Right-wing Domestic Terrorism

[LFC]

The DOJ's task force for tracking down the right-wing domestic terrorists who threaten election officials just nailed it's first plaid shirt.

The Justice Department charged a man from Texas on Friday with threatening three government officials, the first criminal case brought forward by the department’s task force on combating violent threats against election workers.

According to the Justice Department’s announcement, 54-year-old Chad Christopher Stark of Leander, Texas was arrested by the FBI on Friday and charged with one count of making interstate threats.

Prosecutors alleged in a 4-page indictment that Stark posted an ad on Craigslist on Jan. 5 last year offering $10,000 for the deaths of the three officials, who were not named in the indictment.

The title of the alleged ad declared that it was “time to kill” one of the officials.

“Georgia Patriots it’s time for us to take back our state from these Lawless treasonous traitors. It’s time to invoke our Second Amendment right it’s time to put a bullet in the treasonous Chinese [Official A]. Then we work our way down to [Official B] the local and federal corrupt judges,” Stark allegedly wrote.

“One good loyal Patriot deer hunter in camo and a rifle can send a very clear message to these corrupt governors.. milita up Georgia it’s time to spill blood…. we need to pay a visit to [Official C] and her family as well and put a bullet her behind the ears,” the post allegedly continued.

He also, according to the indictment, claimed that “it’s our duty as American Patriots to put an end to the lives of these traitors and take back our country by force we can no longer wait on the corrupt law enforcement in the corrupt courts,” and that “f we want our country back we have to exterminate these people.”

The alleged post then included a rant about Black Lives Matter and antifa, according to the indictment.

None of the three officials targeted by Stark’s alleged post were identified in the DOJ’s filing.

[LFC]

Here's a brave little middle-aged anti-masker who terrorized school children. Can I be sure he's right-wing? Well, not 100% but he sure fits the mold.

A middle-age Southern California man is accused of lying in wait outside local schools for children wearing masks—and then following them around so he can cough at them, spit on them, and taunt them for being “stupid” enough to don the face coverings.

The man, captured on video wearing a “Your mask makes you look stupid” T-shirt, has allegedly been continuing his anti-mask harassment campaign for a month in suburban La Crescenta, with a string of alleged incidents under his belt. Fed-up parents finally had enough this week and gathered at the Crescenta Valley Station to demand police take action.

“[The kids] were obviously getting scared. He was getting three to five inches away and coughing in their faces,” one parent who witnessed the alleged harassment, identified only as Ned, told CBS Los Angeles.

The Crescenta Valley Station, part of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, issued a statement Monday promising a “thorough investigation” into the man after one incident was captured on camera.

“Crescenta Valley Station is aware of a video circulating on social media regarding a dispute between an anti-mask adult and others over the masking of children. The incident appears to have occurred off school grounds sometime last week,” police said.

In the video, the man can be seen apparently harassing a group of middle schoolers in a mall parking lot, yelling: “Stay scared. Keep your masks on that don’t even work!”

One of the kids in the group can be heard shouting back, “We’re 13!”

[goldenvalley]

Jan 26, 2022 18:18:51 GMT LFC said:

Here's a brave little middle-aged anti-masker who terrorized school children. Can I be sure he's right-wing? Well, not 100% but he sure fits the mold.

A middle-age Southern California man is accused of lying in wait outside local schools for children wearing masks—and then following them around so he can cough at them, spit on them, and taunt them for being “stupid” enough to don the face coverings.

The man, captured on video wearing a “Your mask makes you look stupid” T-shirt, has allegedly been continuing his anti-mask harassment campaign for a month in suburban La Crescenta, with a string of alleged incidents under his belt. Fed-up parents finally had enough this week and gathered at the Crescenta Valley Station to demand police take action.

“[The kids] were obviously getting scared. He was getting three to five inches away and coughing in their faces,” one parent who witnessed the alleged harassment, identified only as Ned, told CBS Los Angeles.

The Crescenta Valley Station, part of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, issued a statement Monday promising a “thorough investigation” into the man after one incident was captured on camera.

