Jan. 6 raider DeSantis nomination; Nazi flag on the White House crash
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who launched his presidential bid this week, was investigated by USA TODAY this week revealing that he named a woman who attacked the US Capitol on 6 January to a state supervisory board. Meanwhile, a man with a Nazi flag crashed into barriers outside the White House, while the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the neo-Nazi ideology of the Allen, Texas shooter, warning he was part of a growing trend. And what Target pulls Pride merchandise from its shelves after threats says about the far-right extremist fixation on the LGBTQ community.
It’s extremism week.
Name an insurgent?
Name an insurgent:She stormed the Capitol on January 6. Then Governor Ron DeSantis made him a state regulator.
Sandra Atkinson, a Republican chairwoman for Florida County, can be seen in videos storming into the US Capitol on January 6, according to a USA TODAY investigation of footage outside and inside the building, and an interview with a colleague from the Republican Party. Two months after the uprising, Governor De Santis appointed her to the Florida Board of Massage Therapy, where she will spend more than a year overseeing the profession in the state and licensing or revoking practitioners’ licenses, often on the basis of their own crime. backgrounds.
- Atkinson was identified in social media posts and security footage of the Capitol riot first identified by a member of the Sedition Hunters community, a group of volunteer detectives. A colleague of Atkinson’s confirmed that the woman in the videos is the county GOP chairwoman, and said Atkinson also later bragged about walking into the office of then-chairman Nancy Pelosi.
- Atkinson’s tenure on the board was short-lived. She left at some point in 2022 after her nomination was never confirmed by the state senate. At her last meeting, Atkinson made an outburst about a candidate’s ability to speak English, which was later disavowed by fellow board members, who called her remarks “discriminatory”.
- DeSantis launched his presidential bid on Wednesday during a glitch-filled Twitter Spaces event with former Twitter CEO Elon Musk. The governor declined to answer questions about his nomination of Atkinson.
A man with a Nazi flag rams through the barriers of the White House
Allure of neo-Nazism:Allen’s shooter was Hispanic. He was also a white supremacist. What’s the appeal?
On Monday night, 19-year-old Missouri man Sai Varshith Kandula crashed a rented U-Haul into barriers outside the White House in what court documents later revealed was an attempt to “take power” and kill the president. During the short-lived Kandula attack, he reportedly waved a Nazi flag before being arrested.
- Kandula told police he brought the flag because “the Nazis have a great history” and admired their “authoritarian nature, eugenics and unique world order,” according to court documents. No one was injured in the attack.
- Earlier this month, a man with neo-Nazi tattoos opened fire at a mall in Allen, Texas, killing 9 people including himself. Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed this week that the suspect in that attack had a “neo-Nazi” ideology.
- I explained in this story last week how and why neo-Nazism and white supremacy don’t just appeal to white people.
- The DHS also issued an advisory on Wednesday warning that the United States remains in an “elevated threat environment.” “Isolated offenders and small groups motivated by a range of ideological beliefs and personal grievances continue to pose a persistent and deadly threat,” the bulletin said.
What Target’s LGBTQ Backtrack Says About Extremism Today
The target faces criticism:Target faces criticism over decision to remove LGBTQ articles
A week before Pride month, department store Target this week began moving some LGBTQ-branded merchandise from its stores and removing some items after a backlash from conservatives and threats from the far right.
- Target held an emergency meeting after people posted videos online criticizing the retail store’s annual LGBTQ pride promotion and products, including so-called “friendly swimwear,” which allow trans women who have not undergone gender affirmation surgery to conceal male genitalia. Posters online falsely claimed the swimsuits were for children, in an example of how misinformation is being used to fuel extremist threats.
- Earlier this year, Bud Light faced a similar backlash from conservatives and far-right extremists after a marketing partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
- Attacks on the LGBTQ community, particularly on trans people and especially on drag shows, have become the focus of far-right extremism in the United States. Extremists, from neo-Nazis to the Proud Boys street gang, have shown up at dozens of anti-drag show protests across the country over the past two years.
- “Any community deemed a threat to the way of life of the population is then targeted as a group to be arrested,” Marilyn Mayo, senior researcher at the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism, told USA TODAY the last year. “That, in turn, leads people to marginalize this group and then take action.”
Stat of the week: 18
That’s the number of years Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was sentenced to serve in prison on Thursday for his seditious conspiracy conviction for his role in the January 6 insurrection.
“No matter how long I spend in prison, my goal will be to be an American Solzhenitsyn to expose the criminality of this regime,” Rhodes said, comparing himself to prominent Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and referring to the administration. Biden.
The sentence is the longest a Jan. 6 participant has received.
Catch up:Paul Gosar’s assistant linked to white supremacist group Nick Fuentes in new report
USA Today
