an account on Parler with the handle LoneWolfWar. more...
The feds told local authorities one group has “warned that if Congress attempts to remove POTUS via the 25th Amendment a huge uprising will occur.”
Arya Hodjat

The FBI has warned local officials of potential violence from the “Boogaloo Boys” and other far-right groups at all 50 state capitols over the next week and a half. “Armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols from 16 January through at least 20 January, and at the US Capitol from 17 January through 20 January,” one FBI bulletin reads, according to ABC News, which obtained a copy of the memo. The bulletin reportedly goes on to tell authorities that one unnamed, armed group has “warned that if Congress attempts to remove POTUS via the 25th Amendment a huge uprising will occur.” The memo comes just days after a riot at the U.S. Capitol, in which supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the building in an effort to stop the Electoral College certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. While this effort was unsuccessful, five people died in the attack. One Capitol Police officer, Brian Sicknick, died after reportedly being assaulted with a fire extinguisher by rioters. Another FBI memo obtained by Yahoo News states that some members of the Boogaloo movement planning Jan. 17 rallies “indicated willingness to commit violence in support of their ideology, created contingency plans in the event violence occurred at the events, and identified law enforcement security measures and possible countermeasures.” The Dec. 29 report details threats of violence specifically at the Minnesota and Michigan state capitols—two states that President Trump instructed his supporters to “liberate” in April amid COVID-19 lockdowns on his since-deleted Twitter account. more...
Despite thousands of troops arriving and federal charges coming down, some fringe actors were back at it.
Kelly Weill

As law enforcement retook the Capitol building on Wednesday night, the far-right coalition that had breached the building looked to its leaders for cues on their next actions. Those messages were muddled, as the movement sought to advance from a day of unprecedented destruction. The far right has spent months organizing and advertising a series of increasingly chaotic pro-Trump rallies in Washington, D.C., culminating in Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol. Ahead of that January 6 putsch, organizers announced plans to “occupy” the area outside the Capitol building, while others screen-printed “MAGA Civil War January 6, 2021” hoodies to wear to the event. But their invasion of the Capitol, against a lackluster security force, did not stop Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. On the political back foot, but enervated from the Capitol attack, the far right mulled a series of new rallies and conspiracy theories in support of Donald Trump. more...
Alt-right white supremacists are accusing each other of being feds and pushing for more terror.
Alexander Reid Ross


After a feverish couple of hours on Jan. 6, during which fascists on social network platforms dared to utter the word “revolution,” they came crashing down to reality—hopes ruined and friendless in the world after the deadly but ultimately fruitless attack on the U.S. Capitol. Now, with far-right groups feeling backed into a corner by the impending end of Trump’s presidency, divisions among them are becoming more palpable as a feeling of failure grows and extremists nihilistically turn away from talk of a “political solution” and towards white supremacist terror.

Cracks within the extreme right already presented themselves on the eve of the Trump putsch, when the outgoing president exhorted his supporters to march on the Capitol in an effort to intervene in the peaceful transition of power to the next democratically elected leader. Just days before Jan. 6, a story written by the alt-right podcaster Erik Striker reignited an ongoing row by accusing the occult Satanist branch of fascism of being a front for the FBI, “a psychological operation intended to demoralize activists and farm white ‘terrorists’ they can parade for an eager, anti-white media.” Not only was the satanic branch of fascism an unwitting tool, Striker claimed, it was actually a federal psyop. more...
The FBI also says an armed group has threatened to travel to Washington and stage an uprising if Congress removes Trump from office.
By Tom Winter and Andrew Blankstein

The FBI has sent a memo to law enforcement agencies across the country warning of possible armed protests at all 50 state Capitols starting Jan. 16, and also says an armed group has threatened to travel to Washington, D.C., the same day and stage an uprising if Congress removes President Donald Trump from office, according to a senior law enforcement official. The memo includes information provided by the ATF, DEA, Defense Department, Park Police, and the U.S. Marshals, among other agencies, according to the official. Some of the information came from social media, some from open source, and some from other sources of information.

