Tag: violence
Christian Nationalist Group's Secret Documents Promise Apocalyptic Violence

Christian Nationalist Group's Secret Documents Promise Apocalyptic Violence

In a recent article, The Guardian's Jason Wilson detailed the links between the Claremont Institute — a right-wing think tank — and a "shadowy" Christian nationalist group called the Society for American Civil Renewal (SACR).

Claremont, founded in 1979, was once a traditional conservative outfit that championed the ideas of Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Arizona) and President Ronald Reagan. But in recent years, Claremont has taken a decidedly MAGA turn that critics have described as extreme and authoritarian. And Wilson's March 11 article illustrated Claremont's willingness to embrace the far-right fringe.

Now Wilson follows up his earlier report with another Guardian article — this time, describing newly revealed documents that "shed light on" the "secretive" SACR's "origins and inner workings."

The documents, Wilson reports in an article published on March 19, address "methods for judging the beliefs of potential members on topics such as Christian nationalism, and indications that its founders sought inspiration in an apartheid-era South African white men-only group, the Afrikaner-Broederbond."

Wilson explains, "(The documents) also show that Boise State University Professor and Claremont think tank scholar Scott Yenor tried to coordinate SACR's activities with other initiatives, including an open letter on 'Christian marriage.' One expert says that one of the new documents — some previously reported in Talking Points Memo — use biblical references that suggest a preparedness for violent struggle against the current 'regime.'"

According to Wilson, the "origins" of SACR "appear to date to the latter half of 2020" — and there are "indications that the inner circle of the group sought inspiration from earlier iterations of Christian nationalism in authoritarian states."

"In the early part of 2021," Wilson explains, "Yenor drafted documents that firmed up SACR's purpose and character. To a 27 April 2021 e-mail sent to himself and his wife at her employment address, Yenor attached a document entitled 'Working Membership and Recruiting Guide for Chapter Leadership.' In spelling out SACR’s rules, the document reveals the high value the organization places on secrecy."

Wilson notes that the SACR material has a "patriarchal edge," calling for "taking ownership as head of the household in terms of leading regular prayer and spiritual reading and reflection."

The Guardian discussed the SACR documents with Bradley Onishi, author of the 2023 book Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism — and What Comes Next.

According to Onishi, the prayers described in SACR documents may include "coded" biblical references to violence.

Onishi told The Guardian, "What happens when the walls fall down? Joshua's men go in and kill everyone: men, children, women, animals. It's an attempted genocide, right? In that prayer, they're saying we're Joshua's men. We're the type of men who trust God. And when God, when God gives us the signal, we're going to go kill everybody. That's what we do.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Far-Right Online Commentator Demands President Be 'Tried And Executed'

Far-Right Online Commentator Demands President Be 'Tried And Executed'

In October 2023, The Nation's Elie Mystal warned that "'promoting violence" is a major part of ex-President Donald Trump's plan if he manages to secure the presidency again.

Mystal wrote, "I cannot actually list all the people Donald Trump has wished to harm with physical violence. They include most of his political opponents, often along with their families; every prosecutor who has investigated or indicted him; nearly every judge who has presided over one of his cases, protesters; hecklers; former Vice President Mike Pence."

Building on Mystal's point, conservative journalist and author David French last month wrote a New York Times op-ed highlighting "how much the constant threat of violence, principally from MAGA sources, is now warping American politics."

French noted "he has been inundated with death threats because of his criticism of Trump and that countless judges, lawyers, prosecutors, journalists, election workers and politicians live with the threat of MAGA violence."

On Tuesday, Colorado's 9News journalist Kyle Clark reported that far-right activist and commentator Joe Oltmann called for President Joe Biden to be killed during the Friday, March 8 segment of his online show.

According to Clark, the DCF Guns co-owner "has long used violent political rhetoric," before responding to Biden's expression of "support for a ban on so-called assault weapons" during his Thursday, March 7 State of the Union speech.

"I have gun stores and ranges," Oltmann said "on his Conservative Daily political program, which streams online and on MyPillowGuy Mike Lindell’s far-right broadcast network, FrankSpeech," Clark reports. "I’m not taking one gun off the shelf," the far-right activist added.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

The Gun

A New Strategy: How Law Students Are Targeting The Gun Industry

Gun violence is widely seen as an epidemic in the United States. According to the American Public Health Association, it is the leading cause of premature death in the country, resulting in nearly 40,000 deaths every year. While Congress struggles to pass laws to restrict access to firearms, two gun safety advocacy organizations, whose specialty is traditionally to lobby lawmakers to change gun laws, are trying a different approach to put the squeeze on the gun manufacturing industry.

Giffords, the group formed by former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords that works to stem gun violence, and March for Our Lives, the movement against gun violence created by young people in the aftermath of the mass shooting at a school in Parkland, Florida, have launched a new effort this month aimed at recruiting law students to sign a pledge that they won’t represent the gun lobby.

