By GREGORY N. HEIRES and RAY MARKEY
The plot by an armed right-wing militia aligned with President Trump to kidnap—and perhaps even assassinate—Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer underscores the fragility of our democracy and the depth of right-wing extremism in the country.
Until now, warnings that our democracy is in peril or that a coup attempt is possible in the United States appeared to most of us to be the words of a Cassandra or a manipulative Chicken Little. No more.
Police departments around the country are now reporting that they are preparing for civil unrest on Election Day.
Increasingly, voters fear they are going to be met by poll watchers with assault weapons when they exercise their constitutional right to choose their president.
Trump—who is openly raising the possibility of serving in office longer than what’s permitted under the U.S. Constitution and is refusing to commit to a peaceful transition of power if he loses the election–has enlisted white supremacist militias to intimidate voters and, if necessary, steal the election. They are part of his neofascist playbook to hold onto power.
The growing boldness of extremist armed groups committed to destroying American democracy has occurred as Trump has steadily laid the groundwork for what many Americans feel may evolve into a nationalistic police state.
As the country becomes more diverse, the militia groups and their supporters want to hold on to their privilege and culture by restoring their utopia: a white America.
The members of these groups—armed to the teeth with military weapons and fueled by an extreme right-wing ideology—are the true enemies of democracy of our country.
As the paramilitary groups become more active, the danger of our gun culture is becoming more apparent. The members of these self-appointed militias aren’t your friendly neighborly Second Amendment supporters who own guns because they like to go hunting or visit shooting ranges for sport.
No.
They are reactionary radicals whose defense of the right to bear arms isn’t a perceived basic right but rather an ideological justification for arming themselves for a civil war in which they aim take back the country from black criminals, illegal immigrants, feminists and white progressives.
A Weaponized Society
Over decades, the conflation of political freedoms and the right to bear arms has created a weaponized society, turning the United States into a giant armed camp.
“There are more assault rifles, as I understand it, in the hands of private citizens than in the hands of the United States military,” Sen. Bernie Sander said in a video on Twitter in 2019. “We’re talking about 5-10 million assault weapons in the hands of private citizens. That is insane. We must ban the sale, distribution and transfer of all assault weapons in the United States.”
With an estimated 400 million guns (120.5 guns for every 100 civilians), the United States has the highest rate of gun ownership in the world. The National Sports Shooting Foundation estimates that out of those, 17 million are assault-style weapons, which include the AK-47s and AR-15s often carried by militia members. About four in 10 U.S. adults live in a household with at least one gun.
Ultimately, the spread of assault weapons poses a threat to our democracy.
So, Let’s be clear: These armed groups– euphemistically described as militias and Second Amendment supporters–are actually paramilitary groups and terrorists. As we said, they believe Trump is providing them with a pathway to restore White America.
What’s new is that years ago, paramilitary groups in the United States were regarded as fringe anti-government fanatics, while today they have become actors in our electoral system, enjoying a legitimacy provided by Trump and the Republican Party. Their agenda is broader than that of anti-government terrorists like Timothy McVeigh, who carried out the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 that killed 168 people and injured more than 680 others.
“There has been a major realignment of militia movements in the US from anti-federal government writ large to mostly supporting one candidate, thereby generally positioning the militia movement alongside a political party,” says “Standing By: Right-wing Militia Groups and the US Election,” a recent report by The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a disaggregated data collection, analysis, and crisis mapping project, and MilitiaWatch, which tracks armed groups.
“This has resulted in the further entrenchment of a connection between these groups’ identities and politics under the Trump administration, with the intention of preserving and promoting a limited and warped understanding of US history and culture.”
Domestic terrorism experts expect armed right-wing groups to grow. Their agenda must be checked.
The number of armed militia groups in the country was actually higher than during the Obama administration. What’s different is that they have become more emboldened during the age of Trump.
And these paramilitary organizations will certainly become even more bold if Trump is re-elected or steals the election. For that reason, Democratic candidate Joe Biden needs a decisive victory on Nov. 3. If Trump wins, we will lose our chance to push for a progressive agenda to address our country’s economic ills and the crisis of our democracy.
