Category Archives: Proud Boys

Top leaders in the Oath Keepers militia group indicted on seditious conspiracy charges over the Capitol attack had contacts with the Proud Boys and a figure in the Stop the Steal movement and may also have been in touch with the Republican congressman Ronny Jackson, newly released text messages show.

The texts which indicate the apparent ease with which Oath Keepers messaged Proud Boys could strengthen a theory being explored by the House January 6 committee and the US justice department: that the Capitol attack included a coordinated assault.

Oath Keepers text messages released in a court filing on Monday night showed members of the group were in direct communication with the Proud Boys leader Enqrique Tarrio in the days before the Capitol attack.

In an exchange on 4 January 2021, the Oath Keepers Florida chapter leader, Kelly Meggs, indicates an attempt to call Tarrio after learning of his arrest.

I just called him no answer, Meggs texted a group chat. But he will [call if] hes out.

That close relationship is certain to be of interest to the House committee as it zeroes in on whether the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys coordinated an attack on the Capitol in an attempt to stop certification of Joe Bidens election win over Donald Trump.

As the Guardian first reported, the committee has amassed deep evidence of connections between the far-right groups which could play a role in establishing whether Trump oversaw a criminal conspiracy as part of his attempt to hold on to power.

The newly released text messages also show a new link between the Oath Keepers and an unnamed figure from the Stop the Steal movement, which has ties to the pro-Trump operative Roger Stone and to Ali Alexander, a prominent Trump ally and activist.

On the evening of 1 January, Stewart Rhodes, the national leader of the Oath Keepers, texted to say he was adding an unidentified person affiliated with Stop the Steal to the group chat, to help them prepare for January 6.

The name was redacted in the released texts but Rhodes described an event producer for Stop the Steal. He requested I add him here. He can sort out who is doing what in the creative chaos that will be Jan 5/6.

Hes a good egg.

It was not clear whether Rhodes misattributed an affiliation to Stop the Steal, given the January 6 rally at the Ellipse was a Save America event. Neither Alexander nor Stone appeared to message the group chat or were otherwise involved.

The Oath Keepers text messages also show a connection to Ronny Jackson that allowed one of its members to learn that the Texas congressman Trumps former White House doctor needed protection as the Capitol attack unfolded.

The potential connection between the Oath Keepers and a Republican member of Congress could mark a new investigatory direction for the committee and the justice department: whether Jackson or others might have had advance knowledge of the Oath Keepers plans.

In the exchange on January 6, an unidentified Oath Keeper texts the group chat that Ronnie Jackson (TX) office inside Capitol he needs OK help. Anyone inside?

The same Oath Keeper provides an update less than 10 minutes later: Dr Ronnie Jackson on the move. Needs protection. If anyone inside cover him. He has critical data to protect.

Rhodes quickly responds: Give him my cell.

In a statement to the Guardian, a spokesperson said Jackson is frequently talked about by people he does not know. He does not know nor has he ever spoken to the people in question.

Asked if Jackson was never in contact with the Oath Keepers, the spokesperson did not answer.

The House committee has not given any indication that Republican members of Congress were connected to a potential conspiracy overseen by Trump that would connect his plan to have then-vice president Mike Pence overturn the election with the Capitol attack.

The Oath Keepers texts were included in a motion for release from pre-trial detention by Ed Vallejo, one of 11 group members facing charges of seditious conspiracy. On January 6, prosecutors say, Vallejo was at a Comfort Inn in Virginia with a cache of weapons, meant to act as a quick reaction force.

The messages show the Oath Keepers discussed providing security for prominent Trump allies including Stone, Alexander, Alex Jones, Lin Wood and Mike Flynn, Trumps former national security adviser.

One week before January 6, Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers, mentioned requests to provide security for Bianca Garcia, president of the group Latinos for Trump, for which Tarrio, the Proud Boys leader, was also chief of staff.

The next day, Meggs, the Florida Oath Keepers leader who would ultimately lead Stones security detail, boasted that he had spoken to Stone the night before. Jessica Watkins, another member of the Oath Keepers, said she was also in touch with Stone.

Roger Stone just asked for security, Watkins texted the group chat on 1 January, to which Meggs responded: Who reached out to you? I [spoke] to him Wednesday.

Meggs using the alias OK Gator 1 added: I just texted him.

Though the Oath Keepers discussed providing security for other Trump allies, the extent of their voluntary services remains unclear. Alexander said in a recent statement that the Oath Keepers did not perform security duties for him on January 6.

