On Wednesday , the House Armed Services Committee held a sense of hearing with expert testimonial on extremism in the U.S. armed services after scads of veterans and at least two active responsibility troop were imply in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots . Republicans on the control panel seemed more interested in debunk the need for such a hearing at all , with one ostensibly hoodwinked by a military satire site .
The George Washington Program on Extremism has identifiedat least 33of the Capitol insurrectionists as having a military background knowledge , including 31 veterans , one current fellow member of the National Guard , and one Army reservist . The GOP has a long custom ofdownplaying the terror threatposed by violent far - right extremist — perhaps out of chariness that the ideologic trail could direct back to the political party ’s positions or rhetoric , or just as a self-referent response to any unfavorable judgment of conservativist whatsoever . Per Politico , Republicans on the committee , including ranking member Mike Rogers , shot down the idea the armed forces are n’t doing enough to settle out white-hot supremacists , fascists , neo - Nazis , and other extremists .
“ We miss any concrete evidence that wild extremism is as ripe in the military as some commentators claim , ” Rogers say during the auditory modality , according to Politico . “ While I harmonize with my colleagues that these numbers should be zero , this is far from the big military justness number facing our armed service . ”
Representative Pat Fallon of Texas at Wednesday’s hearing.Screenshot: YouTube / U.S. House Armed Services Committee (Other)
Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher said there was an “ absence of data ” and the subject of the hearing was “ risky suppositions establish on our ideological priors . ” Georgia Rep. Austin Scott digressed toward the GOP fixation with so - called “ cancel polish , ” fretting that some may “ lose their jobs and other things simply because of a Facebook station or some other post that was made when somebody was disturbed . ” And Texas Rep. Pat Fallon challenged witness Lecia Brooks , the chieftain of staff for the Southern Poverty Law Center , with a completely falsified call that the anti - racist organization had relegate the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion as hate mathematical group .
Per Military.com :
“ Yes or no motion , has your organisation named the American Legion as a hate group ? ” Fallon asked Brooks .
“ I do n’t think so , ” she replied .
“ I found it , and it did , ” Fallon respond . “ Were you aware they named the VFW as a hatred chemical group ? ”
“ Not in our current census , no , ” Brooks answer .
The SPLCmaintains a databaseof racialist and bigoted hate groups , which has sparked ira among Republicans who consider some of those groups to but becultural conservatives(uh huh ) . However , the SPLC has never classified the VFW or American Legion , nationwide group of former service of process members that organize veterans ’ financial support and other large-hearted work , as hatred groups or anything else . Fallon rather appears to have pose that idea from a situation hollo Duffel Blog that runs military - theme joke clause , such asone claimingIran ’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is rooting out “ weak - ass poser who miss the uttermost political theory of Iran ’s ‘ totally radical ’ warfighters ” andanother titled“Retired general on Pepsi gameboard vows to win War on Thirst . ”
BREAKING : Southern Poverty Law Center classifies VFW and American Legion as hate groupshttps://t.co/9LKJYS4yXqpic.twitter.com/Lzu0loYM82
— Duffel Blog ( @DuffelBlog)September 6 , 2017
In 2017 , Duffel Blogran an evidently made - up articlealleging that SPLC President J. Richard Cohen had declared the two veterans ’ organizations to be detest group because they hold “ basal , extreme - correct - wing ideals such as exemption , safe , and family note value . ” Said clause also bring up that Cohen write the declaration from a “ corporate think - tank steam elbow room , where Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I - Moscow ) was go out relaxing in the nude painting . ”
The byline on the clause was “ Dick Scuttlebutt , ” who can be safely assume is not a tangible person .
The Charles William Post , whichwas re - uppedon the Duffel Blog situation on Wednesday , was n’t incisively cutting - edge irony . But it was at least fairly obvious irony , peculiarly if one understand past the headline . Duffel Blog is alsowell - known in the military communityas sort of heavily armed counterpart to The Onion , so mistaking it for reality is an especially embarrassing bungle for a Republican on the Armed Services Committee . ( Previous feathers in Duffel Blog ’s hat have includedpunking Politifactinto report the military had offered seven Guantanamo Bay detainees to anyone with info on the location of captive troop Bowe Bergdahl and Gizmodo into trust the Army was replacingbayonets with tomahawks . )
Extremism in the military , despite Republicans ’ protestation to the contrary , is a very real and well - evidenced terror . Polling by theMilitary Timesin 2020 of 1,630 dynamic - duty reader found more than 36 % of respondents , and more than one-half of minority service members , reported witness examples of white nationalism / supremacy or ideologically - motivated racism in the military . Those numbers had increased significantly in recent years . Internal Pentagon resume from 2017released earlier this yearfound about a third of sinister military service members had experienced racial discrimination , torment , or both in the preceding 12 months . These issue appear to be exacerbated by a dictation structure disproportionatelycomposed of blanched males .
In 2018 , a Coast Guard officer with anterior Marine Corps servicewas arrestedfor allegedly stockpiling weapons in a plot to kill Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats . In 2020 , three veterans in Nevada were file with felony conspiracy and terrorism over analleged plotto attack Black Lives Matter contestant in Las Vegas , while a U.S. Army private was charge for provide information onhis unit and its defensesto neo - Nazis he believed would coordinate an attack with al - Qaeda . The same class , Gizmodo reported on a former recruiter for terroristic neo - national socialist radical Atomwaffen thathad joined the Navy , resulting in his administrative separation .
The Pentagon has acknowledged far - correct extremist with military experienceare a “ threat”due to their “ try out power to accomplish high - impact event , ” and it ’s begun implementing programs toscreen recruitsfor any interest . The Defense Department has also begunassembling databasesof domestic extremist groups it believes are endeavor to recruit current or former troops . According to theMilitary Times , some troops have n’t been impressed by sweat so far , reporting late stand - downs with officers on the topic of extremism were n’t being taken gravely by trainer or were cursory at well — though others said their commander carry meaty session .
“ DoD officials repeatedly exact that the number is small , [ yet ] no one really know , ” Audrey Kurth Cronin , managing director of American University ’s Center for Security , Innovation , and New Technology , said during the hearing , according to Politico . “ No serious design can be build without delineate the setting of the job . ”
Fallon ’s office did n’t answer to a request for comment by Gizmodo on this story , but we ’ll update this billet if we hear back .
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