“Crescenta Valley Station is aware of a video circulating on social media regarding a dispute between an anti-mask adult and others over the masking of children. The incident appears to have occurred off school grounds sometime last week,” police said.

In the video, the man can be seen apparently harassing a group of middle schoolers in a mall parking lot, yelling: “Stay scared. Keep your masks on that don’t even work!”

One of the kids in the group can be heard shouting back, “We’re 13!”

The level of childishness in these folks continues to stun me.  They are stereotypical bratty prepubescents.  Or maybe there's a psychological diagnosis that was unrecognized in thousands of people...oppositional defiance disorder. 

The DSM-5 criteria include emotional and behavioral symptoms that last at least six months.

Angry and irritable mood:

Often and easily loses temper
Is frequently touchy and easily annoyed by others
Is often angry and resentful
Argumentative and defiant behavior:

Often argues with adults or people in authority
Often actively defies or refuses to comply with adults' requests or rules
Often deliberately annoys or upsets people
Often blames others for his or her mistakes or misbehavior
Vindictiveness:

Is often spiteful or vindictive
Has shown spiteful or vindictive behavior at least twice in the past six months

In adults it's

Always needs to win the argument with a parent or spouse
Continues to fight against ‘the man’ — authority figures and society
Leaves socks on the floor just because he knows it annoys his roommate
Cited for disorderly conduct by police
Involved in bar brawls or physical altercations in public
Has a hair-trigger temper — the littlest thing can set her off

[LFC]

Right-wing terrorist leader Stewart Rhodes is being held in jail in advance of his trial. Good.

A federal judge on Wednesday night ordered Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes jailed pending trial on charges of taking part in a seditious conspiracy on Jan. 6.

Rhodes’ release “might endanger others by fostering the planning and execution of additional violent events,” wrote Magistrate Judge Kimberly C. Priest Johnson, of the Eastern District of Texas.

Rhodes and other Oath Keepers are charged with plotting to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power by force on Jan. 6, through a mix of coordinated military-style “stack” formations of group members that entered the Capitol itself, and a “quick reaction force” with a cache of weapons standing by in Virginia. Rhodes is alleged to have coordinated the efforts via text message and other means, though he’s not accused of entering the Capitol himself.

On the way to D.C., Johnson noted, Rhodes allegedly purchased $20,000 in firearms and accessories, part of a buying spree before and after the attack.

The judge spent much of her opinion discussing the reasons she considered Rhodes a flight risk: An FBI agent testified that Rhodes no longer resides with his family in Montana, and instead has been “somewhat of a transient,” in the judge’s words, after moving to Texas in 2020.

Johnson noted that Rhodes claimed to be in a relationship with Kellye SoRelle, an attorney who has represented the Oath Keepers, and who said this month that she is serving as interim president of the organization. But Pretrial Services couldn’t reach SoRelle, the judge noted. BuzzFeed News reported separately that SoRelle denied any relationship.

“I think Stewart just wanted to have a place to stay,” SoRelle told a reporter from the outlet, speculating that Rhodes may have told the court about a relationship in a bid to be released to her home.

This is definitely a more dangerous group than most.

The leader of the Oath Keepers militia, Stewart Rhodes, must stay behind bars pending trial for his alleged role in the storming of the Capitol, a judge ruled on Jan. 26, 2022. While this means authorities can keep tabs on the whereabouts of Rhodes – and presumably limit any perceived threat from him – the same may not be said for all members of the group.

Rhodes and other defendants who have pleaded not guilty to charges of seditious conspiracy over the attempted insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, present just a fraction of the total membership of the Oath Keepers – the size of which raises uncomfortable questions about the possibility of violent radicalization in the U.S. military.

As experts on violent extremism, we believe it isn’t only the number of Oath Keepers that is a problem, it is their makeup. A significant number of their members are veterans – both female and male – who bring military skills to the group and also serve as recruiters for other active and former armed service personnel.

The timing of and reason for their founding should come as no surprise.

The Oath Keepers were founded by Rhodes in 2009 as an anti-government group in response to the Obama presidency.

