Intelligence Dispatch: Project Blitz & Proud Boys
Project Blitz, the state legislative playbook of the Christian Right, has once again been revealed, and the Proud Boys, the extremist right-wing gang, has been highly active in recent weeks.
This week on Radical Reports: Project Blitz, the state legislative playbook of the Christian Right, has once again been revealed. The Proud Boys, the self-described “Western chauvinists” extremist right-wing gang, has been highly active in recent weeks; Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys, on Monday pleaded guilty to burning a Black Lives Matter banner stolen from a historic African American church in Washington, D.C.
What to expect from Radical Reports: Weekly Intelligence Dispatches that provide a briefing on the activities of the Radical Right, Field Notes that provide research profiles of key organizations within 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.
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Must Reads
Project Blitz, the Christian Right state legislative playbook created by the Congressional Prayer Caucus, the National Legal Foundation, and the ProFamily Legislative Network, increased the secrecy of the network after the media exposed the group’s agenda. However, Frederick Clarkson reports that the network’s new playbooks have been revealed, and the playbook has new additions “including a dramatic attack on the integrity of public libraries—but the Dominionism-driven Christian nationalist agenda remains the same.” [Religion Dispatches]
Joshua Citarella reports about how the far-right is using the “slow red-pill” strategy,” a process of building an audience of mainstream conservative followers in order to progressively post more and more extreme-right and racist content. The true objective of this strategy was that by “building up that following, they would have successfully moved a large portion of their audience significantly further to the right.” [Guardian]
Andrew Anglin, the founder of the neo-Nazi white supremacist Daily Stormer, “operates hundreds of different Bitcoin addresses that collectively transferred and received at least 1 million U.S. dollars’ worth of value, some to an apparent Russian darknet site that traffics in illegal activity,” according to reporting by Michael Edison Hayden and Megan Squire. [SPLC]
Ali Breland writes that conspiracy theories revolving around claims of secret rings of occultist pedophiles or alleged satanic cabals committing sex crimes against children are often a manifestation of reactionary politics and social anxieties, and “pedophile conspiracies act as a sort of propaganda of the counterrevolution, a fun-house reflection of the real threats to the social order.” [Mother Jones]
Public libraries in communities throughout the United States are facing “draconian cutbacks or a right-wing takeover,” as conservative candidates are taking over library oversight boards behind opposition to critical race theory and LGBTQ inclusive policies. As Eleanor J. Bader reports, “while most of these opposition groups purport to be homegrown and grassroots, all have access to the support and resources (including model legislation) of numerous national right-wing organizations.” [TruthOut]
Intelligence Dispatches
Enrique Tarrio, leader of the self-described “Western chauvinists” extremist right-wing gang known as the Proud Boys, pleaded guilty Monday to burning a Black Lives Matter banner stolen from a historic African American church in Washington, D.C.; Tarrio’s sentencing is scheduled for August 23.
Prosecutors sought to introduce evidence at trial that Kyle Rittenhouse is associated with the Proud Boys, after a photo emerged that showed Rittenhouse drinking with members of the Proud Boys, after his not guilty plea. The judge has since issued an order that Rittenhouse is prohibited from associating with known white supremacists.
Members of the Proud Boys or individuals associated with the right-wing gang have been highly active in recent weeks:
Members of the Proud Boys were involved in a Look Ahead America event in Trenton, New Jersey, protesting the arrests and prosecution of individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol Insurrection.
Luis Miguel, a right-wing candidate challenging Sen. Marco Rubio for U.S. Senate in the Florida GOP primary, spoke at protests on July 10 and July 17, and both events included several members of the Proud Boys.
The Wi Spa, a business with trans-inclusive policies in Los Angeles, California, was the target of right-wing protests, and members or associates of the Proud Boys were involved in violent clashes with counter protesters and journalists.
Members of the Proud Boys were involved in protest outside a Planned Parenthood in Salem, Oregon, and local media reported that local law enforcement said that “about 20 of those attending wore Proud Boys clothing and acted as ‘security,’ carrying guns, bats and body armor.”
Members of the Proud Boys took part in the Sagebrush Days Parade, annual event in Buhl, Idaho. The Buhl Chamber of Commerce, which coordinates the event, said in a statement that it welcomes all participants and would “not feed into any negative propaganda.”
Events on the Right
Women for America First (WFAF), the pro-Trump right-wing group promoting the former President’s false claims about the 2020 election, is hosting several events in Georgia. WFAF will hold Election Integrity Town Hall events in Valdosta, Georgia on July 20; Blue Ridge, Georgia on July 22; Marietta, Georgia on July 26; and Augusta, Georgia on July 29.
Abortion Survivors Network, an organization for anti-abortion activists who claim to be survivors of abortion, is hosting the group’s Annual Abortion Survivors Retreat in Texas from July 23-25.
Napa Institute, an organization with a mission to “support Catholic leaders in becoming countercultural forces in building institutions and habits that will carry the faith and the faithful,” is among the most prominent and influential groups on the Catholic Right. The Napa Institute is sponsoring the group’s Annual Summer Conference in Napa, California from July 21-25. (Price Tag: $2,600)
The Conference Agenda Agenda includes discussions about a “world gone woke,” “spiritual warfare,” and exorcism.
Liberty Pastors and Reclaiming America for Christ are sponsoring an event in Edmund, Oklahoma from July 25-27.
Featured Speakers Include: Rick Scarborough, former Southern Baptist pastor and president of the Christian Right organization Vision America; Mathew Staver, former dean of Liberty University's law school and president of Liberty Counsel; Dr. Lee Merritt, an orthopedic surgeon that has spread conspiracy theories about COVID-19; and Alex Newman, a far-right journalist that has called the teach of LGBTQ history in public schools “Satanic propaganda.”
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the membership association of conservative state lawmakers that produces right-wing model legislation, is hosting the organizations Annual Meeting at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah from July 28-30. (Price Tag: $725 - $1,420)
ALEC’S Annual Meeting Agenda includes various topics and workshops, and the featured speakers include: Idaho State Rep. Sage Dixon, Indiana State Sen. Eric Koch, Missouri State Rep. Bruce DeGroot, Oklahoma State Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, and Missouri State Rep. Justin Hill (who skipped his own inauguration to attend the pro-Trump Save America March in Washington, D.C. on January 6)
Coming Up on Radical Reports…
Anti-Abortion Database: Mapping the U.S. anti-abortion movement—detailed database of organizational and financial data. (Subscribers Only)