See more here:

Oath Keepers and Proud Boys were in touch before US Capitol attack, texts reveal - The Guardian

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) A South Carolina inmate is accused of threatening to assassinate President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Eric Anthony Rome Jr. is facing eight criminal charges that include threatening the United State President and Vice President as well as threatening federal officials and their families.

Based on the indictments, the first threat was made on July 13, 2020, and the last one on March 14, 2022.

Rome Jr. is currently being held at the Kirkland Correctional Institution for a 2019 bank robbery in Greenville County.

While an inmate at Lieber Correctional Institution, Rome Jr. made a threat to take the life of and inflict bodily harm upon the Vice President of the United States on June 28, 2021.

According to the indictment, Rome Jr. called the South Carolina Department of Corrections and left the following voicemail:

My name is Eric Rome. Im a member of the South Carolina Aryan Brotherhood. I dont have long in prison, but Ill be leaving early regardless. Ive got an escape plan and my intention is to escape and kill Kamala Harris the Vice President. Its unfortunate that I cant take her somewhere Yet, I mean shooting her will have to work. I intend to carry out a sniper attack against Kamala Harris. I will attempt to find her and kill her, and if I cant, my brothers in the Aryan Brotherhood will. Its very serious. White power.

On June 30, 2021, Rome Jr. made a threat to take the life of and inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, the indictment said.

He called the South Carolina Department of Corrections and left the following voicemail:

The South Carolina branch of the Aryan Brotherhood can no longer tolerate a globalist communist President such as Joe Biden. Well be trying to assassinate him forthwith. Ive an escape attempt planned to get out of this prison, which shouldnt be hard because its done in SCDC all the time, and carry out a sniper attack on Joe Biden and take his life. Im willing to die in the attempt. White power.

While an inmate at the Board River Correctional Institute, on November 19, 2021, Rome made a threat to take the life of and to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States and the Vice President of the United States.

According to the indictment, he called the South Carolina Department of Corrections and left the following voicemail:

This is a statement of intent by the Aryan Brotherhood of South Carolina and the Greenville, South Carolina, Proud Boys, our intent is war on the federal government and specifically the assassination of the feds, Marxist leader Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The death of these two has been decided based on a number of factors, not least of which being the theft of the last presidential election, promoting critical race theory in our schools, the vax mandate and using Marxist media outlets, notably CNN, to brainwash our citizens. These assassinations are imminent, and I, Eric Rome, of the Aryan Brotherhood, will have direct involvement. Secondly, also, we require the dishonorable judge, Joseph Anderson, the federal courthouse in Richland, South Carolina, to vacate the bench immediately; otherwise, we will execute the old man and post videos of his death on as many web platforms as we can, which judge, Joseph Anderson, convicted me on behalf of President Barack Obama in 2015, so I personally hope he doesnt heed this advice so I can see him dead. My name is Eric Anderso. Make America Great Again.

In two of the indictments, Rome Jr. sent letters to the U.S. Supreme Court and a Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, Oregon, claiming to contain anthrax.

This letter contains weapons grade anthrax. You [sic] as good as dead having opened this, part of the letter said.

In two other indictments, Rome Jr. threatened to injure the person whose letter was addressed, which included his supervising probation officer and the Senior United States District Judge.

On November 19, 2021, Rome Jr. threatened to assault and murder a United States Official, Judge Joseph Anderson by voicemail, according to the indictment.

We will execute the old man and post videos of his death on as many web platforms as we can, part of the voicemail said.

In his voicemail, Rome Jr. said that Judge Anderson convicted him in 2015 on behalf of President Barack Obama.

Originally posted here:

SC inmate accused of threatening to assassinate Pres. Biden, VP Harris - WSAV-TV

An Ottawa man who was a member of the now disbanded Proud Boys Canada organization has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in the U.S. It comes after he wasextradited from Canada to face a chargethat he assaulteda Palestinian man at a protest in Washington, D.C., five years ago, and that the attackwas motivated by hate.

The assault occurred on March 26, 2017, when the American Israel Public Affairs Committee which advocates for a strong relationship between the U.S. and Israel was holding its annual policy conference at a convention centrein downtown Washington.

Rival demonstrations by left-wing Jewish anti-establishment groups and the far-rightJewish Defense League(labelled a terrorist group by the FBI) and its supporters were taking place outside the centre at the time.

Amongthe Jewish Defense League'ssupporters was Brandon Vaughan, then a 22-year-old from Ottawa.

At the time hewas alsoa self-proclaimed member of the Proud Boysa far-right men's organizationlaterlabelled a terrorist entity inCanadaand was active on social mediabefore Proud Boys content was banned from many sites.

