Morning Briefing: Patriot Front on Trial
Six members of Patriot Front, the neo-fascist White Nationalist group, will be going on trial this week for allegedly 'planning to violently disrupt a Pride celebration in Coeur d’Alene City Park.'
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Morning Briefing: Six members of Patriot Front, the neo-fascist White Nationalist group, will be going on trial this week for allegedly “planning to violently disrupt a Pride celebration in Coeur d’Alene City Park.”
Devin Center, James Johnson, Cameron Pruitt, Forrest Rankin, Derek Smith and Robert Whitted “have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to riot, a misdemeanor.”
A federal jury found that the individual that committed the Tree of Life Synagogue mass shooting was “eligible for the death penalty.”
Donavon Parish was arrested and charged “for allegedly engaging in cyberstalking and communicating interstate threats,” and the indictment alleges Parish “targeted his victims based on their actual or perceived religion, that is, the Jewish faith.”
In Danbury, Connecticut, residents reportedly found flyers which “promoted the ideologies of a pro-white group” the Nationalist Social Club, a neo-Nazi White Supremacist group with chapters throughout New England.
In Bradenton, Florida, local business owners reportedly feared for their safety “after a person was caught on video spreading neo-Nazi messaging” at a local shopping center and the headquarters of the local Democratic Party.
In Franklinton, Ohio, residents reported “Ku Klux Klan flyers on vehicles and in the street,” and the “flyers mentioned the Trinity White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, a Kentucky chapter of the hate group.”
Must Reads
Brandy Zadrozny reports that “eighteen months after Facebook banned communities and users connected with the ‘Boogaloo’ anti-government movement, the group’s extremist ideas were back and flourishing on the social media platform, new research found. The paper, from George Washington University and Jigsaw, a unit inside Google that explores threats to open societies — including hate and toxicity, violent extremism and censorship — found that after Facebook’s June 2020 ban of the Boogaloo militia movement, the content ‘boomeranged,’ first declining and then bouncing back to nearly its original volume… The research, which is currently under peer review, comes at a moment when many tech companies, including Facebook, are slashing their trust and safety departments, and content moderation efforts are being vilified and abandoned. Teams within Facebook and outside workers contracted by Facebook monitor the platform for users and content that violate its policies against what the company calls Dangerous Organizations and Individuals. Facebook designated the Boogaloo movement ‘a violent US-based anti-government network’ under that policy in 2020.” [NBC News]
Chauncey DeVega writes that “political scientists and other experts have repeatedly shown that racist and white supremacist values and beliefs are heavily correlated with a given white person's support for Donald Trump and his MAGA movement. In addition, racism and white supremacy are highly predictive of support for the Republican Party and its candidates and policies more generally. Predictably, the Republican Party and larger right-wing and conservative movement's positions and public policies on a range of issues including immigration, guns, the economy, civil and voting rights, support for democracy, ‘law and order' and crime, the social safety net and healthcare, wealth and income inequality, the size of the federal government are heavily influenced by racism and white supremacy. Historically and to the present, right-wing political entrepreneurs and other leaders have proven to be very skilled at using racism and white supremacy in a type of divide-and-conquer strategy to generate anger and rage and resentment among white Americans so that they will reject policies and initiatives that would actually benefit them.” [Salon]
Mike Wendling reports that “a growing number of Capitol rioters have gone back on their guilty pleas and apologies - including one of the most recognisable faces from 6 January… Since 6 January 2021, over 1,000 people have been charged over their participation in the riots, and almost half have pleaded guilty. But chatter on online forums and media coverage shows a small but growing number have started to have a change of heart. Emboldened by shifting views of the riots, some have sought to recast their actions, and even benefit from their notoriety. Facing 30 days in prison and three years of probation, Athanasios Zoyganeles pleaded guilty last year to illegally demonstrating in the Capitol. But like [Jacob] Angeli, he has since changed his mind. He told a reporter this month that he didn't do anything wrong and had been persuaded into an admission. In addition to walking back regrets, a number of rioters have tried to capitalise on their involvement in the riots in a number of ways.” [BBC]
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.