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Steve Chapman
Column: The Capitol riot shows the growing danger of right-wing extremism
By Steve Chapman
Chicago Tribune |
In 2009, Barack Obama's Department of Homeland Security published a report on the rising danger posed by right-wing extremists. The Great Recession, the authors warned, "could create a fertile recruiting environment for right-wing extremists and even result in confrontations between such groups and government authorities."
Maybe they were onto something.
But a lot of people didn't want to hear it. Critics accused DHS of slandering American troops by suggesting that violent groups might recruit veterans returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. The national commander of the American Legion declared: "I think it is important for all of us to remember that Americans are not the enemy. The terrorists are."
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Daryl Johnson, a domestic terrorism expert who helped produce the report, recalled years later: "Work related to violent right-wing extremism was halted. Law enforcement training also stopped. My unit was disbanded."
Americans were preoccupied with the threat from radical Islamist terrorists. They had trouble believing there was a worse danger from homegrown extremists who portray themselves as patriots.
Apparently many people still have trouble believing it — notably the U.S. Capitol police. For weeks, unhinged people mesmerized by bizarre conspiracy theories had been openly organizing for mass protests aimed at keeping their hero Donald Trump in power. Just last month, Trump supporters rallied and fought with opponents in Washington. The leader of the white nationalist Proud Boys was arrested just Monday on charges related to that episode.
But law enforcement officials couldn't seem to process the peril. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said that when she called the chief of the Capitol Police days before, "He assured me that they have everything under control, that they were on top of everything."
If only. When the mob stormed the building Wednesday, the cops were outmanned and underprepared, and many had to stand by or retreat. "Policing experts noted a lack of crowd-control tools such as mounted officers, police dogs or a heavily manned perimeter," reported The New York Times. One police officer died from his injuries.
In the past decade, the threat of violence from right-wing extremists has only grown. Trump and his allies depict leftist Antifa groups as a raging menace. But acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf testified in September that white supremacists constitute "the most persistent and lethal threat when we talk about domestic violent extremists."
The evidence of the danger has been accumulating for years. A report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies found, "Right-wing extremists perpetrated two thirds of the attacks and plots in the United States in 2019 and over 90 % between January 1 and May 8, 2020."
In 2014, there was a tense standoff between federal agents and Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who grazed his cattle on Bureau of Land Management land but refused to pay fees. Bundy told armed supporters, "We're about ready to take the country over with force!" His son Ammon led a takeover of the headquarters of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon, and one of his militants was shot dead resisting arrest.
Lethal attacks were made on synagogues and a Jewish community center. The alleged killer in a mass shooting last year in El Paso was suspected of writing a manifesto expressing anger at a "Hispanic invasion."
The COVID-19 pandemic provided more fertile ground for radical right groups. In April, hundreds of protesters, some of them openly carrying military-style rifles, entered the Michigan Capitol and tried to get into the legislative chambers.
The worst was yet to come. In October, 14 men with ties to a paramilitary group were arrested for allegedly plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat. Whitmer had been a target of Trump, and at a Lansing campaign rally after the arrests, he attacked her again, prompting his audience to chant, "Lock her up."
By now it should be clear that the threat from right-wing radicals has not only persisted but has gained considerable ground. The Capitol rioters were inspired by election disinformation spread not only by Trump but by Republican members of Congress.
The attack on the Capitol might have been a moment for the GOP rank-and-file to draw back in horror. But a YouGov poll found that 45% of Republican voters who responded supported the actions of the mob.
Right-wing extremism is no longer a fringe movement; it's a major influence on the Republican Party. Donald Trump will soon leave office. But the poison he helped inject into our politics is here to stay.
Steve Chapman, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at www.chicagotribune.com/chapman.
schapman@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @SteveChapman13
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