The memo was first reported by ABC News. The senior law enforcement official says the FBI’s National Crisis Coordination Center distributed the update to law enforcement agencies as a summary of threat information they’ve received following last Wednesday’s deadly mob attack on the Capitol. While the memo discusses possible threats discussed by online actors for Jan. 16 through the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 20, it doesn’t mean that law enforcement agencies expect violent mass protests or confrontations in every state. For instance, a spokesperson for the FBI in Boston says, “At this point in time, the FBI Boston Division is not in possession of any intelligence indicating any planned, armed protests at the four state capitals in our area of responsibility. (ME, MA, NH, and RI) from January 17-20, 2021.” more...
by Solomon Jones

I felt a growing sadness as I listened to a recording of Donald Trump begging, bullying, cajoling and threatening Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in an attempt to make him do something he can’t—overturn Trump’s loss in the presidential race, via the state now poised to send a historic rebuke to the GOP’s exclusionary politics. Others, including former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig, have said the president’s roughly hourlong call to Raffensperger, published by the Washington Post, could expose the president to state and federal charges of election fraud. In listening to what Trump said, I thought Bharara and others were right. “But they are shredding ballots, in my opinion, based on what I’ve heard,” Trump told Raffensperger as lawyers and staffers listened in. “And they are removing machinery, and they’re moving it as fast as they can, both of which are criminal finds. And you can’t let it happen, and you are letting it happen. You know, I mean, I’m notifying you that you’re letting it happen. So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state.” more...
*** White supremacist, white racist and white mobs are more of a threat to America than black extremists are. ***

Jana Winter, Marquise Francis and Sean D. Naylor

More than three years after the FBI came under fire for claiming “Black identity extremists” were a domestic terrorism threat, the bureau has issued a new terrorism guide that employs almost identical terminology, according to a copy of the document obtained by Yahoo News.

The FBI’s 2020 domestic terrorism reference guide on “Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremism” identifies two distinct sets of groups: those motivated by white supremacy and those who use “political reasons — including racism or injustice in American society” to justify violence. The examples the FBI gives for the latter group are all Black individuals or groups.

The FBI document claims that “many” of those Black racially motivated extremists “have targeted law enforcement and the US Government,” while a “small number” of them “incorporate sovereign citizen Moorish beliefs into their ideology, which involves a rejection of their US citizenship based on a combination of sovereign citizen ideology, religious beliefs, and black separatist rhetoric.” more...
The killing of a federal officer in Oakland, the shooting of a police station in Minneapolis, and a plot to supply Hamas with weapons weren’t isolated cases, according to a federal indictment.
Salvador Hernandez BuzzFeed News Reporter

The young man came to the protest over the police killing of George Floyd wearing a tactical vest on his chest and a skull mask over his face. In grainy video footage captured outside of Minneapolis’s 3rd Police Precinct on the night of May 28, the man can be seen pulling out an AK-47 style rifle and blasting 13 shots into the police building. The shooting happened shortly before the structure was set ablaze. On Friday, federal officials issued a complaint against a 26-year-old Texan, Ivan Harrison Hunter, they say they have identified as the man in the video. Hunter faces one count of participating in a riot, with a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Hunter could not be reached for comment, and it was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer. But along with the charge, federal officials unsealed an affidavit accusing Hunter of being part of a loose nationwide network of violent extremists, known as "boogaloo" boys (also spelled "bois"). The extremists connected and communicated through social media apps, including Facebook, to plot and glorify shocking violence, including killing a federal officer in Oakland and a scheme to supply Hamas with weapons to use against US soldiers. For example, just a few hours after allegedly shooting up the precinct, Hunter messaged an associate in California, Steven Carrillo. more...
By Caroline Linton

The FBI and Michigan state police have arrested a self-proclaimed leader of the white supremacy group The Base and an alleged associate, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said on Thursday. The suspects are linked to a December 2019 incident in which The Base allegedly targeted a Michigan family's home, mistakenly believing it belonged to a podcaster critical of the neo-Nazi movement.

