Tag Archives: militia

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Floyd County Democrats abruptly canceled plans Sunday to rally for Joe Biden in downtown Rome ahead of President Donald Trump’s event, after an organizer said there were safety concerns over a “large militia presence” drawn to the Republican’s visit. Ruth Demeter, the local party’s chairwoman, said in a statement on its website that the event was …

Bloomberg reports: Conflict is on America’s streets in 2020, and “tactical apparel” has become a lifestyle industry serving militarized law-enforcement agents and the freelance gunmen who emulate them. Less than two weeks before Election Day, orders are rolling in. Since last year, online purchases have driven a 20-fold jump in sales of goods like the $220 CM-6M gas mask — …

The Detroit News reports: Michigan is prohibiting the open carry of guns within 100 feet of polling places amid fears of voter intimidation during the pivotal Nov. 3 election, prompting criticism by Second Amendment advocates. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson sent guidance to local election officials on Friday — 18 days before Election Day — to clarify that the open …

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports: 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 was part of the investigation that led to six men being arrested and charged last week with plotting to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Seven …

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 …

The Michigan Advance reports: Thursday’s legislative session in both chambers was canceled, sparking criticism from some Democrats that it was a precautionary move by GOP leadership to avoid armed visitors entering the state Capitol. Session on Thursday would have coincided with the annual “Second Amendment March” event on the Capitol lawn, hosted by a slew of pro-gun groups. Open carry …

Engadget reports: Twitter has banned the accounts of far-right extremist group the Oath Keepers and its founder, Stewart Rhodes. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the group is one of the US’s largest anti-government movements. It claims to have tens of thousands of members, many of whom identify as former law enforcement and military. The group recently tweeted there …

ABC News reports: Two Missouri men were arrested on firearm charges after a tipster warned law enforcement the pair were traveling to Kenosha, Wisconsin, with assault-style weapons, according to court documents. Michael M. Karmo, 40, and Cody E. Smith, 33, were arrested at a hotel near Kenosha on Tuesday and charged with illegal possession of firearms, the Department of Justice …

The Hill reports: Stone Mountain Park in Georgia will close Saturday ahead of a rally planned in defense of one of the nation’s largest Confederate monuments. The City of Stone Mountain said in a statement Friday that it was closing the park in anticipation of at least two groups of counter-protesters converging at the site. Far-right protesters have announced plans …

The Washington Post reports: Protesters in Albuquerque wrapped a chain around the neck of a bronze statue and began tugging, chanting “Tear it down,” shortly before sunset on Monday. Their efforts to pull down a monument of Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate suddenly stopped as four shots rang out. Most people instinctively turned toward the noise, videos from the scene …

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: The protester who hoisted an effigy of Gov. Andy Beshear from a tree at the Kentucky State Capitol has been fired from his job at an auto dealer. Terry Bush, president of the Kentucky 3 Percenters group, was fired by Neil Huffman Auto Group on Tuesday, his wife Patsy Bush confirmed on Wednesday morning. Patsy Bush …

Yahoo News reports: Right wing militia groups in Michigan plan to rally at the state capitol building on Thursday to protest Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home orders that she put in place to slow the deadly spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Thursday’s demonstration will be the latest in a series of protests that started as a demonstration against the lockdown …

“I’m the number one supporter in radio and television that I know of — First Amendment and the Second Amendment. Now, no one is a bigger defender of the Second Amendment than yours truly. Everyone has the right to protest, protect themselves, and try to get the country open. “This with the militia look here and these long guns, uh, …

The Huffington Post reports: Anti-government extremist Ammon Bundy, speaking on the steps of the state Capitol building in Boise, Idaho, on Saturday, compared government measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus to the Nazis’ genocide of Jews during World War II. Bundy, a notorious militia leader who once organized an armed takeover of an Oregon wildlife refuge, made the …

Grand Rapids’ ABC News affiliate reports: President Donald Trump backed protesters in Michigan in a Friday morning tweet, saying Gov. Gretchen Whitmer should “give a little, and put out the fire.” Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Capitol in Lansing on Thursday, requesting to end Michigan’s state of emergency. However, as the afternoon went on, some protesters moved into the …

Talking Points Memo reports: Anti-government extremist Ammon Bundy led a meeting where he agitated for Idahoans to physically defy the state’s stay-at-home order, which is meant to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bundy is perhaps best known for leading the armed, 10-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon in 2016. But these days he’s threatening …

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports: A revolution-minded, conspiracy-bent militia group named the Oath Keepers is recruiting law officers in Hood County to take up arms in what the founder predicts will be a “bloody civil war” against the U.S. government. A national director of the Las Vegas-based Oath Keepers, John D. Shirley, moved to rural Hood County in 2015 and …

Newsweek reports: Republicans at President Donald Trump’s rally in Minneapolis on Thursday will reportedly be escorted by a typically heavily armed group that has been called “one of the largest radical anti-government groups in the U.S. today.” That is how the SPLC describes the Oath Keepers, who refer to themselves as “guardians of the republic.” On the group’s website, it …

Reuters reports: A member of an armed group known for stopping migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border has been arrested after authorities charged him with impersonating a U.S. Border Patrol agent, according to court documents. Jim Benvie, spokesman for the Guardian Patriots, who have been camped at the border near Sunland Park, New Mexico, was arrested on Friday in Oklahoma after …