Morning Briefing: Local Elected Officials 'Facing Sustained Threats to Their Safety and Security'
Local elected officials report that they are “facing sustained threats to their safety and security,” according to a survey published by the Bridging Divides Initiative (BDI).
Morning Briefing: After a serious escalation in political violence, this year, local elected officials report that they are “facing sustained threats to their safety and security,” according to a survey published by the Bridging Divides Initiative (BDI).
BDI-CivicPulse survey, based on responses from more than 460 elected officials, found that 54% of elected officials “reported experiencing at least one form of hostility during the survey period,” and 46% said they were “worried about experiencing at least one form of hostility in the future.”
Vance Boelter, who pleaded guilty to assassinating a Democratic lawmaker in Minnesota, has been “sentenced to two life terms plus 40 years in prison, in a case that underscored growing concerns over political violence in the United States.” The sentencing was “part of a plea agreement with prosecutors,” however, the agreement “did not resolve state charges Boelter is also facing.”
In Oakland County, Michigan, Marc William Aisen, who was previously convicted for sending threatening, antisemitic emails to a Bloomfield Township official, was “sentenced to one year in jail, with 931 days credit for time already served.” Aisen sent a series of emails to the Bloomfield Township treasurer and hundreds of his associates that made “baseless child sexual exploitation accusations against a Boston-based Jewish organization.”
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office is reportedly negotiating with Christopher Hood, the leader of the White Supremacist neo-Nazi group (NSC-131), in an effort to bring the ongoing civil rights lawsuit to a conclusion, and the state’s prosecutor is seeking to have Hood and members of NSC 131 “found in default for the continued refusal to hand over evidence in the case.”
In Portland, Indiana, white supremacist propaganda produced by a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was reportedly “distributed in Jay County and the surrounding area.” The flyers were produced by an Ohio-based KKK organization and promoted an “out-of-state gathering.”
Must Reads
Andrew Daugherty writes that “the Johnson Amendment has restricted churches, religious organizations and other tax-exempt nonprofits from endorsing political candidates or funneling tax-deductible donations into partisan campaigns. Pastors and faith leaders can preach on any moral or social issue, including justice, poverty, immigration, war. The only line is at the intersection of tax-exempt status and candidate endorsements. In other words, the amendment is the last structural barrier between the American church and full absorption into the machinery of partisan politics… Here is how the mechanism would work — and in some places, already does. A donor writes a check to their congregation. Takes the full federal tax deduction. The church endorses the candidate of their choice, bundles contributions, runs voter registration drives for one party — and does all of it without the disclosure requirements that apply to actual political action committees. This is tax-exempt political spending, passed through the offering plate and invisible to the public record.” [Salon]
Nathan Taylor Pemberton writes that “an influential outpost in the world of conservative politics, the NYYRC was traditionally known for fundraising for city- and statewide Republican races. Its annual black-tie gala pulled some of the biggest names in the conservative movement, including Donald Trump, who was a keynote speaker at the club’s 2023 event. In recent years, however, the club’s choices in leadership, programming, and endorsements appear to show a shift toward a strident nativist political position and a hard-line free-speech agenda focused on issues of immigration, nationalism, and Christian faith — ideological positions in line with the America First agenda associated with both Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance. The club has endorsed far-right figures, like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, and honored Markus Frohnmaier, a leader of Alternative for Germany, which has been labeled an “extremist” organization by that country’s intelligence services.” [New York Magazine]
Christopher Mathias writes that “the story of how the term ‘remigration’ traveled from the far-right fringes to the halls of power is one of the most defining, emblematic, and alarming of the 21st century. It is a story of how the ‘fringes’ were never really that fringe at all; of the power of euphemism or, in far-right parlance, of ‘hiding your power levels,’ to advance a white nationalist agenda; and of a tech platform taken over by a white South African immigrant to America who last month became a trillionaire. When you see or hear the word ‘remigration,’ it is imperative that you know it means ‘ethnic cleansing’ — a term considered by some genocide scholars to be a euphemism in of itself, one that masks the historic horrors of homes being raided, of human beings separated from their families, of concentration camps and mass murder. The stakes, to borrow DHS’ phrasing, really could not be higher.” [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.
Have any state or federal law enforcement say they are going to start taking any sort of action or just going to sit by and encourage this? I haven't heard to many that are to be honest.