Justen Watkins, 25, the man who allegedly claimed to be leader of the group, and Alfred Gorman, 35, both of Michigan, have been charged with felony counts of gang membership, unlawful posting of a message and using computers to commit a crime. If convicted, they could face more than 25 years in prison.

According to prosecutors, a man and a woman witnessed two men in dark clothing shining a light and taking pictures on the front porch of the family's home in Dexter, Michigan. The photos were then allegedly uploaded to The Base's channel on the secret chat app Telegram, and misidentified the house as belonging to the podcaster, who Nessel's office said had never lived in the home. more...
COREY WILLIAMS, Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — Two members of a white supremacist group were arrested Thursday and accused of intimidating a Michigan family, authorities said. Justen Watkins, 25, of Bad Axe, and Alfred Gorman, 35, of Taylor, were charged with gang membership, unlawful posting of a message and using computers to commit a crime, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office.

The charges followed an investigation by Michigan State Police and the FBI into a group called The Base and a December 2019 incident in which a family in Dexter saw men in dark clothing shining a light and taking photos on the front porch of their home. The photos were uploaded onto The Base’s social media platform channel along with a caption that alluded to a person involved with an antifa podcast, according to authorities.

Nessel’s office said the group was targeting that person, but that he had never lived at the home, which is about 52 miles (83 kilometers) west of Detroit. Antifa is an umbrella description for far-left-leaning militant groups that resist white supremacists at demonstrations and other events. “Using tactics of intimidation to incite fear and violence constitutes criminal behavior,” Nessel said. “We cannot allow dangerous activities to reach their goal of inflicting violence and harm on the public." more...
He allegedly fired 13 rounds from an AK-47 style gun and helped set it on fire.
ByAlexander Mallin

A self-described member of the 'Boogaloo Bois' has been charged with participating in a riot after he allegedly shot 13 rounds from an AK-47 style assault rifle into a Minneapolis Police Department building during the civil unrest following the death of George Floyd in late May. Ivan Hunter, 26, is accused of traveling from Texas to Minneapolis to meet up with other members of the 'Boogaloo Bois' with the goal of carrying out acts of violence during the riots.

The FBI describes the 'Boogaloo Bois' as a loosely-connected group driven by militant anti-government sentiments. Members of the group regularly refer to the 'Boogaloo' as an impending civil war they expect will be incited by accelerationist acts of terror. Federal investigators said they reviewed video of Hunter firing rounds with his AK-47 style assault rifle into the Third Precinct building while looters were still inside and that he also helped assist them in setting the building on fire.

According to an FBI affidavit, after shooting into the building Hunter hi-fived another individual and while walking towards the camera yelled, "Justice for Floyd!" The affidavit additionally states that Hunter was pinned as the shooter by an unidentified cooperating defendant. more...
Ed Pilkington

From the frequency of attacks to the scope of ambition, racist terror groups – encouraged by the president, are showing unparalleled activity in the modern era. On 6 October Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security, released his department’s annual assessment of violent threats to the nation. Analysts didn’t have to dig deep into the assessment to discover its alarming content. In a foreword, Wolf wrote that he was “particularly concerned about white supremacist violent extremists who have been exceptionally lethal in their abhorrent, targeted attacks in recent years. [They] seek to force ideological change in the United States through violence, death, and destruction.”

Two days later, the FBI swooped. It arrested 13 rightwing extremists who had allegedly been plotting to carry out a range of attacks in Michigan, including the kidnapping of the Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer. Later revelations revealed that a group of anti-government paramilitaries that included some of those arrested had also discussed kidnapping the governor of Virginia. The double strike, just days apart, of the threat assessment and the Michigan plot arrests marked an important moment in America’s tortured history of racist terrorism. US authorities appeared not only to have woken up finally to the extent of the white supremacist threat but were actually doing something about it. more...
The FBI used confidential sources, undercover agents and clandestine recordings to foil the alleged kidnapping conspiracy.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Members of anti-government paramilitary groups discussed kidnapping Virginia’s governor during a June meeting in Ohio, an FBI agent testified Tuesday during a court hearing in Michigan. Special Agent Richard Trask also revealed more detail about investigators’ use of confidential informants, undercover agents and encrypted communication to arrest and charge six men last week with plotting to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Tuesday’s court hearing was to review investigators’ evidence against Adam Fox, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta and whether they should be detained before trial. The men are all Michigan residents.

