Morning Briefing: Penn State Cancels Event Featuring Founder of Proud Boys
Morning Briefing: Penn State Cancels Event Featuring Founder of Proud Boys
Penn State cancelled an event featuring Gavin McInnes, founder of far right extremists street gang the Proud Boys, amid protest from student and community activists.
Morning Briefing: Penn State University canceled an event featuring Gavin McInnes, founder of far right extremists street gang the Proud Boys, and Alex Stein, a far right YouTube personality, after the “university initially had resisted calls to cancel the event sponsored by a student group, citing the importance of upholding free-speech rights.”
Penn State statement on cancellation of the event: “…these speakers are provocateurs who use odious behavior and conflict to gain attention and avoid serious conversations on topics of importance. However, we know that words are hurtful and harmful, and we stand ready to provide resources and support to our community members who may be adversely affected by these speakers.”
The group which sponsored he event, Uncensored America (UA), is reportedly “still advertising future events and promoting its chapters at Penn State, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.”
New details have been made public about a Woburn, Massachusetts police officer who was placed on paid administrative leave after it was revealed that he allegedly “helped plan and participated in the infamous Charlottesville ‘Unite the Right’ rally that resulted in the death of one counter-protester.”
The Woburn mayor and police chief “released details about Donnelly’s involvement in the rally, saying the former cop ‘violated multiple department policies through involvement in extremist groups.’”
The Chicago Police Department is defending the decision to suspended police officer Robert Bakker for 120-days after an investigation into alleged ties to the Proud Boys, as CPD Superintendent David Brown “defended the choice not to fire Bakker and said the investigation did not turn up sufficient evidence that the officer was affiliated with the organization.”
New Mexico Judge Elaine Lujan issued an order banning a far right militia from public activities, setting an “important precedent against the open lawlessness of armed racist and extremist paramilitary groups that have intimidated peaceful protesters and are now charged with leading the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection.”
This week, Radical Reports is hosting two Twitter Spaces:
This Week in Extremism: A conversation with Tal Lavin about how the increasing incidents of antisemitism are weaponized by the far right (12:00pm EDT).
This Week in Extremism Bonus Space: A conversation with Daniel Harper from the I Don't Speak German Podcast about the Intellectual Dark Web (2:00pm EDT).
Must Reads
Isaac Stone Simonelli reports that “more than half of Arizona’s 15 county sheriffs have aligned themselves with at least some of the primary ideologies of the constitutional sheriffs, a months-long investigation by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting found. Four have direct connections to Protect America Now or the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA)—both labeled as anti-government extremist organizations by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks domestic extremism. They are described as far-right nationalist and anti-democratic organizations by the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. AZCIR reviewed postings, comments and threads on social media platforms, public statements and documents, and conducted dozens of interviews to identify Arizona sheriffs who are either directly or ideologically affiliated with the movement.” [Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting]
Kyle Spencer writes that “it wouldn’t be long before the Reagan-loving kid from suburban Chicago wasn’t just hitting up the rich for cash. He was hanging with them at their sprawling vacation homes, hunting and fishing with them, attending their lavish birthday celebrations, and having God chat with them on their boats. One fundraising executive, almost twice Kirk’s age, recalls arriving at a donor’s beach house for a meeting and noticing Kirk pacing in the backyard on his cell. He was there as a houseguest. Kirk would soon also be included in important strategy sessions with conservative powerbrokers desperate to overcome Obama-ism and take back Washington in 2016. These would happen in plush living rooms with expensive pieces of period furniture and museum-grade art, far from the McMansion-dotted suburbs where Kirk had grown up.” [Politico]
Annie Gowen reports that “since April of last year, the ReAwaken America Tour has brought hardline-election deniers, anti-vaccine doctors, self-proclaimed prophets and conspiracy theorists to enthusiastic crowds across the country. The central message is that America’s white, evangelical Christian way of life is under threat from the globalist cabal on the ‘woke’ left. The traveling carnival of misinformation merges entertainment, politics and theology and makes the existential argument to those attending: The debate is no longer about Republican vs. Democrat, they say, it’s about good vs. evil. And it’s time to pick a side. Since its inception, the tour has been denounced by mainstream religious leaders because of its extremist views.” [The Washington Post]
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; Research Desk provides monthly highlights research and analysis from academia on the Radical Right; Field Notes delivers research on key organizations and analysis of the strategies and tactics of the Radical Right.