The group’s name implies a mandate to honor their oath to the U.S. Constitution, and in particular to “defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

But its founding inspiration was precisely the opposite: challenging a legitimate president and commander in chief out of animosity toward what Barack Obama stood for. Since then, the Oath Keepers have armed and broadcast plans to mobilize.

[pnwguy]

Jan 28, 2022 17:44:06 GMT LFC said:

Right-wing terrorist leader Stewart Rhodes is being held in jail in advance of his trial. Good.

If he's convicted of anything, he'll be one of the first pardons of President 47, whichever MAGAt that is.  I'm still holding out for a karmic stroke or heart attack for Dolt 45.

[goldenvalley]

Those Oath Keeper folks are scary because so many are military service vets. Next time they won't have so many yahoos around clogging up their field of operation.  

[LFC]

Sounds like "I got caught up" is the new "I had a little too much to drink" defense.

[LFC]

Minnesota Republicans provided excellent protection for the fascists that took over the Capitol over the fact that their lord god Trump lost the election there.

Last year, the speaker of the Minnesota House promised a broad investigation into a rally at the Capitol in St. Paul where pro-Trump activists lodged violent rhetoric and alleged widespread voter fraud.

But the investigation called for by House Speaker Melissa Hortman petered out within a week, public documents show. Documents obtained through a public records request show the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s cyber crime unit investigated the complaint — tracking down additional comments on social media and calling one person who made questionable statements — and closed the case a week later.

The Brooklyn Park Democrat called for an investigation into the “Storm the Capitol” rally after some speakers talked about “casualties,” civil war and made veiled threats toward the governor. The rally was held on the same day that a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., briefly delaying the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.

Hortman said the investigation could lead to criminal charges and would be led by the BCA, which did look into comments made by Alley Waterbury, a Republican Party leader from Plymouth. She warned of casualties and said “I will be the first casualty. I don’t care.”

Waterbury also warned Gov. Tim Walz “we will come for you” and “do whatever we need to do” because “we have nothing else to lose.”

Five days into the investigation, a BCA agent and State Patrol sergeant interviewed Waterbury on the phone, and she told them her comments about Walz weren’t advocating violence but were made out of frustration about businesses being closed.

“Waterbury stated she had called everything off,” the BCA report said.

A 59-year-old man named Raul Javier Estrada — address unknown — was also named as being the person who made comments about being on the “threshold of a civil war” because the country is being choked off by “weeds” of communism, socialism and “leftist liberals.” But the report doesn’t indicate the agents talked to him because BCA Investigator Joe Murphy wrote that Estrada’s comments didn’t contain a threat and were political speech.

The case was closed on Jan. 21 because it didn’t meet the threshold for charges, after the BCA consulted with the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. At the time, Hortman released a statement saying the First Amendment permits speech that is “false, misleading, and hateful, and it is a high bar for an individual’s speech to cross the line and to constitute criminal activity.”

“The BCA concluded that bar was not met in this case,” she wrote. “Nevertheless, false, misleading, and hateful speech has consequences. It creates an environment of fear and division, can cause harm to individuals targeted by such speech, and it makes it more difficult for us to work together and solve problems.”

Six House lawmakers attended or spoke at the rally: Susan Ackland of St. Peter; Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa; Mary Franson of Alexandria; Glenn Gruenhagen of Glencoe; Eric Lucero of Dayton; and Jeremy Munson of Lake Crystal.

[pnwguy]

Jan 28, 2022 21:38:14 GMT LFC said:

Sounds like "I got caught up" is the new "I had a little too much to drink" defense.

"I just put his head in the noose, and next thing you know the chair got kicked out from under that citizen.  I didn't mean it"

[LFC]

Right-wing, white supremacist terrorists have been threatening historically black colleges.

At least half a dozen historically Black colleges were hit by a new wave of bomb threats on Monday morning, forcing lockdowns and the cancellation of classes across the country.

The targeted schools included Albany State University in Georgia, Florida’s Bethune-Cookman University, Bowie State University in Maryland, Delaware State University, Southern University and A&M in Louisiana, and Howard University in Washington, D.C.

