Morning Briefing: Critical Infrastructure Remains Venerable to Targeted Attacks by Far Right Violent Extremists
Morning Briefing: Critical Infrastructure Remains Venerable to Targeted Attacks by Far Right Violent Extremists
Despite the recent surge in far right violent extremists targeted attacks on power grids, state and federal officials are reportedly 'largely in the dark about the extent of the threat.'
Morning Briefing: Despite the recent surge in far right and White Supremacist violent extremists targeted attacks on power grids and other types of critical infrastructure, there reportedly are “communication gaps between law enforcement and state and federal regulators have left many officials largely in the dark about the extent of the threat.”
Owen Shroyer, the far right conspiracy theorist and of the far right media outlet Infowars, was sentenced to “60 days in prison for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.”
The Congregation Beth Am synagogue in Los Altos Hills, California was the targeted of a hoax bomb threat, and local law enforcement reportedly “evacuated its entire campus shortly after Shabbat services had concluded.”
Richard Young and Joseph Chiddo have been charged for distributing antisemitic flyers in the North Carolina towns of Wake Forest and Rolesville. The incident is the latest in a series of White Supremist propaganda reported in North Carolina, as “antisemitic flyers appeared in five Raleigh neighborhoods.”
In Folsom, California, local law enforcement is reportedly investigating after “multiple incidences of anti-Semitic graffiti and flyers have been found,” and the “graffiti including swastikas and another report says flyers were in the neighborhood.”
Robert Justus of Millbrae, member of the anti-government far right White Supremist Boogaloo Boys movement, who is “accused of aiding a man convicted of murdering a federal guard during George Floyd protests in Oakland, faced his first day on trial in federal court.”
Must Reads
Mack Lamoureux reports that “it took two public ‘trials,’ faked documents, and plenty of embarrassment, but it seems American neo-Nazis are done with the ‘Boneface hype.’ With his face covered in tattoos that give him the look of Marvel comic book character Red Skull, Kent ‘Boneface’ McLellan is a hard man to miss, and was recently heavily featured in the national U.S. media as he became the face of a neo-Nazi rally in Florida. McLellan has been active for years in the American far-right scene but over the last year, he vaulted to the forefront of the U.S. neo-Nazi movement as his fellow racists swooned over his wild stories about fighting with the Ukrainian Azov Battalion, an infamous fighting group with neo-Nazi ties. Boneface appeared on several neo-Nazi podcasts, was recruited into several groups, and at the recent rally, touted as the largest of the year, he was put front row and center by Christopher Pohlhaus, the leader of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe and a key organizer of the rally, had McLellan stand next to him, with his face uncovered, during the rally in the hope his tattoos would freak people out. It sure worked.” [Vice News]
Peter Montgomery writes that the “Pray Vote Stand, the Family Research Council’s annual conference for religious-right activists, convenes in Washington, D.C. this week. Formerly known as the Values Voter Summit, this year’s gathering features Christian nationalist speakers and Republican politicians and offers attendees an opportunity to get trained to run for their local school board, a major focus of right-wing groups looking to build political power and mobilize conservative voters in 2024. Presidential candidates addressing Pray Vote Stand include former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and former Vice President Mike Pence. Other politicians on the speakers list include Sens. Josh Hawley and Lindsey Graham, Reps. Scott Perry and Mary Miller, and North Carolina’s notoriously anti-LGBTQ Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. Also speaking is Sonja Shaw, president of the Chino Valley Unified School District school board in California and part of a three-member majority made up of attendees at Christian nationalist pastor and political activist Jack Hibbs’ church, Calvary Chapel Chino Valley.” [Right Wing Watch]
Justin Baragona reports that it appears that Nick Fuentes was evading his Twitter ban, as “in recent days, a user named @grimaceshake01 popped up to promote the antisemitic #BantheADL campaign boosted by Elon Musk. Aside from overt references to the ‘Groyper Army,’ Fuentes’ name for his followers, @grimaceshake01 shared and engaged with tweets specifically claiming the account was his. And, of course, it posted aggressively racist and antisemitic content. Last week, the account hosted a Twitter Spaces about the push to boot the ADL from X (formerly known as Twitter). The main speaker was unmistakably Fuentes, and a recording of that hour-plus event was shared on his Telegram channel. Shortly after Confider reached out to the social-media platform to ask about Fuentes apparently skirting the ban, @grimaceshake01 was quickly suspended. While Musk let thousands of previously banned far-right accounts back on the site after purchasing it last year, he ended up booting Fuentes in January—one day after reversing his suspension—for expressing love for Hitler and defending Ye’s antisemitic rants.” [The Daily Beast]
What to expect from Radical Reports: Morning Briefing provides a daily round-up of reporting on the Radical Right; Extremist Links offers a weekly round-up of extremists activities including the white supremacist and militia movements; Narratives of the Right delivers weekly analysis of the current narratives in far right online spaces and promoted by right-wing media; and Research Desk provides monthly highlights research and analysis from academia on the Radical Right.
