Morning Briefing: Two More Members of Patriot Front Convicted of 'Conspiring to Riot'
Wesley Van Horn and Kieran Morris, members of Patriot Front, were convicted of 'conspiring to riot by disturbing the peace at a Pride event last year in downtown Coeur d’Alene.'
Morning Briefing: Wesley Van Horn and Kieran Morris, members of the White Nationalist neo-fascist group Patriot Front, were convicted of “conspiring to riot by disturbing the peace at a Pride event last year in downtown Coeur d’Alene,” and defense attorneys reportedly used the “same arguments to defend the white nationalist members.”
Van Horn testified during the trial and claimed that his intent was to “was to peacefully assemble with my brothers and stand in opposition of what was going on in the park,” however documents seized by law enforcement revealed the group planned to approach the event with shields and created a “confrontational dynamic.”
The conviction of Van Horn and Morris comes less than a month after five members Patriot Front were “sentenced to several days in jail for conspiring to riot at a Pride event in Idaho.”
Approximately two dozen members of the Nationalist Social Club (NSC-131), the neo-Nazi White Supremacist group, reportedly held a rally near the capitol building in Maine, and “Capitol police and Augusta police were made aware of the situation.”
White Supremacist propaganda was reportedly distrusted to residents of Miles City, Montana, as “copies of a CD containing ‘neo-Nazi’ propaganda were sent to over a dozen homes.”
In Saratoga Springs, New York, approximately “150 area residents gathered” in response to a recently staged protest by the Proud Boys, the far right violent extremist street gang. “Stand Against Fascists Marching in Our Community” was organized by of local activists including the Saratoga Peace Alliance, Veterans For Peace, and the Saratoga-Warren-Washington Progressive Alliance.
A false bomb threat reportedly resulted in the “resulted in an abrupt halt to a Sabbath service” at Temple Beth Tikvah in Fullerton, California. Despite the threat being “antisemitic in nature,” local law enforcement claim “it did not rise to the point of being criminal in nature.”
Must Reads
Katherine Stewart writes that “most of us are familiar with the theocrats of the religious right and the anti-government extremists, groups that overlap a bit but remain distinct. The Claremont Institute folks aren’t quite either of those things, and yet they’re both and more. In embodying a kind of nihilistic yearning to destroy modernity, they have become an indispensable part of right-wing America’s evolution toward authoritarianism. Extremism of the right-wing variety has always figured on the sidelines of American culture, and it has enjoyed a renaissance with the rise of social media. But Claremont represents something new in modern American politics: a group of people, not internet conspiracy freaks but credentialed and influential leaders, who are openly contemptuous of democracy. And they stand a reasonable chance of being seated at the highest levels of government—at the right hand of a President Trump or a President DeSantis, for example.” [The New Republic]
MacKenzie Ryan writes that women have “taken prominent roles in events like the January 6 attack on the Capitol, count US congresswomen in their number and have seen the emergence of powerful new groups like Moms for Liberty. ‘[Far-right women] have a lot more power than you think,’ said Dr Sandra Jeppesen, a professor of media and communications at Lakehead University in Ontario, Canada. Despite their seemingly understated presence in extremist groups and far-right politics, they can be effective organizers, responsible for bringing thousands of people to the Capitol for the January 6 ‘Stop the Steal’ rally and now mobilizing against inclusive education. Some women figures on the far-right scene have a lot of money, especially the most prominent ones, said Tracy Llanera, an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Connecticut. The most high-profile far-right conservative women are involved in social media production because they fit the mold of what Llanera calls ‘the acceptable faces of conservative propaganda’.” [The Guardian]
Tess Owen writes that “extremists around the world typically seek to exploit moments of instability or chaos for their own gain, and that’s particularly true in the aftermath of natural disasters. Weak or muddled government responses to hurricanes, flooding or wildfires have previously created windows of opportunity for extremists to position themselves as reliable, trusted sources of aid—and show government agencies to be useless in a moment of crisis. And, by ingratiating themselves in impacted communities, extremists are able to reach into a larger pool of prospective recruits. This is a trend that experts say they expect to see more of in the coming years. As the effects of climate change grow more severe, communities that have been destabilized by natural disasters may increasingly find themselves leaning on wolves in sheeps clothing— extremists dressed up as good samaritans.” [Vice News]
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.