Morning Briefing: Law Enforcement Plan Increased Presence at Idaho Pride Event
Morning Briefing: Law Enforcement Plan Increased Presence at Idaho Pride Event
Local law enforcement will reportedly have an increased presence at the Pride in the Park event in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, a year after arrest of 31 members of Patriot Front.
Morning Briefing: During the Pride in the Park event organized by North Idaho Pride Alliance in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, there will reportedly be an “increased police presence in and around the park.”
Last year, local law enforcement in Coeur d'Alene arrested 31 members of Patriot Front, the neo-fascist White Nationalist group, “who reportedly planned to wreak havoc in the city.”
The Livingston County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution proclaiming the county a so-called “Second Amendment sanctuary,” and Mike Murphy, the Livingston County Sheriff, has previously said he would not enforce the state’s newly passed red flag law.
A trial date has been set for Jordan Duncan and Liam Collins, a pair of former U.S. Marines stationed at Camp Lejeune “accused in a neo-Nazi plot to attack electrical infrastructure.”
The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) announced that the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) “will be prohibited from offering state credit for courses taught to Texas law enforcement officers.”
Extremists Activity: The Aryan Freedom Network (AFN), a Texas-based neo-Nazi White Supremacist group, “recently distributed flyers in a North Naples neighborhood.” AFN has reportedly “ramped up its online and real-world activity in recent months, protesting drag show venues and increasingly using violent imagery and promoting its members’ access to weaponry.”
White Lives Matter, a neo-fascist White Supremacist group, was reportedly responsible for the distribution of flyers and other racists White Supremacist propaganda racist “found in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia.”
White Supremacists antisemitic propaganda was distributed throughout neighborhoods in Roswell, a suburban town north of Atlanta, Georgia, and the Roswell Police Department reportedly “investigating whether there was any criminal intent or purpose for their distribution.”
Must Reads
Linda Wertheimer writes that “the Christian conservatives agitating for more religion in the schools are doing so in the name of religious freedom. The way they define that freedom could lead to prayer becoming commonplace at public schools all over the country. Over time, advocates of the separation of church and state fear, long-standing protections for young atheists, people who belong to no religion, and religious minorities will be eroded—until, perhaps, these protections disappear altogether. As Christianity is held up as the only acceptable way to believe and to live, non-Christian children, who may already feel different, could find themselves all the more sidelined, ostracized, or bullied. ‘This isn’t a legal fight to some of these people,’ Jeb Baugh, one of the Bossier parents who sued, told me. ‘This is a religious war. This is a fight for the heart and soul of the country.’” [The New Republic]
Matt Shuham reports that “former Trump staffer, Garrett Ziegler, has bragged of meetings with congressional investigators who have worked for months to dig into Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings and the contents of his abandoned laptop. At least one committee chair has implied the probe is actually about hurting President Joe Biden’s reelection chances. Speaking to HuffPost, Ziegler denied any bigoted beliefs, but he has also repeatedly reposted material online from the prominent white nationalist Nick Fuentes and other bigots. During phone interviews with HuffPost, Ziegler described himself as a ‘paleoconservative’ — not a ‘bogeyman’ — and compared himself to Pat Buchanan. ‘There are some things that I agree with Nick Fuentes on, and some that I don’t,’ he said of his online presence. Referring to reposting material, he said, ‘sometimes you just do it because you think it’s a very, very good thing for the conversation.’” [Huffington Post]
Haley Orion writes that “over the last decade, Gosar has curated a national and international constituency that goes beyond the residents of his western Arizona district: the vanguard of the national and international far right. He has spent his time in office traversing the country and the globe, offering his support to fringe movements. In 2014, he caravaned down to Bunkerville, Nevada in support of Cliven Bundy and his armed militia wannabes as they took on the federal government for their ‘right’ to illegally graze where they chose in a modern ‘war for the West.’ In 2018, he flew out to London to stand in solidarity with Islamophobic bigot and English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon). In his speech, which was condemned by the Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Gosar vilified Muslim immigrants as rapists and ‘disgusting and depraved individuals.’” [Talking Points Memo]
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.
