Extremists

Politico reports: Members of the Oath Keepers, the paramilitary extremists who played a central role in storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, appeared to stash firearms at a Comfort Inn in Arlington, Va., prosecutors indicated in a late Monday court filing. The Justice Department has long pointed to private messages shared by Oath Keepers leaders alluding to a so-called quick …

The Charleston Post & Courier reports: Chaos erupted at the Charleston County GOP meeting when attorney Lin Wood pushed conspiracy theories that Donald Trump won the 2020 election. It was part of Wood’s pitch to replace S.C. Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick next month. Every time Wood talked about how Trump was actually president, many in the room erupted in …

Changing America reports: Domestic terrorist plots and attacks in the United States have skyrocketed to the highest rates recorded in a quarter-century, according to an analysis by The Washington Post and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). CSIS, a nonpartisan nonprofit that specializes in national security issues, has been monitoring extremism since 1994. There have been 267 plots …

Minneapolis’s ABC News reports: FBI special agents arrested Jonah Westbury, 26, of Lindstrom, on Friday. According to the statement of facts linked to his arrest, the FBI received tips from two separate people within days of the riot in Washington, D.C. The day after the attack, one person who said they went to high school with the suspect told the …

The Daily Beast reports: A Florida woman sent videos to her incarcerated spouse in which she threatened to assassinate Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a complaint filed in South Florida federal court. “If I see you in the street, I’m gonna kill your ass Kamala Harris,” Niviane Petit Phelps of Miami Gardens allegedly said in one. “I’m going to …

The Fort Worth Weekly reports: Dozens gathered outside Fort Worth City Hall this afternoon in anticipation of a “White Lives Matter” rally, one of many occurring on the same day in nearly four dozen cities across the country. There was no significant violence and no arrests were made, but several accusations of assault flew from both sides. One came from …

Law & Crime reports: “On February 19, 2021, Anthony Richard Moat contacted the FBI and admitted to being inside the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021,” says an agent’s Statement of Facts. “On that same date, Moat sent a video taken on his cellular telephone while inside the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021 to FBI Task Force Officer …

Raw Story reports: Proud Boys have been involved in the internal planning for a set of simultaneous “White Lives Matter” rallies scheduled for Sunday, according to chat logs leaked to the media. The leaked chats show that a Proud Boy responsible for organizing the Michigan White Lives Matter rally went to some effort to hide the fact that members of …

The Associated Press reports: From a secure room in the Capitol on Jan. 6, as rioters pummeled police and vandalized the building, Vice President Mike Pence tried to assert control. In an urgent phone call to the acting defense secretary, he issued a startling demand. “Clear the Capitol,” Pence said. Elsewhere in the building, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and …

Media Matters reports: On the April 8 broadcast of Fox News Primetime, Tucker Carlson offered perhaps his most explicit justification yet for the core belief of the so-called “great replacement” conspiracy theory, telling viewers that “Third World” invaders are coming to replace them and reshape their environment, and that they should do something about it. After the Anti-Defamation League called …

CNN reports: Republican Rep. Peter Meijer has a warning for his party: He fears baseless conspiracy theories like QAnon will destroy the GOP from within if Republicans don’t decisively and unequivocally condemn the false and dangerous beliefs and take action to stop their spread. “The fact that a significant plurality, if not potentially a majority, of our voters have been …

Newsweek reports: A number of cities across the U.S. are preparing for far-right “White Lives Matter” marches taking place on April 11 which are being coordinated by extremists online. The white supremacist rallies are being discussed on social media and encrypted messaging app Telegram, with dozens of events planned to take place at 1 p.m. in cities including New York, …

NBC News reports: A California police officer associated with the far-right extremist group Proud Boys has been fired, officials announced Friday. Rick Fitzgerald, then an officer with the Fresno Police Department, allegedly participated in a Proud Boys counter-demonstration on March 14 outside a theater being sold to a church that protesters said was hostile to the LGBTQ community and marriage …

Gothamist reports: On January 6th, Edward Durfee donned a radio earpiece and an “Oath Keepers New Jersey” cap as he worked a security detail outside the U.S. Capitol for the far-right Oath Keepers, whose members are now fingered by the feds for conspiring to violently stop the Electoral College vote count that would certify Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 …

Talking Points Memo reports: In a video clip that, according to Alex Jones’ website, has been viewed more than 1.5 million times, the far-right host and other members of his crew are seen standing in front of an SUV carrying several children and their mothers, stopping the vehicle from moving while alleging that the children were being trafficked. In reality, …

The American Independent reports: Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) is scheduled to be a “featured guest” at an upcoming conference organized by a couple with deep roots in the world of the QAnon conspiracy theory and featuring several speakers who have promoted that and other debunked conspiracy theories. The website for the “For God & Country Patriot Roundup 2021,” scheduled for …

The San Jose Mercury News reports: Four alleged members of a militia group associated with the so-called Boogaloo movement have been indicted on obstruction charges related to the killing of two law enforcement officers in California, prosecutors announced Friday. The charging records allege the group tried to delete messages and other electronic data that was proof of their discussions about …

Politico reports: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday ordered a series of “immediate actions” to address the threat of extremism in the military, including a review of the armed forces’ definition of extremist behavior, standardizing questionnaires to screen recruits and developing procedures for veterans to report extremist activities after they leave service. The actions come after a 60-day “stand down” …

The Hill reports: Federal law enforcement arrested a Texas man this week who is accused of attempting to blow up a data center in Virginia and allegedly boasted about his presence at the Capitol riot on Jan. 6. Federal prosecutors announced on Friday that Seth Aaron Pendley, 28, was arrested by the FBI in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday after …

Raw Story reports: An attorney representing a MAGA rioter who infamously gouged a Metropolitan Police officer’s eyes argued on Friday that his client doesn’t deserve to be held in a cell with people who have committed “inner-city crimes.” Webster was caught on camera assaulting a member of Washington D.C.’s Metropolitan Police force during the January 6th riots when he both …