Extremists

Detroit’s Fox News affiliate reports: Michael and William Null were among the first suspects charged Thursday morning for their alleged roles in what the FBI calls a plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The Null brothers had ties to militia groups and were frequently seen at local demonstrations. Including at a rally in protest of Governor Whitmer’s stay-at-home order, held …

The Detroit Free Press reports: Thirteen members of an anti-government group bent on igniting a civil war are charged in a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who the group targeted in a possible commando raid on the state capitol, according to newly unsealed court records. Authorites said Thursday that the Wolverine Watchmen group planned on storming either the capitol …

The Detroit News reports: President Donald Trump slammed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on social media Thursday night, hours after authorities revealed a plot to kidnap and harm the Democratic governor. Trump said that instead of thanking him for federal authorities foiling the plot against her, she had called him a white supremacist. Trump issued a series of tweets after law enforcement …

Vanity Fair reports: In response to the news of her own planned kidnapping, Whitmer criticized Trump for “stoking distrust” and “giving comfort to those who spread fear and division.” Kayleigh McEnany hit back with her own statement, writing, “President Trump has continually condemned white supremacists and all forms of hate. Governor Whitmer is sowing division by making these outlandish allegations. …

The Detroit News reports: 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. “Several members talked …

Will Sommer reports at The Daily Beast: Facebook announced a sweeping ban on QAnon activity Tuesday, vowing to delete content related to the pro-Trump conspiracy theory movement on its platforms. “Starting today, we will remove any Facebook Pages, Groups and Instagram accounts representing QAnon, even if they contain no violent content,” the company said in a press release. The crackdown …

CNN reports: White supremacist extremists will remain the deadliest domestic terror threat to the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s first annual homeland threat assessment, which details a range of threats from election interference to unprecedented storms. Since 2018, White supremacists have conducted more lethal attacks in the US than any other domestic extremist movement, demonstrating a …

Florida Politics reports: Republican congressional candidate Laura Loomer has gathered a lot of attention in her challenge against Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel. But a new St. Pete Polls survey shows she’s not gathering a lot of support from voters. The poll puts Frankel ahead by a 61%-33% margin in the race for Florida’s 21st District. Those results are in many …

The Wall Street Journal reports: The Internal Revenue Service is investigating longtime National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre for possible criminal tax fraud related to his personal taxes, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. LaPierre was paid $2.2 million by the NRA in 2018, the most recent year available, the nonprofit group’s public filings show. His total reported …

Media Matters reports: Republican Senate candidate Lauren Witzke is continuing her outreach to white nationalists by promoting her campaign in a video interview with the white nationalist site VDare. The Delaware Republican Party has continued backing Witzke despite her appeals to far-right extremists. Witzke is running for the Senate in Delaware against Democratic Sen. Chris Coons. As Media Matters and …

The Hill reports: The White House announced Friday that President Trump intends to appoint prominent conservative activist Tom Fitton to a judicial oversight agency that would grant him the power to unseat judges in Washington, D.C.,’s judiciary. Trump will tap Fitton to join the D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure. Fitton heads the group Judicial Watch, and has advocated …

“America is in a war for its very survival and now our president battling against the Communist Chinese, the globalists, and others in open worldwide economic war is being told he’s got to stay locked up for 14 days legitimizing this entire giant fraud. “What we know is 90% of the tests are false positive, conservatively. What we know is …

NPR reports: The House overwhelmingly approved a resolution condemning QAnon, the fringe movement that promotes wide-ranging conspiracies about the U.S. government and yet has enjoyed a rising tide inside conservative politics in part because of tacit encouragement from President Trump. The measure passed 371-18, with one GOP member voting present. QAnon is a “collective delusion, said House Rules Chairman Jim …

NPR reports: Days after President Trump declined to denounce white supremacists during a nationally televised debate, sparking outrage from Democrats and many Republicans, he sought to lay the controversy to rest, telling Fox News Thursday that he condemns right-wing hate groups such as the KKK and the Proud Boys. Speaking with Fox’s Sean Hannity, the president said: “Let me be …

Media Matters reports: Lauren Witzke, the Republican-backed Senate candidate running in Delaware, recently praised the neo-fascist Proud Boys for providing “free security” for her and her supporters at a rally. Witzke’s support for the group is the latest instance of her promoting and endorsing far-right extremism. The Delaware Republican Party and chair Jane Brady did not respond to a request …

The Daily Mail reports: The leader of the Proud Boys, the ‘white supremacist’ group at the center of the presidential debate furor, is a state director of Latinos for Trump and ran for Congress as a Republican, DailyMail.com can reveal. Donald Trump told the Proud Boys to ‘stand back and stand by’ after he was asked to denounce their alleged …

The Christian Post reports: Senior officers of the Southern Baptist Convention reaffirmed the denomination’s repudiation of white supremacy as a “scheme of the devil” Wednesday after a controversial call by President Donald Trump to far-right activists to “stand back and stand by” during the presidential debate on Tuesday. “When asked to condemn white supremacy, every single one of us should …

CBS News reports: Amazon and other online retailers are pulling merchandise from their sites emblazoned with the words “stand back” and “stand by” and displaying the insignia of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group. Shirts bearing the words cropped up for sale after President Donald Trump uttered the phrase on Tuesday night, referring to the white supremacist group, during …

“As speaker, over time, people have said to me, ‘What keeps you up at night?’ The night of the debate, you saw what keeps me up at night. “To see a president of the United States in a debate with a potential president of the United States, refuse to condemn white supremacists, refuse to commit to a peaceful transfer of …

NBC News reports: Federal law enforcement officials were directed to make public comments sympathetic to Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager charged with fatally shooting two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, according to internal Department of Homeland Security talking points obtained by NBC News. In preparing Homeland Security officials for questions about Rittenhouse from the media, the document suggests that they note that …