Some of the evidence police in Washington collected wasincluded in a2021 factumfiled in Ottawa Superior Court on a motion to have Vaughan placed into custody pending extradition.The factum statesthe victim from Charlotte, N.C.,and his spouse were visiting their daughter, who was studying in Washington, and were dropping her off near the convention centre as demonstrations were ongoing.

The victim heard a woman say Palestine doesn't exist, and in response the victim pointed to himself and said "words to the effect of, 'This is Palestine,'" according to the factum.

Immediately afterward,the man waspushed to the ground and was punched and kicked repeatedly by several peopleas he lay theretryingto protect himself, the factum states. His injuries included a wound near his eye requiring 18 stitches, abrasions, and bruising on his ribs and back.

The victim later identified Vaughan, who was wearing a Jewish Defense League shirt, as one of his attackers, according to the factum.

In April 2018, Vaughan was charged withafelony for his alleged role assault causingsignificant bodily injury while armed and was accused of being motivated by racial hate.

The felony assault charge carriesa statutory maximum of 30 years in prison, and aconvictiononthe hate-crime enhancement would have increasedthe maximum penalty to 1.5 times that amount, or 45 years.

The indictment filed by the grand jury in Washington allegedthe assault demonstrated Vaughan'sprejudice "based on the actual or perceived race, colour, or national origin" of the victim.

AMetropolitan Police Department public incident report filed after the attack listed the assaultas a suspected hate crime, andthe bias as "anti-Arab."

Vaughan, now 27, waived his right to an extradition hearing in Superior Court in Ottawa last monthand was conveyed to the U.S. days later on March 17, according to Canada's Department of Justice.

He had been wanted on a Washington, D.C., Superior Court bench warrant for nearly four years prior to hisextradition, afterfailingto appear in court in 2018 when the charges were laid.

After signing aplea agreement, Vaughan pleaded guilty March 28 to thelesser charge of simple assaulta misdemeanor that carries a statutory maximum of 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

In signing the agreement, Vaughanadmitted he acted voluntarily, on purpose and not by mistake or accident when he pushed to the ground and assaulted the victim after hehad identified himself as Palestinian.

Vaughan was sentenced by Judge Sean C. Staples to time already served,according toBill Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. Vaughanhad been in custody in Canada for about two months prior to his extradition.

Three others, including a Toronto man, earlier pleaded guilty to simple assault for their roles in the attack:Jesse Vorona, Yosef Steynovitzof Toronto,andRami Lubranicki.

Vorona, like Vaughan, was sentenced to time served. Steynovitz and Lubranicki were placed on probation, Miller wrote in an email.

The extradition and plea cameafter Vaughan pleaded guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice to possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and received a conditional discharge in May 2021. The charge stemmed from an unrelated incident in July 2020.

Chargesof assault and failing to appear to be fingerprintedwerewithdrawn.

Vaughan was sentenced to 12 months of probation and was fined a victim surcharge of $100.

He was also ordered to complete anger management classes,not contact or be anywhere near the alleged victim of the withdrawn assault charge, and not possess any weapons.

In 2014, charges of mischief under $5,000 and failing to appear in court on the mischief countwerewithdrawn.

Attempts to reach Vaughan for comment were unsuccessful.

Continued here:

Former Proud Boys member extradited to U.S. pleads to misdemeanor after assaulting Palestinian man - CBC.ca

Behind closed doors in a nondescript conference room at the foot of Capitol Hill, the House select committee investigating 6 January next week expects to hear testimony about the connections between the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys militia groups and the Capitol attack.

The panel expects to hear how the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys coordinated their plans and movements in the days before the insurrection to the same level of detail secured by the justice department and referenced in recent prosecutions for seditious conspiracy.

And the select committee hopes to also hear in the 5 April deposition arranged by a senior counsel for the panel private conversations between the leaders of the two militia groups and whether they might have communicated with any Trump advisers.

The panel should get the evidence both on the record and under oath, according to two sources familiar with the arrangement, to add to raw video footage of a meeting between the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys leaders in a garage across from the Capitol on the eve of 6 January.

The expected testimony and materials represent another significant breakthrough for the investigation and could play a major role in establishing for the select committee whether Donald Trump oversaw a criminal conspiracy as part of his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Most crucially for the panel, it could form part of the evidence to connect the militia groups that stormed the Capitol on 6 January to the organizers of the Save America rally that immediately preceded the attack who in turn are slowly being linked to the Trump White House.

