Intelligence Dispatch: The Epik Hack of Extremists Data, and the Radical Right's Epic Conference Tour

The Epik data breach allegedly is being described as the "a Rosetta Stone to the far-right," and upcoming conferences, events, and fundraisers feature prominent figures of the U.S. Radical Right.

Sep 28, 2021

This week on Radical Reports: The Epik data breach allegedly is being described as the "a Rosetta Stone to the far-right." The hack has revealed a reported “15,003,961 email addresses belonging to both Epik's customers and non-customers.” The more than 180 gigabytes of data can be downloaded here. The right-wing extremists militia known as the Oath Keepers were among the groups impacted by the hack, and approximately 5 gigabytes of emails, chat logs, members and donor lists and other files from the Oath Keepers’ servers can be downloaded here.

In the coming weeks, there are several conferences, events, and fundraisers that feature some of the most prominent figures of the U.S. Radical Right. The Family Research Council has rebranded the Values Voters Summit as the Pray Vote Stand Summit, and the summit’s featured speakers will include Tucker Carlson, Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer, and several right-wing Republican lawmakers. The AmpFest Revival 2021, American Freedom Tour, and For God & Country Patriot Double Down 2021 are among the upcoming events that will feature QAnon conspiracy theorists, anti-vaccination activists, right-wing militias, and even a code monkey.

What to expect from Radical Reports: Intelligence Dispatch provides a briefing on the activities of the Radical Right; Radical Reports Podcast provides in-depth conversations with journalists, activists, and academics about the Radical Right; Extremist Links provides a round-up of extremists activities including the white supremacist and militia movements; Field Notes provides research and analysis the strategies and tactics of the Radical Right, Legislation Watch that provides a breakdown of key legislative priorities of the Radical Right, and the Research Desk that highlights research and analysis from academia of the Radical Right.

Last week’s episode, an interview with Joshua Holland, writer and editor who covers politics and the Radical Right and is the host of the We've Got Issues podcast.

This week’s episode, an interview with Robert P. Jones, CEO and Founder of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and author of the book White Too Long.

Must Reads

Drew Harwell, Craig Timberg, and Hannah Allam are the first to report that a huge hack revealed embarrassing details of who’s behind Proud Boys and other far-right websites, and their follow-up reporting would reveal that the “mother of all data lodes” has caused some individuals named in the data to lose their jobs. [The Washington Post]
Republican candidates for secretaries of state, the elected officials that oversee the states’ election process, are questioning whether former president Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. Tim Reid, Nathan Layne, and Jason Lange report that 10 of the 15 GOP candidates for secretary of state in Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, “have either declared that the 2020 election was stolen or called for their state’s results to be invalidated or further investigated.” [Reuters]
Dr Sophie Bjork-James writes that the FBI’s Hate Crime Statistics for 2020 lacks as significant amount of data, and “in a time when over 800 hate groups operate across the country and social media allows for the rapid spreading of hateful content, this lack of data hampers efforts to protect individuals from biased crime.” [CARR]
The Matrix metaphor of the “red pill” has been appropriated by the far-right is various forms, and Beatriz Buarque writes that “the pursuit of truth is at the center of the three elements that constitute the mystique of the red and black pill that have torn families apart: References to a pop culture archetype, conspiratorial nature, and authoritative claims.” [Rantt Media]
Kaleigh Rogers writes the lionization by the Right of the hundreds of individuals arrested for their alleged involvement in the January 6th Insurrection has connection to other “extremist ideologies,” as the “martyrs create a sense of community and underscore an essential narrative: that you can be punished simply because of what you believe, and that the willingness to receive that punishment is worthy of reverence.” [FiveThirtyEight]

