Morning Briefing: Far Right Extremists and White Supremacist Neo-Nazis Continue to Target LGBTIQ Events
Far right extremists such as the Proud Boys and White Supremacists neo-Nazi groups have continued to target LGBTIQ events from Boston to Salt Lake City.
Morning Briefing: Two dozen masked men reportedly staged a protested outside the Taunton Public Library, and “several protesters entered the lower auditorium of the library during the event.”
The men were apparently affiliated with the National Social Club-131 (NSC-131), a White Supremacists neo-Nazi group that has been increasingly prevalent in northeastern U.S. The group has reportedly “organized a string of recent demonstrations.”
An all-ages drag show Tea Zaanti, a tea and wine café in Salt Lake City, Utah, was reportedly targeted by members of the Proud Boys. Members of the far right street gang “shouted at people going into Tea Zaanti, called them ‘groomers,’ and said they should be ashamed.”
Members of the White nationalist neo-fascist group Patriot Front staged a protest in front of Hix Farm Brewery in Cookeville, Tennessee, and members of the group were reportedly displaying a “Nazi flag and chanting homophobic slurs over the drag show’s music. They carried signs, asking ‘Why do they want an audience of children?’ — despite the event being open only to those 18 years of age or older.”
Aryan Freedom Network, a Texas-based neo-Nazi group, is reportedly planning a meeting in Fresno, California, and the group is “touting the meeting for Jan. 28 though the time and location would only be provided upon request.”
Twitter has reinstated the account of a far right antisemitic White Nationalist:
Must Reads
Katherine Stewart writes that “this idea that the American political realm is a place of ‘spiritual warfare’—in a literal, not metaphorical, sense—is one of the defining elements of the new forms of highly politicized religion that are surging across the country. Some—but by no means all—of the figures claiming special vision into the demonic struggles of our times are associated with neo-charismatic movements such as the New Apostolic Reformation, or NAR, which grew up around the late C. Peter Wagner, an author and missionary who spent a decade and a half in Bolivia before becoming a professor of church growth at Fuller Theological Seminary’s School of World Mission in Pasadena, California. Wagner is frequently characterized as the NAR’s ‘intellectual godfather’ and played a pivotal role in popularizing its vision of modern-day apostles and prophets, ‘spiritual warfare’ with demons and ‘territorial spirits,’ and the ideology of Seven Mountains Dominionism, which says conservative Christians are to take control of the seven key features, often referred to as ‘mountains’ or ‘molders,’ of culture, including government, business, media, education, entertainment, family, and religion.” [The New Republic]
Amanda Moore writes that “even if Ye does not file to run, the momentum of the movement itself is there, and college campuses have already seen the consequences of his rhetoric. For Fuentes and his followers, having one of the most commercially successful hip hop artists of our time say the things they usually say behind closed doors or on paywalled podcasts is invigorating, encouraging growth of their movement that has not died out in the years since Fuentes participated in the Unite the Right rally — even if it has been invisible to many adults. Of course, Ye’s continued declaration of his love for Hitler has certainly helped ratchet up Fuentes’ own rhetoric beyond that point. But that does not mean the entire Groyper base is ready to throw optics to the wind. While Fuentes’ ban evasion accounts eventually end up suspended, many of the people in his circle and fanbase have been reinstated under Twitter’s new ownership. Twitter, especially the Spaces feature, has now become a key organizing tool for the burgeoning Students for Ye movement.” [Talking Points Memo]
Andrew Cockburn writes that the “story of DeSantis’s climb to the governor’s mansion on the shoulders of Donald Trump carries multiple ironies, not least of which is the vast difference in their personalities. Trump may call himself a Floridian today, but he is still a New Yorker, as journalist Sidney Blumenthal observed to me—a comedian in the mode of Don Rickles, always ready to make a joke. DeSantis is different. He is tightly controlled and intensely private: his public schedule, for example, is issued at the end of the day, when all events in which the press might take an interest are safely past, and he has rarely sat for a hard interview during his time in office. To compare him with indefatigable extroverts like Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton seems patently absurd. But another former president—also an introvert in an extrovert’s profession—does bear comparison: Richard Nixon, who similarly lacked charisma and sought to make up for it with forced congeniality. ” [Harper’s Magazine]
This Week in Extremism: Constitutional Sheriffs
Discussion with on her reporting on the far right “constitutional sheriffs” movement. Join the discussion on Twitter Spaces on Friday, January 27th at 12:00pm EST (11:00am CST / 9:00am PST)
Radical Reports Book Club: Jesus and John Wayne
Discussion on Twitter Spaces: Jesus and John Wayne: Chapters 6 — 10 (Thursday, January 19th at 12:00pm EST)*
*This Twitter Space has been rescheduled.
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.