As the select committee moves closer to Trump who House investigators alleged in a recent court filing that the former president violated federal laws including obstructing Congress and conspiring to defraud the United States as he sought to return himself to power it is redoubling its efforts.

The information that Sean Tonolli, the senior investigative counsel who set up the deposition, should obtain about the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys in the first week of April means the panel has managed to get all the major evidence for all the big moments.

In December, the select committee revealed that it had in its possession 2,320 text messages from Trumps former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, emails such as one with a PowerPoint presentation on staging a coup, and other documents he had turned over to the inquiry.

That alone has been seen as a treasure trove of materials, including messages to and from House Republicans who apologized for not being able to stop the certification of Joe Bidens election win, and more recently, messages with Ginni Thomas, the wife of the supreme court justice Clarence Thomas.

In January, the panel got from the National Archives thousands of pages of Trump White House documents that the former president unsuccessfully sought to shield over claims of executive privilege in a case that Justice Thomas reviewed and emerged as the sole dissenter.

Those included documents in the files of Meadows and the former deputy White House counsel Pat Philbin, among others, and Trumps private schedule for 6 January that showed he gave the crowd a false pretense to go to the Capitol perhaps in the hope that they might stop Bidens certification.

Then the select committee learned of the fake electors ploy a scheme to send alternate slates of Trump electors to Congress in states won by Biden that ensnared the White House and showed the involvement of some of Trumps most senior aides.

Earlier this month, the panel also revealed in separate litigation that the Trump lawyer John Eastman knew that his plan to have the then-vice president, Mike Pence, reject Bidens wins in select battleground states and return Trump to office was an unlawful violation of the Electoral Count Act.

The panel has so far conducted the vast majority of its investigation in private, conducting nearly 750 depositions behind closed doors, amassing more than 84,000 documents and pursuing more than 430 tips that have come through on its website tip line.

But notwithstanding the secrecy, the select committee has uncovered extraordinary information that has put them several steps closer to potentially forcing them to make criminal referrals to the justice department once the inquiry is complete, the sources said.

What the panel has found and made public so far, the sources said, could also lay the groundwork to sketch out a criminal conspiracy that connects Trumps political plan to return himself to office with the attack itself its ultimate suspicion, the Guardian first reported.

From its nondescript offices boarded up with beige boards and wood-paneled conference rooms with blinds always drawn, the select committee has spent the last eight months working in color-coded teams in an attempt to untangle Trumps efforts to subvert the 2020 election results.

The gold team is examining Trumps plans to stop the certification of Bidens election win with the help of Republican members of Congress, and his pressure campaign on state, local and justice department officials to return himself to office.

The red team is looking at the Save America rally organizers and the Stop the Steal Movement, while the purple team is scrutinizing the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys, the 1st Amendment Praetorian and how militia groups helped lead the Trump mob into the Capitol building.

As the panel moves into the second phase of its investigation, its members have said they want to release in narrative form the evidence of wrongdoing in a series of public hearings that are likely to be delayed from April to May but still focus on how Trump broke the law.

The select committees purpose remains to recommend legislative reforms to prevent a repeat of 6 January, but the evidence collected by the panel is fast hurtling it towards a conclusion of criminal behavior that could implicate Trump and necessitate a referral the sources said.

Read the rest here:

Capitol attack panel expects to hear how militia groups coordinated plans before insurrection - The Guardian

For nearly two decades, one of the world's most infamous hacker groups has operated under the name "Anonymous." And the mysterious online community is making headlines once again.

After Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February, a Twitter account with 7.9 million followers named "Anonymous" declared a "cyber war" against Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin. Since then, the group has claimed responsibility for various cyberattacks that disabled websites and leaked data from Russian government agencies, as well as state-run news outlets and corporations.

Often called "hacktivists," Anonymous employs coordinated cyberattacks against various world governments, corporations or other groups, often in the name of social or political causes. In a Feb. 24 tweet, the "Anonymous" account which says it "cannot claim to speak for the whole of the Anonymous collective" called on hackers around the world, including in Russia, to "say 'NO' to Vladimir Putin's war."

Over the years, actions linked to Anonymous have inspired both Hollywood filmmakers and other hacker groups around the world. Here's a look at the murky group's origins, some of its most notable cyberattacks and the philosophy that allegedly steers its decisions:

Anonymous' origin story begins in the online message forums of 4chan, the anonymous social community website founded in 2003. Even today, posts on 4chan from users who don't specify a username are labeled as written by "Anonymous."