Gateways to Better Education, an organization founded to “help public school educators, parents and school leaders teach about the important contribution the Bible and Christianity make to the world,” is sponsoring the Faith, Freedom and Public Schools forum to address “the Bible and Christianity without mixing church and state.” Gateways is “part of a wider movement with a long history of efforts to hijack, or compromise, public schools in order to promote its religious views and to evangelize children.”1 The event will take place on October 1-2 at the Hill Country Bible Church in Austin, Texas.
- Featured Speaker: Eric Buehrer, founder and president of Gateways to Better Education
The REVIVE Hub Nation Summit is an event that will “focus on challenging and encouraging the seven main mountains of society as to what God is doing next and how they can lead change with God’s wisdom and power.” The summit is promoting the Seven Mountains theocratic movement known as Dominionism, which claims that “God has called conservative Christians to exercise dominion over society by taking control of political and cultural institutions.”2 The digital event will take place on October 1-2. (Price Tag: $149)
- Featured Speakers Include: Chris Behnke, Mercedes Sparks, David Vallier, Kris Vallotton, and Lance Wallnau
Vanguard Marriage and Family Advocates, a self-described “faith-based non-profit organization that partners with local community leaders and ministry partners to build strong marriage and family relationships," is sponsoring the Missouri PrayerFest 2021. The event is billed as a gathering “together as God’s people in public prayer.” The event will take place on October 2 from 10:00am - 2:00pm CDT at the Missouri State Capitol Rotunda in Jefferson City, Missouri.
- Event Sponsors Include: Concerned Women for America, Family Research Council, and 40 Days for Life
Matt Walsh, the right-wing Christian fundamentalist political pundit, will be speaking at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on “The War on Reality: Why the Left Has Set Out to Redefine Life, Gender, and Marriage as part of the Robert and Patricia Herbold Lecture Series.” Walsh is scheduled to speak on October 4 from 6:00pm to 7:00pm CDT.
- “UWW College Republicans or Young America's Foundation reserve the right to remove anyone for unruly, rowdy, or disturbing behavior.” [Eventbrite]
The Family Research Council, a fundamentalist Christian advocacy organization, is hosting an inaugural Pray Vote Stand Summit, which is the successor to the organization’s the Values Voter Summit—an annual meeting of the most influential leaders in the Christian Right. The Summit’s agenda will include “protecting the unborn, the importance of the nuclear family, domestic and international religious liberty, developments in our nation's education system” and other issues. The summit is scheduled for October 6-8 at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia. (Price Tag: $25 - $79)
- Featured Speakers Include: Tucker Carlson, Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Josh Hawley, Mike Pompeo, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders
American Priority is sponsoring the 4th annual AmpFest Revival 2021, which will host a various assortment of right-wing figures including far-right Republican lawmakers, QAnon conspiracy theorists, and anti-vaccination activists.3 The conference is taking place from October 7-10 at the Trump National Doral in Miami, Florida. (Price Tag: $486 - $3,500)
- Featured Speakers Include: Dinesh D'Souza, Michael Flynn, Rep. Matt Gaetz, Rep. Paul Gosar, Laura Loomer, Jack Posobiec, and Roger Stone
American Freedom Tour, a “celebration of faith, family, unalienable rights and God-given American freedoms,” is hosting the first of four scheduled events on October 8-9 at the Prime F. Osborn Convention Center in Jacksonville, Florida. (Price Tag: $47 - $3,997)
- Featured Speakers Include: Dan Bongino, Sheriff David Clarke, Dinesh D'Souza, Kayleigh McEnany, and Donald Trump, Jr.

Subscribers have access the Events on the Right Google Calendar.

Coming Up This Week From Radical Reports…

Update—The Money, Groups, and Lawmakers Behind the Texas Abortion Ban: The interactive network analysis map of the anti-abortion movement in Texas is updated with additional wealthy donors and data.

Extremists Links: Round-up of extremists activities including the white supremacist and the militia movements. (Subscribers Only)

Radical Reports Podcast: Interview with Robert P. Jones, CEO and Founder of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and author of the book White Too Long.

Research Desk: Highlights from recently published research and studies of the Radical Right (Subscribers Only)

Bonus Dispatch: The National Association of Christian Lawmakers

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Clarkson, Frederick, “Taking Religious Freedom Day Astray,” Political Research Associates, December 23, 2014, https://www.politicalresearch.org/2014/12/23/taking-religious-freedom-day-astray

Clarkson, Frederick, “Dominionism Rising: A Theocratic Movement Hiding in Plain Sight,” Political Research Associates, August 18, 2016, https://www.politicalresearch.org/2016/08/18/dominionism-rising-a-theocratic-movement-hiding-in-plain-sight

Palmer, Ewan, “Matt Gaetz Among GOP Figures Joining Pro-Trump Event With QAnon supporters,” Newsweek, September 1, 2021, https://www.newsweek.com/matt-gaetz-ampfest-qanon-trump-florida-1624903

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