A sixth man, Barry Croft, was being held in Delaware. The June meeting was part of the FBI’s investigation of various anti-government groups, leading to the months-long case in Michigan relying on confidential sources, undercover agents and clandestine recordings to foil the alleged kidnapping conspiracy. Some defendants conducted coordinated surveillance of the Democratic governor’s vacation home in northern Michigan in August and September, according to a criminal complaint. It was not immediately clear whether talk of targeting Virginia's Democratic governor went beyond the June meeting of anti-government groups in Dublin, Ohio. Trask said members of anti-government groups from “four or five” states attended that meeting. more...
By Ewan Palmer

A video has emerged of a Proud Boys supporter warning that there will be a "civil war" if Donald Trump does not get re-elected in November and advises people to stock up on guns. The clip featuring the self-proclaimed supporter of the far-right group was posted online by actor and blogger Walter Masterson and took place during a Trump rally in Staten Island, New York. The Proud Boys supporter, who is not identified, describes how the group are "not brawlers" despite being known for their violent rallies and altercations with left-wing groups and movements such as antifa. "But we're there. We're like the Marines, we're the first to come in," he adds.

When asked by Masterson how the Proud Boys reacted to Trump's "stand back and stand by" comments he made during the televised presidential debate, the man said the group took that to mean the president is telling them to "wait for my orders." "And that's exactly what we're waiting for," the supporter adds. The clip then shows Masterson suggesting that Proud Boys are "not violent" before jumping to the supporter giving a warning as to what will happen if he does not win the election. "If Trump doesn't get re-elected, there's going to be a riot. If he doesn't get elected, this is when you're going to see a civil war," he adds. more...
By Ewan Palmer

Cards describing a "social visit" from the Ku Klux Klan were left at the homes of Joe Biden supporters in Tennessee, intimidating local residents. Breana Green, of Shelbyville, described how she noticed that a sign showing support for Biden in her neighbor's yard had been disturbed. Speaking to WSMV, Green said the yard was littered with a number of "business cards" reportedly belonging to the KKK.

Green believed the cards were left in response to the Biden-Harris yard sign, which also had tire marks indicating it had been run over. "It's scary knowing that just supporting a presidential candidate can incite this kind of vandalism," Green said. "There is some anxiety that people could be targeted in my family," she added. "People in the community could be targeted as well. I just don't think this should be something that we're dealing with in 2020." Speaking to WPLB, Green described that the cards said how the KKK had paid "a social visit," with a warning that the next time will be "a business call." more...
These groups have no constitutional right to exist.
By Mary B. McCord

In the swirls of disinformation that now pollute our political discourse, one  is particularly dangerous: that private militias are constitutionally protected. Although these vigilante groups often cite the Second Amendment’s mention of a “well regulated militia” for their authority, history and Supreme Court precedent make clear that the phrase was not intended to — and does not — authorize private militias outside of government control.

Indeed, these armed groups have no authority to call themselves forth into militia service; the Second Amendment does not protect such activity; and all 50 states prohibit it. The danger of these groups was brought home on Thursday with the announcement that the F.B.I. had thwarted a plot by people associated with an extremist group in Michigan to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and overthrow the government. Court documents say that the group discussed trying the governor for treason and murdering “tyrants.” Six men now face federal kidnapping conspiracy charges, but unauthorized militia activity continues in Michigan and elsewhere.

