These chats revealed that right-wing activists weren’t only interested in infiltrating the
Republican Party and moving up in its structure as they promoted
right-wing politicians. Several also discussed running sabotage
operations by posing as Democrats and infiltrating their local political
operations as well. “Maybe be double agents for the Dems here?” one user asked. The group
also advised participants which ballot initiatives to vote for.
The GOP initially showed signs of resisting the incoming tide of white nationalists nfiltrating their ranks of supporters. When onetime College Republican leader James Allsup (who later emerged as an unrepentant white nationalist) attempted to become a local GOP precinct officer, he was summarily tossed out of the party and stripped of his position.
The GOP initially showed signs of resisting the incoming tide of white nationalists nfiltrating their ranks of supporters. When onetime College Republican leader James Allsup (who later emerged as an unrepentant white nationalist) attempted to become a local GOP precinct officer, he was summarily tossed out of the party and stripped of his position.
However, extremists nonetheless have increasingly been welcomed into the Republican fold. The Oath Keepers,
a “Patriot”/militia group, have repeatedly played semi-official
security roles for Trump events. “Three Percenter”
militiamen have been linking arms with New York state Republican operatives on Facebook. Even when the welcome mat has not been extended, there has been strategic infiltration of the party from white-nationalist groups like Identity Evropa.
The presence of extremists like Rep. Matt Shea of Washington state is not particularly new for the party, and even when their antics reach a critical point (such as when Shea was found to have engaged in “domestic terrorism”) they manage to hang on to their power. Shea remains in his seat in the Washington House.
The QAnon movement is also insinuating itself within the Republican Party. Media Matters (which has been keeping a running count of how many Republican candidates around the country have explicitly embraced QAnon conspiracies) is now reporting that at least four QAnon-supporting congressional candidates will be on the ballot this coming November. Three of those will be in California, and one in Ohio. Another—candidate Samuel Williams in Texas’s 16th District—faces a primary runoff this summer.
In the meantime, right-wing extremists have been quietly gearing up to attack Democratic events, including the unfurling of a Nazi banner at a Bernie Sanders rally. More recently, a QAnon fanatic from Illinois live-streamed her drive from her home to New York City with a car full of knives as she ranted about her plan to “take out Joe Biden” when she arrived there.
The presence of extremists like Rep. Matt Shea of Washington state is not particularly new for the party, and even when their antics reach a critical point (such as when Shea was found to have engaged in “domestic terrorism”) they manage to hang on to their power. Shea remains in his seat in the Washington House.
The QAnon movement is also insinuating itself within the Republican Party. Media Matters (which has been keeping a running count of how many Republican candidates around the country have explicitly embraced QAnon conspiracies) is now reporting that at least four QAnon-supporting congressional candidates will be on the ballot this coming November. Three of those will be in California, and one in Ohio. Another—candidate Samuel Williams in Texas’s 16th District—faces a primary runoff this summer.
In the meantime, right-wing extremists have been quietly gearing up to attack Democratic events, including the unfurling of a Nazi banner at a Bernie Sanders rally. More recently, a QAnon fanatic from Illinois live-streamed her drive from her home to New York City with a car full of knives as she ranted about her plan to “take out Joe Biden” when she arrived there.
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