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Domestic Terrorism Organizations 101
Author: BobR    Date: 06/15/2022 12:15:15

This past weekend, Idaho police intercepted and arrested a U-Haul truck full of members of the "Patriot Front" on their way to disrupt a Gay Pride celebration. Like the groups that stormed the Capitol on Jan 06, 2021, they thrive on hate, a sense of self-importance, and violent interactions with those they oppose.

With those Jan 06 hearings in the news, it seems there are a lot of these hate groups. What are the differences between them? How long have they been around? Let's take a look at 3 that have been in the news lately:

Patriot Front: This is the youngest of the three. They formed formed out of "Vanguard America" after the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, VA in 2017.
Patriot Front, which is headquartered in Texas, formed out of another far-right group, Vanguard America, following the deadly Unite the Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.
The August 2017 rally saw violent clashes between far-right extremists and counterprotesters, resulting in the death of one woman and dozens of injuries. Some of the far-right extremists were carrying torches, wearing Ku Klux Klan hoods and chanting, among other things, “Jew will not replace us!”

[...]

It has a racist manifesto

Patriot Front says in its manifest that its objective is to overthrow a corrupt plutocracy and usher in an “era of rebirth” for the “true Americans,” which they identify as those of European lineage.

The group also appears to discuss the “Great Replacement” concept, the conspiracy theory that says liberals are replacing white Americans with minorities and immigrants for political gain.

Proud Boys: Yet another racist group which TFG famously told to "stand back and stand by". They formed in 2016. Initially, they considered themselves to be "alt-lite", but changed to "alt-right" (aka: white supremacy) in 2017. They use violence and intimidation to forward their goals of a white patriarchy, with women reduced to subservience.

The Oath Keepers: The oldest of the three was formed in 2009 after Barack Obama won the presidency in 2009 (you knew there was going to be a racist element). They claim to be staunch defenders of the Constitution (except when it comes to things like - oh, I don't know... confirming the results of an election?). They base their actions on absurd conspiracy theories, and aren't afraid to use whatever arms they can get their hands on (they consider themselves the "well-regulated milita" specified in the 2nd Amendment).
The name Oath Keepers comes from the group’s core principle – that members vow to uphold the oath they took as law enforcement or military personnel – to “support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” The Oath Keepers urge members to obey the Constitution, as they understand it, even if that interpretation goes against that of U.S. lawmakers and judges.

The main crux of the group’s messaging asserts that the government is engaged in attacks against its own citizens, working to strip them of their civil liberties. The group advocates for Americans to prepare for inevitable conflict with the government by stockpiling goods and supplies, engaging in paramilitary training and working to create small, self-reliant community networks.

There is a lot more information at the links, and I encourage you to read them. Are these the only domestic terrorist groups here in the U.S.? No, of course not. The smaller ones are just as dangerous, as they tend to be populated with those for whom the larger groups aren't extreme enough. They also fly under the radar more easily than these larger terrorist organizations.

With the ongoing hearings on TFG's coup attempt, it's good to remember that the heads of the latter two organizations are in jail, as are some of the members. To them, this could be a recruiting tool. Nonetheless, they needed to be treated as the terrorist organizations that they are, just like the Weathermen and Black Panthers in the 60s. Off to jail with all of them.
 

7 comments (Latest Comment: 06/15/2022 22:29:16 by TriSec)
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