The unnamed militia involved in the kidnapping plot is part of a growing number of private paramilitary groups mobilizing across the country, wholly outside of lawful authority or governmental accountability. These organizations — some of which openly refer to themselves as “militias,” while others reject the term — often train together in the use of firearms and other paramilitary techniques and “deploy,” heavily armed and sometimes in full military gear, when they deem it necessary. more...
Extremist violence isn’t a one-off problem. And it’s been around for decades.
By Kathleen Belew

FBI agents have disrupted and stopped what they say was a conspiracy by militia movement members to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D). They discussed arson of her vacation home and other targets and kidnapping her for “trial.” This isn’t just a one-off event or the work of a few mad actors — it’s part of a rising tide of white power activity, one that poses an imminent danger to American democracy. The Department of Homeland Security’s threat assessment report, released earlier this week after a long wait, made that clear: White power movement violence and affiliated extremism is, by far, the greatest terrorist threat to our nation.

Not only does this kind of extremist violence outstrip any violence carried out by what President Trump has referred to as “antifa and the left,” but white power violence now also exceeds the threat of radical Islamist terror. The DHS assessment makes clear that “2019 was the most lethal year for extremism in the United States since the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.”

That bombing, the largest deliberate mass casualty on mainland American soil between Pearl Harbor and 9/11, is still not well understood by Americans. People still think of it as the work of lone wolves or a few bad apples. But the Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168 people — including 19 young children — was the work of the white power movement, a coordinated social network that brought together Klansmen, neo-Nazis, skinheads, militiamen, radical tax resisters, separatists and others in outright war on the federal government. The evidence of the bombing as part of this movement is extensive and irrefutable.

And it presaged the problem we face now. Twenty-five years later, the threat of white power domestic terrorism is inescapable. Experts agree. Watchdogs agree. Whistleblowers agree. Deradicalizers agree. Scholars agree. Everyone, it seems, but the upper echelons of the Trump administration, and the most unreachable corners of his base, agree: White power violence has been unleashed. more...
William Cummings USA TODAY

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Friday that the men charged with plotting to kidnap her and storm the state Capitol should be referred to as domestic terrorists, not members of any militia. "They’re not 'militias.' They’re domestic terrorists endangering and intimidating their fellow Americans. Words matter," the governor said in a tweet.

On Thursday, federal and state prosecutors charged 13 members of an armed group with planning to kidnap the governor and other violent, anti-government acts as part of an effort to ignite a wider civil war. The group's organizers face felony domestic terrorism charges. Multiple news organizations referred to the extremists as "Michigan militia" members. In the 1990s, several anti-government groups in the state united under the name Michigan Militia, but in recent years, the term has been used for all similar organizations there, Amy Cooter, a senior lecturer at Vanderbilt University who has studied such groups, told the Detroit Free Press, which is part of the USA TODAY Network. more...
By Lia Eustachewich

One of the militiamen accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer railed that President Trump was a “tyrant” and called all government workers “your enemy.” Video circulating on social media appears to show Brandon Caserta expressing his anti-government — and anti-Trump — views. “Trump is not your friend, dude,” Caserta says, with an anarchist flag hanging behind him. “It amazes me that people actually, like, believe that when he’s shown over and over and over again that he’s a tyrant. Every single person that works for government is your enemy, dude.” more...
Frank Witsil Detroit Free Press

DETROIT — The Wolverine Watchmen, the Michigan group accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and others, is one of an estimated two to three dozen armed Michigan groups that some fear could pose a growing threat. Michigan has had a long history of groups of armed men and women, which are active in every state, according to Amy Cooter, a senior lecturer at Vanderbilt University, who has studied them for more than a dozen years. Modern armed groups, she said, date to the early 1990s as a response to perceived fears of tyrannical government.

