Election and Post Election Violence
https://www.csis.org/analysis/escalating-terrorism-problem-united-states
President Trump is not so subtly calling for election related and post-election violence. This is certainly designed to suppress the vote against him and to sow chaos in advance of the election. There is a serious threat that his most extreme right wing followers will take him at his words.
For the last 15 years, right wing terrorism has been the most common, most deadly (apart from 9/11), and fastest growing form of US domestic terrorism. https://www.csis.org/analysis/escalating-terrorism-problem-united-states 57% of all domestic terrorism attacks were right wing originated; 25% left wing originated, and 15% coming from religious terrorists.
The right wing attacks are coming from white supremacists, anti-government extremists and incels. The Department of Homeland Security has produced an analysis of these terror threats. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/04/white-supremacists-terror-threat-dhs-409236 The FBI has briefed and warned Congress on these threats. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/us/politics/fbi-russia.html
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the highest concentrations of the hate groups are in Pacific Northwest and the Deep South States of Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee, but they are pretty much omnipresent throughout the US. https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map The Counter Extremism Project has a full report on many of the White Supremacy Groups operating in the US. https://www.counterextremism.com/sites/default/files/supremacy_landing_files/U.S.%20White%20Supremacy%20Groups_073020.pdf The Proud Boys are one of the President’s favorites, such that he had a hard time denouncing them during and after the recent Presidential debates. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proud_Boys Oath Keepers are another armed and ready for combat, right wing group with lots of military and police membership. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/right-wing-militias-civil-war/616473/ Militia movements of armed right-wingers are springing up everywhere from the State Capitol in Michigan to the protests in Kenosha Wisconsin; they are becoming the paramilitaries supporting Trump’s directives. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-trump-and-covid-19-have-reshaped-the-modern-militia-movement/ Trump during his campaign and throughout his Presidency has enjoyed a flourishing, symbiotic relationship with the armed right hate groups. https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-history-of-support-from-white-supremacist-far-right-groups-2020-9
Trump’s National Security Advisor HR McMaster does not believe the Armed Forces will act in concert with Trump and the armed right wing groups and militias if they resort to violence after losing an election. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/10/hr-mcmaster-trump-proud-boys-and-white-supremacy/616554/ There are a variety of tactics Trump may deploy short of calling out the military to preserve his Presidency, and there are potential countermeasures to each of them. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/08/election-nightmares-experts.html
Some may say, we can rely on courts, law enforcement, traditional Republican leaders and elected state government officials to do their jobs and assure a peaceful transition. One could also rely on the common sense and long traditions of the American democratic experiment. https://theconversation.com/election-violence-in-november-heres-what-the-research-says-146548
Some on the left are preparing for the eventuality of post-election violence from armed right wing groups. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-left-secretly-preps-for-violence-after-election-day Law enforcement officials are preparing for post-election violence as well. https://time.com/5892945/law-enforcement-post-election-violence/ David Brooks argues that we all need to be thinking about this scenario and what actions we would individually and collectively take to preserve our nation; he thinks that the sensible Americans of all political stripes must be prepared for the eventuality we will need to go into the streets non-violently in the spirit of Martin Luther King to preserve our nation. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/03/opinion/trump-election-2020.html
Prepared by: Lucien Wulsin
Dated: 10/3/20