In the website's early days, users often organized group pranks called "raids," flooding chat rooms in games and other online communities to cause disruptions. 4chan began cracking down on the raids after critics accused participants of cyberbullying and posting offensive content.

Those raids formed the basis of Anonymous' operations: a decentralized movement of like-minded online users who would communicate in encrypted chat rooms to plan online disruptions. At first, those plans were largely about cheap entertainment. Eventually, they began to revolve around social or political aims.

The group's most prominent early instance of "hacktivism" came in 2008, when 4chan users led by early Anonymous hacker Gregg Housh launched a coordinated effort against the Church of Scientology, using tactics like denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on the church's websites, prank phone calls and faxing the church black pages to waste their printer ink.

The cyberattacks, which Anonymous labeled "Project Chanology," were retaliation for what the hackers deemed as attempted censorship: The church had legally threatened Gawker after the media outlet published a leaked video of actor Tom Cruise speaking enthusiastically about Scientology.

A series of worldwide protests against Scientology soon followed, with many Anonymous-supporting protesters wearing white-and-black Guy Fawkes masks, depicting the 17th century British insurrectionist. Those masks have since become closely associated with hacking group.

Generally, Anonymous opposes governments and corporations that it views as participating in censorship or promoting inequality. Since the group is decentralized, it has no real structure or hierarchy so there's often much internal debate about which ideas or causes to support.

A pinned 2019 tweet on the @YourAnonNews Twitter account which, again, claims not to speak for the collective as a whole describes Anonymous members as "working class people seeking a better future for humanity." It lists Anonymous' guiding principles as "freedom of information, freedom of speech, accountability for companies and governments, privacy and anonymity for private citizens."

Since "Project Chanology," Anonymous members have targeted a long list of parties, including:

Authorities around the world have arrested dozens of hackers with alleged ties to Anonymous, including at least 14 people charged with hacking PayPal in 2011. Barrett Brown, a journalist and self-professed Anonymous spokesperson, served more than four years in prison after a 2012 arrest on charges related to cyberattacks and threatening a federal officer.

The collective's activities trailed off after some of those arrests, but resurfaced last year when Anonymous claimed responsibility for hacks targeting the Republican Party in Texas, in protest of the state's controversial abortion law. Anonymous also claimed responsibility for a September hack of web-hosting company Epik, which leaked more than 150 gigabytes of data on far-right groups like QAnon and the Proud Boys.

In 2012, Time magazine named Anonymous one of the world's 100 Most Influential People. Today, millions of people follow Anonymous-affiliated social media accounts.

Jeremiah Fowler, a co-founder of the cybersecurity company Security Discovery, told CNBC last week that Anonymous' supporters likely view the group as somewhat of a "cyber Robin Hood," targeting powerful governments and corporations in the name of popular causes.

"You want action now, you want justice now, and I think groups like Anonymous and hacktivists give people that immediate satisfaction," Fowler said.

But Anonymous definitely has critics. Many believe the group's vigilante tactics are extreme and potentially dangerous. In 2012, the National Security Agency deemed Anonymous a threat to national security.

Parmy Olson, a journalist who wrote a 415-page book on Anonymous in 2012, stated at the time that even the group's supporters should consider its legacy a mixed bag.

"Has Anonymous done good for the world? In some cases, yes," Olson told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, citing Anonymous' support of pro-democracy demonstrators in the Middle East. "Unnecessarily harassing people? I would class that as a bad thing. DDOSing the CIA website, stealing customer data and posting it online just for sh-ts and giggles is not a good thing."

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What is Anonymous? How the infamous hacktivist group went from 4chan trolling to launching cyberattacks on Russia - CNBC

The leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, met with Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes in an underground parking lot for 30 minutes the day before the Capitol riot, and a film crew was there, prosecutors for the Justice Department said in a court filing.

Reuters initially reported last month that the FBI was looking into a meeting between Tarrio and Rhodes that took place before the Capitol riot.

In the court filing on Monday, prosecutors were appealing to a magistrate to keep Tarrio detained pending his trial.

The filing also said the film crew picked up audio of someone referencing the Capitol. Tarrio was also picked up on the mictelling another individual that he was certain no one could get in and see the contents of his phone because he cleared the messages and there was a two-step process to get in the phone.

The Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers were some of the first to overrun police lines and break into the Capitol building sending lawmakers into hiding. The new court filings suggest the leaders of the groups were more involved in the planning of the riot than previously known.

On Tuesday, Tarrio will have a hearing where a magistrate will determine if he should be released pending trial or remain detained.