“Due to a bomb threat on campus, BSU will be closed temporarily today January 31, 2022,” Bowie State University posted on its Twitter page. “Emergency personnel are evaluating the situation. All persons on campus are advised to shelter in place until further information is available. Employees will work virtually. Classes will be virtual. Please observe the BSU website for continual updates.”

According to Fox 5, Bowie University officials said that the threat warned of explosives that had been placed in a building on campus. Along with university authorities, county and Maryland state police have launched an investigation into the threat.

[LFC]

Right-wing domestic terrorists are pushing a county-level recall in California. The effort is complete with plenty of threats for everyone who dares disagree. And the terrorists may very well win.

In May of last year, I wrote about a recall effort aimed at county supervisors in conservative Shasta County, California, where anger over COVID health measures had turned bitter.

Now, results are rolling in: The recall effort appears to be edging ahead, though there are thousands of votes left to count.

This recall effort stood out last year for two reasons. First, it was fueled in part by national media attention: In August 2020, local militia member Carlos Zapata launched into a viral rant during a county supervisors meeting, saying “it’s not going to be peaceful much longer,” and “good citizens are going to turn to real concerned and revolutionary citizens real soon.”

The second interesting thing about the Shasta County recall effort was the lingering sense of intimidation in the air.

Tensions in the county had ramped up during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, when militia group members and others confronted and harassed protesters.

But the COVID-fueled recall effort only heightened the feelings of unease. Vocal opponents have faced threats and harassment, we reported at the time. At one county supervisors meeting, the Los Angeles Times noted, a speaker declined to give her name: “Do you really think that I could openly say my name and walk out of here without a target on my back?”

[snip]

“One person indicated that bullets are expensive but ropes are reusable; and someone else talked about tarring and feathering me,” the supervisor targeted for recall, Leonard Moty, told SFGATE recently. “There’s been talk of guillotines, things like that. It’s been very difficult for my family, difficult for my wife and kids to hear attacks like that.”

The targets of these terrorist threats? Insufficiently faithful Republicans. The purge continues.

The recall effort initially targeted three out of five county supervisors, all Republicans who were deemed not sufficiently defiant of the state’s public health guidelines. But supporters only gained enough signatures for a vote on Moty, the former police chief of Redding. If that seat is flipped, the balance of the board shifts as well, toward a more extreme right-wing majority.

[goldenvalley]

Feb 2, 2022 21:46:29 GMT LFC said:

Right-wing domestic terrorists are pushing a county-level recall in California. The effort is complete with plenty of threats for everyone who dares disagree. And the terrorists may very well win.

In May of last year, I wrote about a recall effort aimed at county supervisors in conservative Shasta County, California, where anger over COVID health measures had turned bitter.

Now, results are rolling in: The recall effort appears to be edging ahead, though there are thousands of votes left to count.

This recall effort stood out last year for two reasons. First, it was fueled in part by national media attention: In August 2020, local militia member Carlos Zapata launched into a viral rant during a county supervisors meeting, saying “it’s not going to be peaceful much longer,” and “good citizens are going to turn to real concerned and revolutionary citizens real soon.”

The second interesting thing about the Shasta County recall effort was the lingering sense of intimidation in the air.

Tensions in the county had ramped up during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, when militia group members and others confronted and harassed protesters.

But the COVID-fueled recall effort only heightened the feelings of unease. Vocal opponents have faced threats and harassment, we reported at the time. At one county supervisors meeting, the Los Angeles Times noted, a speaker declined to give her name: “Do you really think that I could openly say my name and walk out of here without a target on my back?”

[snip]

“One person indicated that bullets are expensive but ropes are reusable; and someone else talked about tarring and feathering me,” the supervisor targeted for recall, Leonard Moty, told SFGATE recently. “There’s been talk of guillotines, things like that. It’s been very difficult for my family, difficult for my wife and kids to hear attacks like that.”

The targets of these terrorist threats? Insufficiently faithful Republicans. The purge continues.

The recall effort initially targeted three out of five county supervisors, all Republicans who were deemed not sufficiently defiant of the state’s public health guidelines. But supporters only gained enough signatures for a vote on Moty, the former police chief of Redding. If that seat is flipped, the balance of the board shifts as well, toward a more extreme right-wing majority.

