Author: Renee D. Jean
August 8, 2024
On the morning of July 7, 2024, the white supremacist, neo-fascist group Patriot Front marched on downtown Nashville, Tennessee holding banners demanding passersby to “Reclaim America”. Marches on state capital cities with racist, fearmongering slogans are the group's modus operandi–whose leader Thomas Rosseau got his start on a national scale at the 2017 Unite the Right rally.
However, in 2022, the Front had nearly its entire online and private presence leaked to the public by media collective Unicorn Riot, an event that seemingly should have spelled their demise. Unicorn Riot’s leak exposed Patriot Front’s military-linked membership applications, discussions of financial records, plans for collaboration with other neo-Nazi organizations, and unedited video and audio files making individual identification possible. The leak disrupted Patriot Front’s ability to plan and organize discreetly, leading to the arrest of 31 members in June of 2022.
Patriot Front is not the only group or movement that faced legal repercussions in the post-January 6th era. The anti-government Oath Keepers and neo-fascist Proud Boys were both crucial to the organizing and operations at the United States Capitol in 2021. Leaders and even rank-and-file members of each organization have seen arrests and federal prosecution for seditious conspiracy charges.
Though these arrests may appear to indicate that the government is finally prioritizing the wide swath of far-right extremist groups in the United States, their policies are largely too little and too late. Not only are Patriot Front, the Oath Keepers, and Proud Boys still active–numbers show they are growing. Additionally, these groups are diversifying their causes to attract more mainstream support, focusing attention on left-leaning states like California, Illinois, and Oregon. Alongside these official groups, individual, anonymous, and decentralized far-right extremism is booming online–particularly on platforms like X and Telegram.
Simply put, traditional methods like monitoring and prosecution of leadership are no longer sufficient to address the brand of far-right extremism–often neo-Nazi, white supremacist, and anti-government in nature–that is on the rise in North America. Groups are integrating themselves into their local communities, using encrypted technology to organize horizontally and anonymously, and are recruiting well-placed ties within law enforcement and the military.
The Current Counterterrorism Policy in the United States
A prevailing counterterrorism and counter-extremism policy in the United States tends to follow the concept of “decapitation”, both domestically and internationally. Decapitation essentially focuses on efforts to identify and eliminate or arrest organization leadership. This tactic works best for terrorist and extremist groups that operate in hierarchical or hub-and-spoke networked structures. A hierarchical structure most resembles a formal military while a hub-and-spoke networked structure operates based on decentralized but collaborative “cells”. A hierarchical group provides clear targets for decapitation.
For example, the United States’ 2011 operation to kill Osama bin Laden hoped to weaken Al-Qaeda’s operations by eliminating their long-time leader. However, scholars question the assumption that decapitation actually impacts group function, as seen with the case of bin Laden.
Domestically, decapitation is more effective because it uses criminal repercussions instead of military action. For example, law enforcement and the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force focused on charging and convicting the founder and each successive leader of the American branch of the international neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division. In 2017, founder Brandon Russell was arrested and convicted for possession of an unregistered explosive device. This set a precedent to allow for a heightened terrorism charge on a repeat offense in 2023.
More recently, the events of January 6th allowed a major decapitation effort that convicted and imprisoned the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys leadership, Elmer Rhodes and Enrique Tarrio, respectively. Rhodes received an 18-year sentence on seditious conspiracy while Tarrio received the longest January 6th sentence of all charged at 22 years.
However, it would be misleading to imply that decapitation within the United States is historically successful despite its favored use by federal agencies. In fact, Rosseau himself has been arrested at least four times in connection to Patriot Front activities. Despite this, Patriot Front held a march in Charleston, West Virginia as recently as April 2024.
The Failings of the Current Policy
Reliance on decapitation policies has provided an opportunity for far-right groups. Because these policies make it easier to dismantle a hierarchical or networked organization, so the far-right only needs to change its structure. If there is no clear hierarchy or official organization, decapitation tactics may prove ineffective. To continue operating via decapitation, law enforcement agencies would have to monitor each participant individually rather than attempting to destabilize a group through its leadership.
New technologies, in particular, are creating opportunities for groups and decentralized movements to connect and collaborate. A Tech Against Terrorism report shows that monitoring services like its own Terrorist Content Analytics Platform (TCAP) are facing two major problems. The first is uncooperative social media platforms including messaging apps like Discord and Telegram that are unable or unwilling to commit to stringent anti-extremism policies. Many social media and messaging services are cutting back their regulatory teams in an effort to lower operating costs. Even if a platform like Meta has official extremism policies, it is growing increasingly difficult to enforce them due to these layoffs.
