The First Amendment, along with a lack of clarity on what counts as an educational mission for charities, can lead authorities to approve applications from extremist groups.
The US select congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol has wrapped up its nearly two-year probe of that day’s violent but unsuccessful insurrection.
The historic conviction of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and one other co-defendant for seditious conspiracy has implications for free speech and the future of the militia movement in the US.
Sara Kamali, University of California, Santa Barbara
President Biden denounces white nationalism as once-democratic countries around the world are threatened by increasing political support for this ideology.
Nationalist militia groups like the Oath Keepers have changed over the last several years – especially since the Capitol attack – in a few important ways, generally becoming more extreme.
Sara Kamali, University of California, Santa Barbara
A former Oath Keepers member testified during a congressional hearing that it was time to stop mincing words about the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol: ‘It was an armed revolution.’
The Republican Party has a decadeslong relationship with using distrust to incite its base and draw in more supporters – the Jan. 6 Capitol attacks just offer the latest example of this tactic.
Stewart Rhodes of the Oath Keepers, has been charged with seditious conspiracy over the attempted insurrection. A constitutional law scholar outlines why that may set a bad precedent.
The quest for significance and respect is a universal part of human nature. It has the potential to inspire great works – but lately, it has been much in evidence tearing society apart.
A leaked database shows at least 10% of the far-right Oath Keepers militia is active police or military – people professionally trained in using weapons and conducting sophisticated operations.
Looming threats of more possible violence signal broader opposition to the Biden administration in what could become a loose campaign of domestic terrorism.
A scholar of militia movements describes the ‘peculiar’ – and erroneous – principles that right-wing militias subscribe to, including believing themselves to be defenders of the Bill of Rights.