That the elected leader of our country is encouraging anti-democratic and white supremacist armed groups is in itself a reflection of the growing fragility of our democracy.
“Coronavirus Politics”
Gov. Whitmer of Michigan , the kidnapping target of 13 militia members arrested Oct. 12, said Trump’s language has provided “comfort and support” to right-wing extremists. Authorities linked the men to the Wolverine Watchmen, a far-right group.
Two of the men 13 men arrested in the plot against Whitmer carried assault rifles as they joined other protestors in the occupation of the gallery at the Michigan state capitol in April to protest Whitmer’s efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Law enforcement officials have also uncovered threats to the governors of Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well as the mayor of Wichita.
Trump had encouraged the action against Whitmer’s extension of an executive order that imposed a statewide lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“LIBERATE MICHIGAN!,” he wrote in a tweet, and after the protestors occupied the capitol, he referred to them as “good people.”
Militia groups like the Wolverine Watchmen are tapping into the anti-government “coronavirus politics” of our country to recruit members and foment unrest.
The militias are appealing to Trump supporters angered over policies promoted by elected officials, especially Democrats, and public health experts—the use of masks, limiting the size of social gathering, closing down bars and restaurants—that they regard as violations of personal freedoms.
Some of the militia members arrested in Michigan spoke of their belief that we face civil war, according to authorities.
White Supremacy and Political Violence
An annual assessment of the Department of Homeland Security describes violent white supremacy as the “most persistent and lethal threat” in the country.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies reports that right-wing extremists and white supremacists have killed at least 329 people in violent attacks over the past quarter century.
The CSIS says right-wing extremists were responsible for more than two-thirds of the attacks and plots in the United States in 2019. A recent CSIS study found that this year, right-wing extremists have accounted for an estimated 90 percent of attacks through May.
The New York Times estimates 300 militia groups with a total of 20,000 members are active in the United Sates. A quarter of the members are military veterans.
The Southern Poverty Law Center reported earlier this year that it had obtained 100 hours of recordings of calls between the leader of the neo-Nazi group The Base and more than 100 prospective recruits from the United States and Canada with military experience. The group aims to take advantage of what it regards as a pending societal breakdown, according the center.
The Myth of the American Democratic Ideal
The growing threat of the militia has shattered the mythology of American democracy. We are learning that the world’s so-called beacon of hope for oppressed people is now confronting its own demons, a deeply ingrained ideology of hatred and authoritarianism shared by millions of people.
And this anti-democratic ideology reflects the worldview of the rank-and-file of today’s Republican Party and their leaders.
“We are not a democracy,” Republican Sen. Mike Lee wrote in a recent telling tweet. Lee added that, “democracy isn’t the object; liberty, peace, and prospefity [sic] are.” He continued, “We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that.”
Thirty-nine percent of Americans believe our country’s democracy is “in crisis” and another 42 percent says it faces “serious challenges,” according to a 2019 survey by Public Agenda. The survey found only 15 percent believe American democracy is “doing well.”
Freedom House ranks the United States as less democratic than, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Taiwan, Uruguay and Chile. It includes the United States in a category with newer democracies like Croatia, Greece, Mongolia and Panama.
Trump’s Attack on Democracy
As the presidential election nears, Trump continues to undermine its legitimacy and encourage voter intimidation.
In the September presidential debate, Trump gave a disturbing response when moderator Chris Wallace asked the president whether he would urge his supporters to remain calm and refrain from unrest when the results come in from the polls on Nov. 3.
“I’m urging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully, because that’s what has to happen,” Trump said. “I’m urging them to do it.”
Hearing those words, many voters reacted with fear that they may be greeted by hostile poll watchers on Election Day and face civil unrest sparked by paramilitary groups that support a second civil war to restore white supremacy.
Blogger Gregory N. Heires of thenewcrossroads.com is a former president of the New York Metro Labor Communications Council and Raymond Markey is a former president of New York Public Library Guild Local 1930.
