Election threats remain four years after far-right extremists stormed the US Capitol

WASHINGTON — In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, thousands of Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters have heeded his call to join the “wild” protest against his defeat. Following Trump’s lies about the stolen election, there are hundreds of them stormed the US Capitol under the banners of Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and other extremist groups and movements.

Since the January 6, 2021 attack, many of these far-right networks have collapsed, splintered, or disappeared from public view. But the specter of election chaos did not disappear with them. Experts warn that political violence remains a constant threat ahead of the November 5 election.

Election officials were overwhelmed threats, misinformation and perspective” election denier ″ organizations wreaking havoc. The FBI was investigating on Monday the fire destroyed hundreds of ballots inside boxes in Portland, Oregon and nearby Vancouver, Washington.

Trump used social media to promote himself violent conspiracy theories which became the main features of republican politics. many, including Trump himself tried to turn the Capitol rioters into patriots and political prisoners in the style of 1776. Trump also promised to use the military to fight back “Enemies from within.”

Four years ago, most of the Trump supporters in the crowd had no criminal record or any group affiliation other than a shared devotion to the president who called them on “fear like hell.” This helps explain why it can be difficult for authorities to identify and repel threats.

“It only takes one person to do a lot of damage,” said American University professor Curt Braddock, who studies extremism.

Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the company Global Project Against Hate and Extremismsaid the extremists she tracks aren’t focused on this year’s election — at least in their public chatter online. Many likely learned a lesson from those accused of rioting in the Capitol, who flooded social media with self-incriminating posts before, during and after the siege.

“We don’t know if anything is happening in encrypted chats,” she added.

During this election cycle, Trump and his allies have fueled anti-LGBTQ and anti-immigrant discourse in a way that emboldens extremists, experts say. After January 6, “Proud guys” staged protests on the street Drag Queen is the story of the hour. Springfield, Ohio was recently flooded with mass bomb threats after Trump and running mate JD Vance stepped up false, xenophobic rumours about Haitian immigrants in the city.

All kinds of far-right conspiracy theories spread almost unchecked major platformsincluding a firehose of lies about the federal government’s response to Hurricane-ravaged North Carolinaa state of oscillation.

Trump and his allies often use his rallies as a platform to spew racism and xenophobia, including one Sunday in Madison Square Garden in New York which prompted the comparison a pro-Nazi rally in 1939. Vice President Kamala Harris said she thinks Trump is a fascist after his former chief of staff John Kelly said the former president praised Adolf Hitler while in office.

Trump was shot in the ear during one of two attempted murders against him this year. He accused Democrats of contributing to an unstable political climate, accusing it of threatening democracy.

Beirich said it may be difficult for authorities to contain election-related threats “because it can happen all over the country.” She and other experts fear that extremists will try to disrupt the ballot counting, perhaps in countries where the fighting is taking place.

“It’s a little bit like the calm before the storm,” she said.

Experts on extremism are hardly alone in their fears, with about 4 in 10 registered voters saying they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about violent attempts to overturn next month’s election results, according to data new survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Public Affairs Research Center.

Of the more than 1,500 charged in the Jan. 6 attack, more than 200 have been linked by federal authorities to extremist groups or movements. Associated Press review of court records.

This includes approximately 80 leaders, members or associates of the far-right Proud Boys and more than 30 defendants linked to the anti-government Oath Keepers. Other groups, including Groiper movementhad fewer followers charged in federal court.

Four years ago, Trump told the Proud Boys. “step back and stand by” in his first debate against Democrat Joe Biden. Group leaders took note of Trump’s rallying cry and readily joined the fray when Trump invited supporters to Washington for a “Stop Theft” rally.

Today some of top leaders of “Proud Boys”. and Oath keepers serving prison terms up to 22 years old for violent conspiracies to stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power from Trump to Biden.

The imprisonment of the national leaders of the groups left a void. For the Proud Boys, it was partially filled by local cells that consider themselves autonomous and tend to promote more extreme ideologies, said Jared Holtis a senior research analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which tracks online hate.

“Their organizational capacity is significantly reduced from where it was in 2020,” Holt said. “There is always a possibility that in the post-election period these groups will suddenly find motivation to mobilize and start showing up at events. But this year they were quite docile.”

The Oath Keepers taught by Yale Law School Stewart Rhodes founded in 2009, disappeared after his arrest and imprisonment.

“That was his baby and no one filled his void,” Holt said.

Dozens of Capitol rioters were anti-government supporters “Three percent” movement. or belonged to militia groups with names such as Guerrilla Rangers Gray Ghost, Southern Indiana Patriots and Patriot Boys of North Texas. The government’s response to the events of January 6 appears to be “significantly hampering” the militias, Beirich said.

“They’re not going away,” she said. “They may pop up somewhere else, but I have to say the militias have been relatively inactive in the last year or so compared to previous eras.”

Many other rioters on January 6 were inspired QAnonwhich focused on the baseless belief that Trump is secretly fighting a satan-worshipping, child-sex-trafficking cabal of prominent Democrats and Hollywood elites. Self-described QAnon Shaman remains one of the most recognizable figures of the rebellion.

Mike Rothschildauthor of “The Storm Is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything,” said the QAnon movement has outgrown its elaborate web of “mysteries and codes.”

Twitter, Facebook and YouTube dealt with QAnon after January 6, engaging believers on platforms such as Telegram or Trump’s Truth Social. Rothschild said many of them returned to Twitter, now called X, after Elon Musk bought it. He believes that QAnon supporters remain “extremely dangerous.”

“They have had four years to store their anger and resentment,” he said.

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