The state "has always been a hotbed for militia activity," with a strong presence ever since the early 1990s, Cooter said. "The militias in Michigan have always been the kind to which other states' militias look up to." Thursday, law enforcement arrested 13 people, including seven members of the Wolverine Watchmen, which sparked a national conversation about domestic terrorism and the purpose of these private, loosely organized and armed organizations. The extensive investigation, court documents showed, relied on confidential informants, undercover agents, recorded conversations, text messages and social media. Federal agents detailed a plan to violently overthrow the government, which included a conspiracy to kidnap the Democratic governor, take her to Wisconsin and put her on trial for "treason." more...
State officers collaborated with Patriot Prayer members and leader Joey Gibson in illegal arrest of man on college campus, suit alleges

Jason Wilson

Far-right leader Joey Gibson, several current and former associates and three Washington state patrol (WSP) police officers are facing a civil rights lawsuit over a violent confrontation at Evergreen State College on 15 June 2017. Gibson is the leader of the rightwing activist group Patriot Prayer and the suit is one of a proliferating set of legal efforts associated with Gibson’s activities in Oregon and Washington throughout the Trump era.

The violent incident, which was captured on several videos made by Gibson associates, took place during a rally staged by Patriot Prayer in support of Professor Bret Weinstein, who was at the center of national controversy over his opposition to a day of absence for white staff and students at the college. The suit has been brought by Washington state civil rights lawyer Larry Hildes on behalf of his client, Joseph Robinson. It alleges WSP officers collaborated with Patriot Prayer members in the illegal arrest and detention of Robinson at the College.

In a phone conversation, Hildes said that the aim of the suit was to “get the state patrol reined in” and to encourage policy changes. In relation to Patriot Prayer, Hildes said: “I want to shut them down.” “I want them out of business,” Hildes said of the far-right protest group. “I want them out of existence as an entity.” Patriot Prayer’s incursion on to the campus on a rainy afternoon was counter-protested by anti-fascist activists, students and staff. Over a number of hours, Patriot Prayer and anti-fascists exchanged blows and pepper spray. Gibson and others were covered in silly string by antifascists, and Gibson at one point sustained a facial wound. more...
A former FBI agent has documented links between serving officers and racist militant activities in more than a dozen states

Sam Levin in Los Angeles

White supremacist groups have infiltrated US law enforcement agencies in every region of the country over the last two decades, according to a new report about the ties between police and far-right vigilante groups. In a timely new analysis, Michael German, a former FBI special agent who has written extensively on the ways that US law enforcement have failed to respond to far-right domestic terror threats, concludes that US law enforcement officials have been tied to racist militant activities in more than a dozen states since 2000, and hundreds of police officers have been caught posting racist and bigoted social media content.

The report notes that over the years, police links to militias and white supremacist groups have been uncovered in states including Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia. Police in Sacramento, California, in 2018 worked with neo-Nazis to pursue charges against anti-racist activists, including some who had been stabbed, according to records. And just this summer, German writes, an Orange county sheriff’s deputy and a Chicago policeman were caught wearing far-right militia logos; an Olympia, Washington, officer was photographed posing with a militia group; and Philadelphia police officers were filmed standing by while armed mobs attacked protesters and journalists. more...
Mike German

I was an FBI agent who infiltrated white supremacists. Too many local police don’t take the far right seriously – or actively sympathize. For decades, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has routinely warned its agents that the white supremacist and far-right militant groups it investigates often have links to law enforcement. Yet the justice department has no national strategy designed to protect the communities policed by these dangerously compromised law enforcers. As our nation grapples with how to reimagine public safety in the wake of the protests following the police killing of George Floyd, it is time to confront and resolve the persistent problem of explicit racism in law enforcement.

I know about these routine warnings because I received them as a young FBI agent preparing to accept an undercover assignment against neo-Nazi groups in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. But you don’t have to take my word for it. A redacted version of a 2006 FBI intelligence assessment, White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement, alerted agents to “both strategic infiltration by organized groups and self-initiated infiltration by law enforcement personnel sympathetic to white supremacist causes”.