An attorney for Tarrio declined to comment. An attorney for Rhodes did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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Leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers met the day before the Capitol Riot. A documentary film crew was present. - Business Insider Africa

Ukraine war: No, the Proud Boys aren't going to UkraineGet Access Code.

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A post from an Australian Proud Boys account pretended they were flying overseas to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine. And a lot of people bought it.

A trolling post from an Australian Proud Boys social media account pretending that they were flying overseas to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine has gone viral, amplifying the accounts false claims and helping them grow their audience.

Late last week, a tiny Twitter accountclaiming to belong to a local chapter of the far-right group Proud Boys made a series of posts saying that their members were flying overseas to Poland to join other international members of the group on the ground in Russia -- a meme that had also been made by other Proud Boy chapters.

Crikey has chosen not to specify which account to avoid amplifying it further.

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Cam Wilson

Associate Editor @cameronwilson

Cam Wilson is Crikey's associate editor. He previously worked as a reporter at the ABC, BuzzFeed, Business Insider and Gizmodo. He primarily covers internet culture and tech in Australia.

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No, the Proud Boys aren't going to Ukraine: how a small troll went viral - Crikey

Over the past few weeks we have seen First Nations people protesting alongside alt-right freedom protesters at Old Parliament House in Canberra.

With this we saw a classic example of the alt-right trying to recruit disaffected marginalised people for their own ends.

This is not only dangerous given what we know about the history of First Nations peoples interactions with police, it also perpetuates a stereotype of First Nations people that we are dysfunctional, disunited and do not know what we want.

Read more: A short history of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy an indelible reminder of unceded sovereignty

The Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra was established in 1972. The Embassy is a permanent, heritage-listed protest site representing the political rights of the Indigenous Peoples of Australia. It is the longest living Indigenous protest site in the world.

However, in recent months a clash of extremist white protesters alongside some Indigenous people, attempted a hostile invasion of the site in a bid to co-opt the Embassys cause. The group that descended the area included key white supremacist figures, including members of the Proud Boys.

These alt-right, extremist invaders are aligned with the global Sovereign Citizens (SovCits) movement, whose roots are racist and antisemitic. Sovereign Citizens are anti-government and believe they are sovereign from the laws of the country where they live.

These extremists misappropriated the long-term struggle of First Nations people, and created chaos and division.

It seems these groups find ways to recruit others by tapping into the distrust of authority. They potentially exploited this to recruit Indigenous people to an alt-right cause.

The presence of Indigenous people in these protests further perpetuates the narrative we are dysfunctional peoples who cannot agree - a stereotype white people as a collective do not have to worry about.

Indigenous people being perceived as dysfunctional springs from white deficit narratives about Indigenous communities. This deficit discourse represents our people in terms of incivility, discord and failure.

Sovereignty is one of the foundational principles of international law. Unfortunately, sovereignty under traditional Western Euro-centric international law was purposefully designed and restricted to what are considered civilised nations and Indigenous Peoples were (and one could argue still are) objects under the law.

Indigenous Sovereignty remains a separate concept and means something entirely different but is marginalised to Indigenous politics. It remains marginalised because of the history of Terra Nullius being applied to justify colonisation and the refusal of contemporary politicians to advocate on the issue. Indigenous Sovereignty has deep significance in the fight for recognition, and there are many models of what Indigenous Sovereignty looks like.

However, sovereignty cannot simply exist, it can only be asserted, claimed, or taken - which is the antithesis of Indigenous law and lore.

Sovereignty and the assertion of sovereignty is a critical item of Indigenous activism in Australia the only commonwealth country without an agreement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Terra Nullius was enacted in Australia because the colonial invaders believed the Indigenous Peoples were uncivilised and thus did not possess sovereignty, therefore did not have the right to exclude the invaders from their lands. Therefore, the notion of Indigenous Sovereignty is intertwined with the activism for Treaty and the pursuit of self-determination.

Sovereignty however, has been hijacked by the alt-right and their version of sovereignty is about the rights of (white) individuals to do what they like without the subordination of the outside authorities.

White protesters co-opting Indigenous causes for their own sovereignty agenda is problematic in a number of ways.

First Nations people are often expected to educate those around us, and to freely give emotional and cultural labour. Providing such labour when educating about systemic violence while concurrently facing disadvantage due to white privilege in systems takes a significant toll. However, speaking out and protesting has very real life and death consequences for Indigenous People that white people do not need to consider.

First Nations People in Australia are the most criminalised and incarcerated in the world, and are at a higher risk of dying in custody.

