Morning Briefing: German Prosecutors Charge Members of Far-Right ‘Reichsbürger’ Movement
Morning Briefing: German Prosecutors Charge Members of Far-Right ‘Reichsbürger’ Movement
German prosecutors have brought charges against individuals "linked to an alleged coup plot hatched by members of the far-right ‘Reichsbürger' movement."
Morning Briefing: German prosecutors have brought charges against individuals “linked to an alleged coup plot hatched by members of the far-right ‘Reichsbürger’ movement,” as charged have been filed against 27 people for “planning to overthrow Germany's democratic political system.”
Also in Germany, a trial began this week for the alleged organizers of the “right-wing extremist riots in the eastern German city of Chemnitz.”
In Ohio, a 13-year-old boy is “facing criminal charges after allegedly crafting ‘a detailed plan’ for a mass shooting at a synagogue in September,” and has reportedly been charged with “inducing panic and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors.”
Congress is set to defund a “Pentagon working group established to provide recommendations for rooting out extremism in the ranks.”
YouTube recommendations can “can lead users down a rabbit hole of extremist political content,” according to new research published by the University of California, Davis.
The New Hampshire attorney general’s office filed a civil rights lawsuit against a neo-Nazi group “alleging it disrupted a drag story hour at a café in June.”
Must Reads
Amanda Marcotte writes “how did so many people go from being mildly indifferent to religion to centering Christianity in their self-conception as an American? It certainly wasn't by accident. This is the result of decades of work by Christian fundamentalists to generate propaganda and disinformation, all to prop up the myth that the U.S. was founded to be a Christian nation. Then Trump came along with his authoritarian ‘us vs. them’ messaging, creating a need for Republicans to define exactly what they mean by ‘us.’ Christian nationalists were ready to fill that ‘us’ with their own notions that Christianity is a mandatory part of the American identity. The central figure in this tale is David Barton, a Christian huckster who has made a name for himself on the right by passing himself off as a ‘historian.’ Barton got a bachelor's in religious education from Oral Roberts University in 1976 and has no academic training in history. His ‘research’ is a joke, to the point where even conservative Christian academics reject his claims.” [Salon]
Kelly Weill writes that “at the recommendation of Washington’s secretary of state, all but three of Washington’s counties have installed a device called an Albert sensor, which monitors for intrusions on counties’ internet networks. Election security experts described the device as an additional layer of protection on voting machines. Earlier this year, the state upped the ante for holdouts, allowing counties that install the device to apply for up to $80,000 in election security grants, the Spokesman-Review reported. But three conservative counties—Grant, Ferry, and Lincoln—have declined to budge, even though Ferry and Lincoln counties had previously installed the Albert sensor. Those two counties removed the devices, which featured in an unfounded conspiracy theory about supposed leftist control of voting machines. In early 2022, NPR reported that year, Washington Republicans began circulating a conspiracy theory that attempted to tie the Albert device to leftist plots by arguing that the group that operates the program, the Center for Internet Security, had suspicious ties to Democrats.” [The Daily Beast]
Jessica Pishko writes that Arizona Sheriff Mark Lamb “partnered with the right-wing, Texas-based True the Vote and helped spread the false and misleading message that county sheriffs should be concerned with election ‘integrity,’ despite no indication of any such powers nor need. Since then, he has not only misused funds intended for the welfare of incarcerated people but has also violated campaign finance laws by spending at least $28,000 on ‘campaign attire.’ Far from uplifting democracy in Arizona, Lamb has instead engaged in anti-democratic rhetoric, threatening his constituents who criticize him and even going so far as to suggest that he should not face public scrutiny, describing journalists at a Pinal County Board of Supervisors meeting in October as ‘political activists’ writing a ‘hit piece.’ In the same meeting, Lamb said, ‘We have several political activists that show up at [Board of Supervisors Meetings] and use this very podium to engage in electioneering,’ referring to residents who spoke during the call to the public.” [Democracy Docket]
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.
The article by Amanda Marcotte is one of the better pieces to appear in MSM lately and well worth reading. Unfortunately she misses out on an opportunity to single out a singularly large connection between her topic of discussion and its direct connection to the MAGA rebellion network, namely the fact that pseudo-historian David Barton, who she discusses, is also one of the Seven Mountains Dominionist movement's most significant influencers as noted at the website of the Truth and Liberty Coalition- https://truthandliberty.net/about/
Included in the Coalition's listing of influencers to name two examples are Dr. Ben Carson, a Project 2025 affiliate https://americancornerstone.org/about/
and Bob McEwen of the Council for National Policy, among others.
With regards to Sheriff Mark Lamb, he is a known "Constitutional Sheriff" adherent/proponent. the following excerpt from a Politico Magazine article help to make this clear:
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Through Protect America Now, which was founded by a Republican strategist and two business people working with Lamb and counterparts nationwide, he is marshalling dozens of other elected sheriffs and citizen supporters around these ideas — “building an army” as the group puts it. The message: Sheriffs are here to protect your freedom — including freedom from your own democratically elected government.
Lamb’s advocacy follows in the tradition of “constitutional sheriffs,” who for decades have propagated the idea — refuted by constitutional experts — that sheriffs are the supreme legal authority in America, above even the president and the Supreme Court, and that they can choose not to enforce any law they consider unconstitutional. Former sheriffs Joe Arpaio and David Clarke, along with an estimated 138 currently serving sheriffs, are self-declared adherents of the philosophy, which evolved out of the white nationalist, anti-Semitic movement known as “posse comitatus,” meaning the “power of the county.”
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/10/15/mark-lamb-arizona-constitutional-sheriff-elections-republicans-514781
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