As school board meetings across the country have grown heated and even violent, the Southern Poverty Law Center threw down a gauntlet Monday, designating 12 so-called “parents rights” groups as anti-government extremist groups, including nationally influential Florida-based Moms for Liberty. Meanwhile, a school board meeting in Glendale, California, descended into brawls and arrests during a Pride Month discussion. In St. Louis, a prominent Proud Boy is accused of rape. And a new study shows a strong correlation between military service and domestic extremism.
It’s the week in extremism.
But first, this week’s breaking news
As of Thursday evening, former President Donald Trump had been indicted on charges related to handling of classified documents, according to a person briefed on the case.
When those files were first seized by the FBI last year in a raid at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, a backlash spread across the extremist right wing. At least one man died after an armed standoff with agents. Experts worried at the time about the spike in anti-government rhetoric, which had echoes on 1990s-era unrest over events such as the Waco, Texas, standoff.
But Trump’s previous indictment on state charges in New York didn’t trigger a major outpouring of new protests. What happens in response to these federal charges? We’ll be watching.
‘Kill FBI on sight’:Truth Social reveals the final days of an attacker
Moms for Liberty designated an extremist group by SPLC
On Monday, the Southern Poverty Law Center designated the Florida-headquartered Moms for Liberty as an extremist anti-government group in its annual Year in Hate and Extremism report. The move elicited anger and disparagement from Moms for Liberty and conservative commentators.
From USA TODAY:SPLC lists a key Florida “parents’ rights” group as anti-government extremists
- Moms for Liberty and 11 other groups were added to the SPLC’s list of 702 antigovernment groups across the country. They join the ranks of armed so-called “militia” groups like the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters.
- The designation sparked scorn from Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler. “Outside of it being a leftist attack, political hit job, there’s no credibility behind it. It’s truly laughable,” Ziegler told the USA TODAY Network.
- The comprehensive annual report also noted the “militia” movement is faltering, “alt-tech” sites that cater to the far-right are booming, as is the spreading of extremist propaganda, and antisemitism is still rampant across the country.
- SPLC is one of the most well-known groups monitoring extremism. But its rankings are sometimes controversial and have drawn lawsuits in the past.
Glendale school board meeting on Pride descends into chaos
A school board meeting in suburban Los Angeles, where board members planned to discuss a resolution to recognize June as Pride Month, descended into chaos and brawls on Tuesday, resulting in at least three arrests. The melee happened after the Glendale school district warned that parents have been primed with disinformation about the district’s approach to teaching about LGBTQ issues, sex education and trans rights.
- The anti-school board propaganda circulating “includes disinformation about LGBTQIA+ curriculum, sex education and supporting transgender and gender non-conforming youth,” the Glendale Unified School District said in the statement.
- Videos from the Glendale protests showed several scraps between the hundreds of pro- and anti-LBGTQ protestors. Local police said they attempted to de-escalate the situation, and arrested at least three individuals who were using pepper spray and obstructing officers.
The bigger picture? For the last two years or more, public forums related to LGBTQ issues have become a primary focus of the extremist far-right, which focuses on how those intersect with children in ways real or imagined. That includes events like all-ages drag shows or school board discussions.
Extremist groups including the street gang the Proud Boys and neo-Nazis have protested LGBTQ and Pride events across the country. Pro-LGBTQ protesters, including anti-fascists, have increasingly begun to show up in response.
St. Louis Proud Boy accused of rape
Lucas Rohlfing, a 28-year-old vocal supporter of the Proud Boys in St. Louis, appeared in court late last week facing charges of rape or attempted rape and sodomy or attempted sodomy, according to a local media report.
- The Riverfront Times reported that Rohlfing has been an active member of the Proud Boys for years. In 2018, the report states, “he was listed in the group’s constitution and bylaws as one of the eight members of its Elders Chapter.”
- A police probable cause statement for the alleged incident says on Sept. 26, the alleged victim contacted police and told them that on the day prior she had “consumed a large quantity of alcohol and narcotics rendering her incapable of consent,” the report states, after which she alleges she was sexually assaulted by Rohfling and another man.
- The case will go to a grand jury in July. Rohfling’s attorney told the court he will be filing a motion seeking to dismiss the case.
Statistic of the week: 451
That’s how many people with military backgrounds committed extremist offenses between 1990 and 2022, according to a new study from the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, or START.
START found that having a military background was the single strongest predictor of domestic extremism.
“We thought having a criminal history or undiagnosed mental illness were the things that would come out as distinguishing the mass casualty offenders. Those matter, but the thing that came out as being the most significant predictor was having a military background,” Michael Jensen, a senior researcher at START told the Military Times.