The second problem is that content alert systems still focus on well-known groups and networks like The Base and Atomwaffen Division–the latter of whom faces a 61% content removal rate. Although projects like TCAP and Institute for Strategic Dialogue’s (ISD) Digital Policy Lab are doing crucial work in monitoring and alerting sites and services for extremist content, the decentralization of the extreme right increases the amount of content, accounts, and individuals that need tracking.
X, formerly known as Twitter, is a particularly concerning case study. The platform offers a paid verification service, providing opportunities for monetization based on following and engagement. Though X’s guidelines purport to remove verification from accounts that are affiliated with violent groups or those that promote violent content, the company laid off thousands of its trust and safety team, who are in charge of regulating such content. Since then, the platform has seen a surge in verified, and therefore, potentially monetized, neo-Nazi content.
This is not to say that military-style groups are not still actively recruiting and growing; rather, the far-right is diversifying to pose a larger threat. In fact, Reuters notes that the Proud Boys have renewed recruitment following the convictions and charges against 70 members in relation to January 6th and former President Donald Trump’s recent felony conviction. Even these groups are embracing a more horizontal structure, according to an Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) or organizing within communities to avoid any online paper trail.
The Risk Adapts and Grows
The change in structure, combined with the increasing inability to control and monitor extremist content online, should be a concern moving forward. Far-right and often violent groups are integrating into more mainstream movements. Many Republican Party rallies and evangelical-based anti-choice marches have seen an increased presence of individuals with extremist leanings and organized groups attending in an official capacity.
The Proud Boys are an important example here. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) notes that the group is becoming more active in existing demonstrations and civic events. A Vice article that tracked this Proud Boys strategy shift reported that they even organized community events, like a local Easter egg hunt. This tactic aims to reframe their image as community protectors and participants rather than as a militia, per the Vice report.
Groups akin to Proud Boys are adopting “ideological flexibility,” allowing them to focus their violent efforts on issues that matter most to the mainstream right-wing and conservative population. This allows local branches to tailor their focus to issues of most concern to their individual communities. For example, the anti-government Three Percenters operate in small, local, or regionally based militias whose core motivations vary depending on location. Per the SPLC, the Colorado cell 3UP prioritizes actions against Mexican and Muslim immigration, while the Marjorie Taylor-Green affiliated III% Georgia Martyrs remain honed in on the federal government.
Similarly, ACLED data demonstrates that the Proud Boys are now prioritizing evangelical, anti-LGBTQIA, and anti-choice causes over its purely neo-fascist, pro-Second Amendment foundational ideology. Both Patriot Front and the Proud Boys have been present at anti-choice rallies organized by groups like March for Life. Similar groups like the Three Percenters are similarly aligning themselves with mainstream causes having ties to members of Congress like Colorado’s Lauren Boebert and the aforementioned Marjorie Taylor-Greene.
Law enforcement is also proving a promising opportunity for far-right extremists. Multiple post-January 6th investigations have shown that a significant portion of Patriot Front, Proud Boys, and Oath Keepers have served or currently serve in the military or law enforcement. In 2022, NPR reported that 1 in 5 Patriot Front applicants had ties to the military and cities across the country including Washington, D.C. struggle with law enforcement cooperation or membership in far-right militias.
Concern for the Future
Patriot Front highlights the shortcomings of prior far-right organizing and the failures in countering extremism. Its membership and ideology are embedded in local law enforcement, military service members, and religious communities, with little evidence of a slowdown. When messages can be spread individually through encrypted or poorly regulated online services, in-person rallies for more mainstream religious causes, Republican Party events, and community integration, it becomes exponentially harder to track and monitor their activities.
As far-right extremism spreads, a solution is not overtly clear. Much depends on evangelical religious organizations’ willingness to be vigilant in who is attending rallies and supporting their causes. Public opinion polling shows this is unlikely to occur as a majority of Americans–including religious people–support abortion rights, limiting their support base. Online platforms could improve their regulation policies, though statements from Telegram CEO Pavel Durov and continuing layoffs at major American tech companies indicate this is equally unlikely.