The idea stems from the role that a handful of the biggest law firms in the country play in ongoing efforts to fight gun violence, according to David Pucino, Giffords’ deputy chief counsel. Law firms Kirkland & Ellis, Foley & Lardner, McGuireWoods, and Hunton Andrews Kurth and the legal arm of the National Rifle Association, among others, have fought in court against the stricter regulation of guns and have represented gun manufacturers in lawsuits filed against them over their role in mass shootings.

“[The issue of gun violence is] something that I think is pretty important to a lot of folks, but they don’t necessarily know how to action that, how to translate that into their work and their legal career,” Pucino told the American Independent Foundation. “And at the same time, there are these law firms that really take advantage of that, that represent some really reprehensible companies that have done some horrible things.”

Big law firms spend time and money recruiting law students to come work for them straight out of law school, often enticing them with glamorous perks, as an article on the website Balls and Strikes about law firms and the gun industry points out. They represent a wide variety of clients across all industries, but, as Pucino explained, they often omit their clients with ties to the gun lobby when recruiting law students, later assigning many of those young lawyers to represent those clients.

“There’s certainly the case that the legal system allows for and encourages for everyone to have representation, of course,” Pucino said. “But that fact doesn’t mean that anyone is entitled to your representation. And if your view is that you don’t want to support and aid and abet the gun violence epidemic, there needs to be an avenue for you to be able to express that and say that.”

To roll out the initiative, Giffords and March for Our Lives held events on the campuses of some of the country’s biggest law schools: UC Berkeley School of Law, Cardozo School of Law, CUNY School of Law, Vanderbilt Law School, and Yale Law School. But Pucino emphasized in an email to the American Independent Foundation that the event is “broad and national,” and both groups plan to hold similar events at other law schools when students reconvene in the fall.

At these events, organizers provide students with tools and prompts to use when they’re interviewing to work at law firms that may have ties to the gun industry, including asking whether they have gun industry clients or do any pro bono work representing the gun industry. If they do, prospective employees can make it clear that they have a personal conflict of interest representing such clients because of their opposition to gun violence.

“I think so much of what’s caught up in these issues is questions of power,” Pucino said. “If you’re a young lawyer at a giant law firm, you have so little power. But the moment when you do have that power is before you sign on the dotted line, before you say, I’m going to commit to go work at this place.”

Pucino said that the success of the effort will depend on convincing as many students as possible to sign the pledge. It’s easy for a big law firm to ignore that kind of gun safety dialogue from one prospective employee, he said, but if more law students looking to enter the workforce engage with recruiters in this way, firms might think twice about the kinds of clients they take on.

“So it’s not even necessarily, Don’t go work at this firm, but ask before you sign on: Would you force me to work on a gun case? Would you force me to represent somebody whose irresponsible actions have led to a mass shooting or other violent events?”

Reprinted with permission from American Independent.

Alex Jones

'Kill Every Person You Need To': Alex Jones' Newest Conspiracy Foments Race War

Infowars host and chief conspiracy theorist Alex Jones warned on Sunday's show that "foaming-at-the-mouth Black people" would wage war on white populations after they flee "race-specific bioweapons" attacks in Africa later this decade. Jones issued these racist predictions while declaring himself a "vessel" of God.

"They intend on making the world so hellish in the build-up to 2030 that everybody will just 'wink, wink' when they release the race-specific bioweapons starting with Africa that are gonna wipe that continent absolutely out. And you'll be under such invasion from the refugees of the economic warfare in Africa that you will quietly, while you're playing cards with your buddies say, 'well, it had to be done.' And when you go along with that metaphysically, spiritually, culturally, the devil's got your soul," said Jones.

"So I don't like the big giant African hordes being brainwashed against us and the left programming brown people to hate white people. It's all part of a plan, folks. It's all part of a very sophisticated plan and I don't just study history. I don't just study the New World Order," Jones continued. "I have the Holy Spirit. Doesn't mean I'm a perfect vessel, far from it. But I do have deep connection to God and God tells me that if I take part in wiping out the brown people, the Black people, that I will be cut off from God. We’re supposed to lift each other up."

Jones then encouraged responding through violence.

"Now that doesn't mean when a gang of racist, foaming-at-the-mouth Black people come to rape, rob, or kill you, which is just, it's out of control right now, that you don't defend yourself and kill every person you need to protect your family if they're attacking you," he suggested.

"That said though, just because they're brainwashed, some of them, and are being part of that doesn't mean we have to fall into the brainwashing either," the right-wing provocateur added. "And they tell you everything they're doing in the movie, the 'Kingsman,' where they send out the program through the cell phones and cell phone towers to make everybody start killing each other. That's what Klaus Schwab talks about, the angrier world, this is part of that plan. And so the Black people that have succumbed to this have succumbed to it through mind control. Doesn't make them any less dangerous."

Watch below via Media Matters for America or at this link.


Reprinted with permission from Alternet.