White people also do not need to manage the same burdens, cultural loads or responsibilities, such as being asked to be the representative of their entire race. Nor are they collectively condemned when one white person does something that is considered wrong.

The far-right appropriating Indigenous causes is not new and often used to justify acts of violence. The far-right appropriate language about rights and twist them to fuel their own propaganda. This has been an effective tool to recruit all sorts of disenfranchised people.

Read more: Who are the 'Original Sovereigns' who were camped out at Old Parliament House and what are their aims?

In order to stop the momentum of these groups and their toxic way of thinking, we must ensure white people are no longer ignorant of the power of white privilege and the effect dysfunctionality speech, deficit narratives and systemic racism have on Indigenous Peoples and communities.

Many people may feel we are living in uncertain times, and these protest groups might try to pretend they have the answers people seek. But they do not. These groups encourage a pattern of ignorance that maintains social inequity for marginalised groups.

Instead these groups fuel hate speech, create further division in communities, and do nothing to bring stability to uncertain times.

Read more here:

Whose sovereignty is really being fought for? What happens when First Nations People are dragged into extremist protests - The Conversation AU

More than 100 far-right candidates are running for political office across the country as Republicans this year according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a non-profit that monitors hate groups.

Aside from those expressing extremist rhetoric and far-right views, the ADL has found at least a dozen of the candidates had explicit connections to white supremacists, anti-government extremists and members of the far-right Proud Boys. It includes primary challengers running to the right of some sitting Republicans.

In Arkansass third district Neil Kumar, who the ADL found has written for white supremacist publications, is challenging the incumbent congressman, Steve Womack, who broke with Republicans in voting in favor of creating the January 6 commission to investigate the Capitol attack. The openly racist views of Kumar prompted the Arkansas state Republican party to take the unusual step of declaring him a non-recommended candidate in the upcoming primary.

The wave of far-right candidates includes sitting legislators like the Arizona state senator Wendy Rogers, who has admitted to being a member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia with 11 members currently under federal indictment for seditious conspiracy.

Other militia groups have candidates running or already in local office. The Washington Three Percent militia claims members in dozens of elected offices throughout the Pacific north-west, the Washington Post found, including a mayor, a county commissioner and at least five school board seats.

In Idaho the far-right anti-government activist Ammon Bundy who led an armed standoff against federal agents at Malheur wildlife refuge in 2014 is running for the governors office. Bundys group, the Peoples Rights network, has now increased its national membership to 33,000 members and has at least 398 activists in 39 states, according to a report by Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights.

Many far-right candidates have no direct links to violent extremist groups, but do support a range of far-right views. The ADL tracked at least 45 candidates running for office this year that have lent credence in some way to the QAnon conspiracy theory movement. Many more hold on to Donald Trumps big lie the false belief that the 2020 election was stolen.

Nationwide there are 207 current elected officials who aided former president Trump in efforts to overturn the 2020, according to data compiled by the Insurrection Index, a project of the voting rights group Public Wise. The index includes senators like Ron Johnson from Wisconsin, who voted against certifying the 2020 election and spread misinformation including suggesting that the January 6 attack was carried out by fake Trump voters.

While many candidates are seeking local or national legislative seats, some are purposely running for bureaucratic offices whose chief responsibility is to certify elections. At least 11 election denying candidates are running for attorney general in 10 states,, according to tracking by the States United Democracy Center, a non-partisan group that monitors election races nationwide.

Fringe political candidates are a part of every US election cycle, but while these 2022 candidates hold far-right views they are also part of a wave within the Republican party that is no longer fringe but increasingly represents a powerful even dominant wing in the party.

The real danger is not just the wave of extreme candidates, its their embrace, their mainstreaming by the Republican party, said Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard University and the co-author of How Democracies Die. The United States has always had nutty, extremist, authoritarian politicians around the fringe. What is new and really dangerous for democracy is that theyre increasingly running as Republican candidates.

Levitsky added: At first you had a flirtation and tolerance with a handful of extremists at the fringes. Were now seeing an army of extremists embraced by the former president. Theyre marching in and taking over the Republican party at the state and local level.

In Oregon, Daniel Tooze, a prominent associate of the Proud Boys who has participated in street brawls with anti-fascists in Portland, is running for Oregons state legislature in the 40th district. Tooze ran for the same seat in 2020, failing to secure the Republican nomination in the primary, but he received 40% of the Republican vote in the primary. This year Tooze is the only Republican who has filed to run again.

When mainstream parties take onboard figures who deny the legitimacy of elections, refuse to accept electoral defeat, condone or even engage in political violence, you are putting democracy at risk, said Levitsky.