The far-right is spreading through community organizing, anonymity, and word-of-mouth, while the United States government appears unprepared to address the threat. The burden is falling to former extremists in nonprofit organizations like Task Force Butler Institute and Life After Hate, watchdog groups like SPLC and People for the American Way, and community members at large. While the power of exposure and outreach can make some difference, without government intervention, the spread will continue.
Glossary
Decapitation: A counterterrorism strategy that involves targeting extremist leadership or core members for arrest in a criminal justice context or assassination in a military context. The killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011 was a more famous example of military decapitation.
Hub-and-spoke network terrorism: An organizational structure for a terrorist organization that relies on affiliated cells that act somewhat independently though may be connected through a central leadership. According to terrorism expert Joshua Kilberg, an example of hub-and-spoke network terrorism was 20th century al-Qaeda.
Hierarchical terrorism: Also known as bureaucratic terrorism, an organizational structure for a terrorist organization that resembles a traditional military hierarchy with clear leadership, levels of management, and regiments of soldiers. According to terrorism expert Joshua Kilberg, an example of hierarchical or bureaucratic terrorism would be the Joseph Kony-founded Lord’s Resistance Army.
Bureaucratic: Operating via an extensive set of procedures and hierarchies largely in reference to governments, businesses, or militaries.
Proud Boys: A far-right, western chauvinist, neo-fascist organization formed in 2016 by Canadian far-right pundit Gavin McInnes. They are best known for their participation in the events of January 6, 2021 at the United States Capitol and comments made by former President Donald Trump to “stand back and stand by” when referring to mobilization regarding the 2020 presidential election.
Chauvinism: A belief that one’s own social, racial, geographic, or gender group is superior to others or should be unchanged by others. In this context, western chauvinism is the belief in the superiority of a pseudo-homogeneous “Western” set of values often linked to ideals of democracy, classic or neo-liberalism, liberty, and sometimes religion–most often Christianity or European paganist traditions.
Oath Keepers: A far-right, anti-government militia formed in 2009 by American lawyer Elmer Stewart Rhodes. The rose to prominence during the 2014 Ferguson riots and continued to maintain a strong anti-Black Lives Matter stance throughout the 2020 George Floyd demonstrations. They served a major role in the events of January 6, 2021 at the United States Capitol.
Patriot Front: A small but growing white supremacist and neo-fascist group known most for their organized graffiti and their marches on state capital buildings. In 2022, independent news collective Unicorn Riot leaked their entire online presence to the public after having infiltrated their RocketChat channels.
Pundit: A media commentator, largely speaking on political issues or a single topic. While many pundits are expected to hold expertise in a specific area, the word is more broadly used today to include most, if not all, single-issue or single-party political commentators online and in traditional media.
Evangelical: Though Evangelical Christianity is a broad collection of denominations, in North America it is most commonly referencing a moderate-to-right-wing Christian movement notable for their critical stances on reproductive freedoms, marriage equality, and even gender roles.
Sedition: Incitement to act against or overthrow established authority, most often in reference to governments and heads of state. In the context of this article, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes received a “seditious conspiracy” conviction due to his participation in and mobilization efforts toward the events of January 6, 2021 attempting to halt the United States Presidential election certification in a joint session of Congress.
Militia: A civilian-formed paramilitary force.
White Supremacy: An international belief system based on the incorrect idea that white people are inherently superior to non-white races. The long history of this movement includes the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Brotherhhood in the United States, Volkstaat in South Africa, and the political party National Front in the United Kingdom. Goals of these groups and adherents vary, though most believe in white nationalism—a push for a racially homogenous nation-state.
Neo-Fascist: A political movement that grew in the post-Second World War era promoting the social policies of xenophobia, anti-immigration, and racial supremacy alongside a pan-continental exclusionary nationalism and authoritarianism. Currently, many describe parties like Italy’s Brothers of Italy, United Kingdom’s British National Party, and Brazil’s Liberal Party as proponents of neo-fascism.
Fearmongering: The use of exaggeration, misinformation, or disinformation to induce panic among a populous, often for political gain.
Modus operandi: A Latin phrase used to describe an individual or group’s way of operating, also referred to as an “M.O.”
Neo-Nazi: A subset of neo-fascism, neo-Nazism is a vast movement seeking specifically to instate Adolf Hitler’s policies with major emphasis on anti-semitism, racism, extreme nationalism, and homophobia. It emulates Hitler due to its extreme focus on racial supremacy rather than on promotion of a fascist government system like Benito Mussolini or Francisco Franco.
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