So far the yes on recall is ahead by 300+ votes.  Shasta County is part of that group of northern CA counties and some southern Oregon counties that have been vocal about wanting to break away to create a State of Jefferson, a very old concept that has never really been pursued.  This area has always felt both abused and ignored by the rest of the state. 

Here's an interview with the Shasta County Elections official about what's been going on.  Bold is mine, you can see the frustration in that remark. 

Question: I know you talked a little bit about mistrust in elections, especially over the last few years. What have you done for this election to try to rebuild that trust and help people feel secure in the system?

Answer: So, you know, it's interesting. I keep getting asked that and I'm happy to answer the question, but there is part of me that wonders why the people who created the mistrust aren't being asked that question. This office hasn't done anything to create mistrust.

But that's our job right? To engage the public in this system and engage the public in having their voices heard. And that's the most important thing about the work that we do is making sure that every voter, no matter what their political affiliation or their political opinions, is able to cast their ballot in a neutral space without interference and to be able to cast that ballot independently and privately. It's just a really difficult thing to try and overcome the voice of folks who have national reputations and national platforms. There's just no way I'm going to ever out-shout any of those folks. At the same time, I'm the person who is the subject matter expert in how to make this all work, right?...

[LFC]

Co-workers outed a Jan. 6 insurrectionist who just pleaded guilty. I guess he wasn't very well liked.

A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty to storming the Capitol last year during the insurrection, admitting to a judge Friday that he did indeed wander around Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. Lawrence Stackhouse, 34, was outed by his coworkers after he bragged repeatedly about his support of Donald Trump, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. It prompted two of them to point Stackhouse out in surveillance footage—complete with a “TRUMP” beanie and a Proud Boys T-shirt—as part of the Justice Department’s investigation. Stackhouse on Friday denied being part of the far-right hate group and said he regretted his choice of attire—a year after telling a friend he harbored no regrets for his participation in the Jan. 6 insurrection. “Don’t regret one thing,” he wrote a day after the riot. “F — the government.” Stackhouse allegedly communicated with another rioter, Rachel Myers, who said she was going, and she was charged in December over her involvement. Stackhouse faces up to six months in prison.

[LFC]

Thoughts and prayers, terrorist.

MAGA rioter Richard Barnard appeared in court on Friday to receive his sentence after he pleaded guilty last year to a Class B misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

According to Politico's Kyle Cheney, Barnard told the court that his life had been completely devastated ever since he made the fateful decision in January 6th, 2020 to storm the Capitol on behalf of former President Donald Trump.

As Cheney reports, Barnard says that he lost his "six-figure job," as well as his credit rating and retirement savings because he participated in the MAGA riot.

"There’s nothing the court can do to me that will come even close to what I’ve lost," he said.

Not even close? Challenge accepted!

[pnwguy]

Feb 4, 2022 22:17:19 GMT LFC said:

Thoughts and prayers, terrorist.
Not even close? Challenge accepted!

Let's try "from my cold dead hands"

How about a prison cell in the Capitol, guarded by the Capitol Police that were assaulted?  Maybe they could keep some long flagpoles nearby with Tasers on the end of them.

Or maybe Liz could get her daddy, Dick Cheney. to try his hand at personally waterboarding him.

Actually, I'd fear Liz more than her old man.  She could rip him limb for limb.

[LFC]

Feb 4, 2022 22:55:06 GMT pnwguy said:

Or maybe Liz could get her daddy, Dick Cheney. to try his hand at personally waterboarding him.

Maybe he could join Dick on a hunting trip.

[LFC]

A right-wing domestic terrorist cops a plea deal. Make sure it's a felony so he can't legally own firearms ever again.

Prosecutors have reached their second plea deal with a defendant in the alleged kidnapping plot aimed at Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), according to court documents filed Monday.

Defendant Kaleb Franks’ deal requires his pleading guilty to the kidnapping conspiracy, in which he allegedly took part alongside other members of the “Wolverine Watchmen” militia group. Franks, 27, is also required to cooperate with federal and state law enforcement, and to provide testimony.

