Morning Briefing: Possibility of Far Right Extremist Violence Looms on Election Day
Morning Briefing: Possibility of Far Right Extremist Violence Looms on Election Day
Today is Election Day, and the threat of far right extremist violence looms over polling places around the country, as election workers may the targeted of conspiracy theory driven attacks.
Morning Briefing: The midterm elections will be decided today (and in the coming days), and “influential right-wing campaigners who endorse Donald Trump's false claims of election fraud are mobilizing a vigilante-style ‘army’ of poll watchers for the US midterms, a move analysts say threatens chaos, intimidation and violence.”
Federal law enforcement agencies have issued warnings to local elections officials that “decentralized efforts by conspiracy believers and right-wing extremists to disrupt and sway the midterm elections.”
As Dahlia Lithwick writes in Slate, “goal here isn’t merely to induce random citizens to enforce imaginary local voting rules but also to create a narrative about a stolen election, absent facts or evidence.”
The FBI arrested two members of the Boogaloo Boys, a far-right extremist and White Supremacist group , “with authorities increasingly concerned about the potential for violence” leading into Election Day.
A report by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FBI found that “QAnon was one of a number of conspiracy theories specifically fueling domestic extremist violence in the US that also could pose a threat to the midterm elections.”
“Election misinformation is thriving on Rumble, a video sharing platform popular with some conservatives and far-right groups,” according to a recently published report from NewsGuard.
This Week in Extremism: A conversation with Jared Yates Sexton about his upcoming book The Midnight Kingdom. Join the discussion Friday, November 11th at 12:00pm EDT (11:00am CDT / 9:00am PDT).
Must Reads
Alex Shephard writes that “the right has spent years allowing all manner of conspiracy-mongers—from Alex Jones’s brand of ersatz newscasting to the online fever swamps that bred a generation of QAnon-pilled lawmakers—to operate under or adjacent to its institutional political brand. Now, this is all dovetailing with the Republican party’s long-standing tradition of demonizing Nancy Pelosi. There are lines of connection between all this fermented incendiary rhetoric, binding conservative institutions to the cultish fringe, creating conditions in which the old ways of changing the subject are simply no longer sufficient.” [The New Republic]
Emily Schultheis writes “the far right didn’t prevail in Brazil, but that’s not because of a broader rejection of far-right ideologies. Bolsonaro’s defeat was more a result of reasons specific to Brazil and these candidates — including da Silva’s outsize persona in politics and public dissatisfaction with Bolsonaro’s tenure as president — than a referendum on the global far right. Meanwhile, far-right ideologies have gained a foothold in many parts of the world, including clinching seats in parliaments and transferring their messaging to more mainstream parties.” [Grid]
Mike Spies writes that “for almost 30 years, [John] Lott, who has a doctorate in economics from UCLA, has provided the empirical backbone for the gun-rights movement. Virtually every statistical argument against regulation — made by lobbyists, Republican lawmakers, and National Rifle Association members alike — is based on his research, which reaches two conclusions: guns make Americans safer, and gun restrictions place them in danger. He stands against droves of distinguished academics who have determined that the opposite is true. But, in the scientific debate over firearms, no one has had greater influence.” [The Trace]
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.
Democracy is supposed to "replace" violence as a means of social change ("ballots instead of bullets") but in a nation armed to the teeth and seething with anger, resentment, and hatred of opponents; with demagogic leaders stirring that anger to a boiling point (in their own lust for power); with people swimming in a sea of lies and misinformation so foul it's hard to know what's factual reality (or even believe there is a factual reality); and with the power of social media to amplify lies and fears into a cyclone of confusion and raw emotion - well, it's not surprising to see armed pseudo-citizen militias out in the streets.
And then immediately the "stop the steal" will return as every Republican claims victory Tuesday night even while half the votes (early votes, mail-ins, etc) are yet to be counted. And if a Republican loses, then it was "rigged" and we'll see little Jan.6s all over the place.
W.B.Yeats's poem "The Second Coming" has never been more timely:
"Things fall apart / the centre cannot hold / the best lack all conviction while / the worst are full of passionate intensity."
These are bad days for democracy, and good days for the rise of neo-fascism. That dark history of lies and hatred and violence is surely coming around again, right out in the open, with flags flying and guns at the ready.
I don't think this is what the Founding Fathers intended.
We're living in an Age of Delusion, an Age of Rage. This will not end well.
I think substack sites like your Radical Reports (and my Neo-Fascism: A Warning) will be very busy (and much needed) for the next two years. We'll find out if the pen (keyboard) is mightier than the sword.
Sorry for the long rant; but the stakes are so high.