Tooze declined to be interviewed for this article but stated in correspondence: Im just a regular guy.

A review of Toozes campaign website and filing statement show no mention of affiliation with the Proud Boys. Tooze campaign messaging uses the language of mainstream Republican talking points.

The Guardian has previously reported on far-right groups shifting their focus to local communities. Since the Capitol attack members of groups such as the Proud Boys have shown up to local venues including school board meetings to stand alongside mainstream conservatives, especially around issues such as Covid-19 restrictions.

This month Tooze tweeted a video of Thomas Renz, a far-right anti-vaccine influencer, speaking at a panel convened by Senator Johnson that promoted misleading information about Covid-19 and vaccines. The video of Renz went viral in alt-tech platforms but also within mainstream social media. Tooze wrote of the video: Its time to hold the government accountable for what theyve done to the people.

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Republicans to field more than 100 far-right candidates this year - The Guardian

A pro-Trump mob breaks into the U.S. Capitol on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Like his buddy Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump is a thug willing to use violence to achieve what he cannot achieve by legitimate means. He has shown a willingness to do so in the past, and because he himself has paid no price, he is threatening to do so in the future.

We know all this, because we have witnessed it. In those anxious days and weeks leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, it had become clear to many of us that Trump saw mob violence as a means to try to keep himself in the White House, in defiance of the eviction notice served upon him by the American people. But at the time, some were not willing to hear what their own ears were telling them, what Trumps own words were communicating.

Hes not that crazy, some people said. He wouldnt dare.

But he was, and he did.

He directed his angry supporters toward the Capitol, where our elected representatives were performing the constitutional rites of a peaceful transfer of power. He watched the resulting violence on television, violence that he himself had inspired, and by all accounts he enjoyed it. Throughout the hours-long riot, with members of Congress fleeing for their lives, he refused pleas to intercede from family members, from top aides and advisers, from members of his own party who were also under siege from the angry mob.

Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are, he told House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who had called Trump at the White House to beg him to call off his dogs.

And afterward, when the insurrection had finally been put down, he told the rioters to always remember that day, and that he loved them.

To this day, the only regrets that Trump has expressed about the events of Jan. 6 is that they failed to keep him in office. In a rally last weekend in Texas, he reiterated that regret, complaining that Vice President Mike Pence did have the right to change the outcome.

Unfortunately, he didnt exercise that power, Trump whined. He could have overturned the election!

Read that statement carefully, because Trump could not have been more clear about his intentions: Pence did have the right to change the outcome. he could have overturned the election! Believe what your eyes and ears are telling you, what Trump himself is telling you. He was trying everything in his power, and many things not in his power, to end American democracy.

As a consequence of his actions, Trump faces a number of investigations congressional, civil and criminal. And just as he did before Jan. 6, he is threatening violence to try to intimidate those who stand up for the rule of law, who dare to defend the Constitution.

If these radical, vicious, racist prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal, I hope we are going to have the biggest protests we have ever had in Washington, D.C., in New York, in Atlanta and elsewhere because our country and our elections are corrupt, Trump told the crowd in Texas.

Dont fool yourself: In Trumps mind, and in the minds of his followers, anything wrong or illegal means anything that attempts to hold Trump accountable. And do not listen to those familiar refrains of He wouldnt dare or He isnt that crazy. Because once again, yes, he would and yes, he is. He is basically saying now what he told the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers when asked to condemn political violence: Stand down, and stand by.

Ive long been wary of the investigation launched by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis into Trumps efforts to overturn the election results here in Georgia. My thinking has been that any prosecution of a president on charges this grave ought to take place at the federal level, or if necessary at the state level. I say that because we dont need some spotlight-hungry local district attorney in Oklahoma or Wyoming filing nonsensical criminal charges against a future liberal president, citing Willis as precedent.

However, Ive changed my mind. If that D.A. in Oklahoma or Wyoming has even half the evidence against a future president that Willis can already muster against Trump, then that president, regardless of party, has probably earned prosecution. We cant allow our country, our democracy, our rule of law and our freedom to be threatened without legal consequence or recourse. Any government that is given legitimacy by a vote of the people has not just the right but the absolute obligation to defend itself against those who would try to overthrow it, and Trump, by his own repeated admission, is intent on overthrowing it.

Veteran journalist Jay Bookman is a commentator for the Georgia Recorder which first published this essay.

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Bookman: Trump continues to threaten violence against those who stand for rule of law - ncpolicywatch.com