This goes straight to the heart of the expected defense from the rest of the terrorists.

“The defendant knowingly and voluntarily joined that plan,” the plea deal reads.

The alleged scheme was captured at essentially every step along the way by law enforcement informants, despite the plotters’ paranoia about police infiltration.

The remaining federal defendants are expected to raise an entrapment defense at trial next month, The Detroit News noted.

And Franks’ plea deal nods at this defense, referring to law enforcement sources named “Dan” and “Steve” and then stating, “The defendant was not entrapped or inducted to commit any crimes by these individuals.”

Then, the plea agreement refers to Franks’ alleged co-conspirators Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta.

“The defendant also knows Fox, Croft, Harris and Caserta were not entrapped, based on personal observation and discussions,” the agreement says.

“During all their months of training together, the defendant never heard Fox, Croft, Harris, or Caserta say they were doing anything because [confidential human source] Dan, CHS Steve, or any other informant had advocated it,” the document adds later.

[LFC]

A bomb threat was called into a D.C. high school where Kamala Harris's husband was visiting. Nothing says patriotism like forcing a scaring the shit out of a school full of children, forcing them out into the cold, and cancelling their school day all because you're f***ing butthurt over God(tm) only knows what lies and nonsense. It's escalated to the point of being almost expected. These people are not real Americans.

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff was escorted from the museum in Dunbar High School due to a bomb threat reported by the school to secret service.

The Dunbar principal followed him out. An announcement came over the intercom minutes later telling teachers to evacuate the school, according to the pool report.

“We had a threat today to the facility so we did — basically we took the precaution of evacuating everybody, as you saw,” DC Public School spokesperson Enrique Gutierrez told the pool. “I think everyone is safe. The building is clear. But I don’t have any specific details at this moment.”

“It was a bomb threat,” he added.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department confirmed to CNN that a bomb threat had been made.

“U.S. Secret Service was made aware of a security threat at a school where the Second Gentleman
was meeting with students and faculty,” Emhoff Communications Director Katie Peters tweeted. “Mr. Emhoff is safe and the school has been evacuated. We are grateful to Secret Service and D.C. Police for their work.”

The students were sent home.

[goldenvalley]

Feb 8, 2022 21:23:40 GMT LFC said:

A bomb threat was called into a D.C. high school where Kamala Harris's husband was visiting. Nothing says patriotism like forcing a scaring the shit out of a school full of children, forcing them out into the cold, and cancelling their school day all because you're f***ing butthurt over God(tm) only knows what lies and nonsense. It's escalated to the point of being almost expected. These people are not real Americans.

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff was escorted from the museum in Dunbar High School due to a bomb threat reported by the school to secret service.

The Dunbar principal followed him out. An announcement came over the intercom minutes later telling teachers to evacuate the school, according to the pool report.

“We had a threat today to the facility so we did — basically we took the precaution of evacuating everybody, as you saw,” DC Public School spokesperson Enrique Gutierrez told the pool. “I think everyone is safe. The building is clear. But I don’t have any specific details at this moment.”

“It was a bomb threat,” he added.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department confirmed to CNN that a bomb threat had been made.

“U.S. Secret Service was made aware of a security threat at a school where the Second Gentleman
was meeting with students and faculty,” Emhoff Communications Director Katie Peters tweeted. “Mr. Emhoff is safe and the school has been evacuated. We are grateful to Secret Service and D.C. Police for their work.”

The students were sent home.

Dunbar High students are predominantly black.  I figure this is part of the overall bomb call stuff that went on with the HBCU schools earlier in the month.  Added bonus is Mr Emhoff was there, the race traitor who married Kamala Harris.

[LFC]

Awesome! This dangerous asshat lives just an hour or so away.

A Pennsylvania man who hosts an anti-government podcast called the “Alt-Right Armory,” on which he has encouraged listeners to target “not only police, but ‘legislators, lobbyists, and left-wing billionaires’ for assassination with explosives,” is accused of having “amassed an arsenal of fully automatic machine guns,” according to court filings.