A leaked 2015 counter-terrorism policy guide made the case more directly, warning agents that FBI “domestic terrorism investigations focused on militia extremists, white supremacist extremists, and sovereign citizen extremists often have identified active links to law enforcement officers”. If the government knew that al-Qaida or Isis had infiltrated American law enforcement agencies, it would undoubtedly initiate a nationwide effort to identify them and neutralize the threat they posed. Yet white supremacists and far-right militants have committed far more attacks and killed more people in the US over the last 10 years than any foreign terrorist movement. The FBI regards them as the most lethal domestic terror threat. The need for national action is even more critical. more...
Robert Snell The Detroit News

The FBI says it thwarted what it described as a plot to violently overthrow the government and kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and federal prosecutors are expected to discuss the alleged conspiracy later Thursday. The alleged plot involved reaching out to members of a Michigan militia, according to a federal affidavit filed Thursday. The court filing also alleges the conspirators twice conducted surveillance at Whitmer's personal vacation home and discussed kidnapping her to a "secure location" in Wisconsin to stand "trial" for treason prior to the Nov. 3 election.

"Several members talked about murdering 'tyrants' or 'taking' a sitting governor," an FBI agent wrote in the affidavit. "The group decided they needed to increase their numbers and encouraged each other to talk to their neighbors and spread their message." The affidavit was filed hours after a team of FBI agents raided a Hartland Township home Wednesday and comes amid an ongoing investigation into the death of a Metro Detroit man killed during a shootout with FBI agents. More than 12 people were arrested late Wednesday on state and federal charges. more...
A 24-year-old man accused in a string of shootings and vandalism targeting a family with a Black Lives Matter sign in their window told a judge, “I'm extremely regretful of what I did."
By Tim Fitzsimons and The Associated Press

A white man accused of firing shots into the home of a Black suburban Detroit family who put a Black Lives Matter sign in their window expressed regret and asked for forgiveness during a pre-trial court hearing Thursday. “I’m extremely regretful of what I did. I can say it’s not like me,” said Michael Frederick Jr., 24, as he appeared by video in Warren District Court for his arraignment. “I acted way out of character. This wasn’t about the color of anyone’s skin.”

Frederick was arrested Tuesday and faces charges that include ethnic intimidation, in connection to a string of crimes that targeted the home of Eddie and Candace Hall in the city of Warren, about 19 miles north of downtown Detroit. Over a period of a few days beginning Sept. 7, the Halls twice had shots fired at their home, a large rock hurled through the window, their tires slashed, and an anti-Black Lives Matter message and swastika scrawled on their truck. more...
By Ewan Palmer

A video showing the violent rhetoric frequently used by Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes has reemerged after Donald Trump told the far-right group to "stand by" during the presidential date. McInnes launched the Proud Boys in 2016 but left the group in 2018 after fighting broke out between the group and antifa in New York following a speech he made at the Metropolitan Republican Club.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, McInnes told a crowd of his supporters that violence is a "really effective way to solve problems." The clip, an edited version of one that first appeared on social media a few years ago, lists other examples of McInnes actively promoting or encouraging violence on his podcast and other public appearances. In one segment, McInnes boasts about how the group's members "will kill you. That's the Proud Boys in a nutshell." He also directly states that he is calling for violence and adds that "violence solves everything."

"We need more violence from the Trump people, Trump supporters. Choke a m**********r, choke a b***h, choke a t****y, get your fingers around a windpipe," McInnes can be heard saying over a clip of the unrest which took place in New York in 2018. McInnes also tells listeners on his show to get a gun and "get ready to blow someone's f*****g head off." It is unclear in what context McInnes is making the remark. more...
By Paul LeBlanc, CNN

Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump condemned "all White supremacists" Thursday evening after pointedly refusing to do so at Tuesday's presidential debate and in the days since. "I condemn the KKK, I condemn all White supremacists, I condemn the Proud Boys. I don't know much about the Proud Boys, almost nothing, but I condemn that," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity, before he again appeared to equate violence by far-left groups with White supremacists, who his own FBI director says are the largest top domestic terror concern.

The White House initially showed no signs of backing down from Trump's refusal to condemn White supremacists during Tuesday's debate, despite pleas from some Republican allies to clarify his comments. Earlier Thursday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany would not give a declarative statement denouncing White supremacists, instead pointing to the President's past comments and insisting that he had not misspoken during the debate or after. more...
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