Joseph Paul Berger, a 32-year-old Navy veteran who lives with his parents in Bethlehem Township, was arrested Feb. 7 by federal agents who say they found 13 unregistered machine guns and 12 illegal silencers in a locked room in the basement of the family’s home. The cache included, among other models, eight AK-style rifles, two C308 .308 Winchester caliber rifles, two MP5K submachine guns, and one RPK-style machine gun, according to a detention memo filed by prosecutors.

The weapons were test-fired by a lab expert with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), who “determined that each gun was modified, after purchase, to make it capable of fully automatic fire,” the filing says.

The younger Berger, who works as a certified armorer and machinist and does not have a criminal record, “regularly espouses anti-government and anti-law enforcement views,” the government argued in a motion against releasing Berger on bail. “For example, in the pilot episode of the Alt-Right Armory the defendant notes that a ‘white man with a rifle can be very dangerous to the system indeed if he has the right motivation.’” He then “extolls the values of police murderer Eric Frein and fantasizes about the cost that could be incurred by a group of people like Frein,” the motion continues, emphasizing that Frein in 2014 murdered a Pennsylvania state trooper in an ambush before going on the run. He was subsequently captured, convicted, and sentenced to death.

Berger and his co-host “halfheartedly claim that the discussion is a ‘prank’ and a ‘playful thought,’ and they are not advocating for violence, but it is clear that the discussions are serious,” the filing states.

[LFC]

Another report on the increase of right-wing domestic terrorism. Not only have terrorists threats risen but the right-wing domestic terrorists now account for over 90% of the incidents. Here are two graphs that summarize the situation.

[LFC]

Shitbag Josh Hawley is raising money on his open support of an insurrection and attempted coup.

Hawley Hawks Insurrection Merch

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is cashing in on the infamous moment when he fist-pumped the Trump supporters who were protesting Congress’ 2020 election certification before the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, and the accompanying email really isn’t subtle about the “to own the libs” selling point:

[LFC]

More confirmation that the terrorists were expecting orders from Trump.

An attorney for Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes told a federal judge on Wednesday that President Trump invoking the Insurrection Act would have made the group’s Jan. 6 plans legal.

In a hearing deciding whether Rhodes should remain behind bars pending trial, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta asked Oath Keepers lawyer James Lee Bright why the group had what they described as a Quick Reaction Force, referred to as a “QRF,” camped out in a hotel as the insurrection unfolded.

“This, your honor, is where we cross into some differing belief systems that not everyone will agree on,” Bright told Mehta.

[LFC]

Another officer "pal'ing around with terrorists."

A Washington, D.C. police lieutenant has been suspended with pay during an investigation into potential ties to the Proud Boys, the right-wing street gang.

The extent of the lieutenant’s ties to the group, if any, are unknown, but concerns brought to the Metropolitan Police Department were significant enough for Police Chief Robert J. Contee III to place the department employee on administrative leave.

The Washington Post subsequently reported on the identity of the lieutenant and the focus of the investigation.

The suspended lieutenant is Shane Lamond, a 22-year law enforcement veteran and a member of the MPD’s intelligence branch, the Post reported. TPM was unable to reach Lamond for comment Thursday.

The Post’s sources said there was evidence suggesting communications between Lamond and Tarrio, a prominent member of the group and its longtime leader, though he announced last year that he’d be stepping down from that role.

Tarrio described Lamond to the Post as a “liaison officer” for the Proud Boys, who Tarrio would contact in advance of planned Proud Boy rallies and marches in D.C.

Notably, Tarrio also claimed that Lamond would tell him the location of counterdemonstrators during marches.

[goldenvalley]

Feb 17, 2022 22:01:34 GMT LFC said:

Another officer "pal'ing around with terrorists."

Tarrio described Lamond to the Post as a “liaison officer” for the Proud Boys, who Tarrio would contact in advance of planned Proud Boy rallies and marches in D.C.

Notably, Tarrio also claimed that Lamond would tell him the location of counterdemonstrators during marches.

They must have been so disappointed that there were no counter demonstrators.