After a break in weekly updates, MilitiaWatch returns in 2022 with a monthly format instead. If you’d prefer to listen to a version of the information contained below, you may also want to check out the MilitiaWatchMonthly podcast here. All MW updates (monthlies now and weeklies before) can be accessed via this link.
Stewart Rhodes catches federal charges a year after J6 storming
Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes was arrested on 13 January on charges of seditious conspiracy. Feds accuse him of steering for months an effort to encourage political violence to prevent Joe Biden from taking office, ultimately culminating in the J6 storming of the US Capitol Building. He was charged along 10 others, many of whom have already been charged with other crimes. Court documents reveal a bout of heavy purchases of firearms ahead of the riot.
Things to read:
- Spencer Hsu and Devlin Barrett in the Washington Post — “Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes charged with seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 Capitol riot”
- Sarah Lynch and Jan Wolfe in Reuters – “Far-right Oath Keepers first to be charged with seditious conspiracy in Capitol attack”
- Kyle Cheney in Politico – “Firearms, a drone and 30 days of supplies: New details of Oath Keepers Jan. 6 weapons cache”
- Ellen Ioanes in Vox – “How seditious conspiracy charges change the January 6 narrative”
- Dia Gill in Daily Beast – “Stewart Rhodes’ Estranged Wife Calls Him a ‘Complete Sociopath’ a Day After Jan. 6 Arrest”
Boogaloo adherent sentenced to 2 years for illegal possession
Michael Dahlager of St. Cloud, Minnesota was sentenced to two years on 19 January for possession of drop-in auto-sears, a homemade device that converts a semi-automatic rifle into a fully-automatic one (this is part of on-going investigations into primarily Boogaloo purchases from a site run by a West Virginia man). At his time of arrest, Dahlager had several rifles, a handgun, handcuffs, zip-ties, smoke grenades, Boogaloo gear, and a printed copy of the Declaration of Independence in his car. He was initially picked up by the Feds after an informant told the FBI that Dahlager seemed intent and willing to kill police officers as part of a planned attack on the Minnesota State Capitol aimed for 17 January 2022 (the day of the major Boogaloo planning last year before J6 disrupted things). His lawyer, however, maintains that Dahlager had no idea that the Boogaloo movement wanted a civil war.
Things to read:
- Paul Walsh in Star Tribune – “Boogaloo Bois member from St. Cloud gets 2 years in plot to attack Minnesota Capitol”
- Associated Press wire – “‘Boogaloo’ adherent from St. Cloud is sentenced on federal gun conviction”
- Kilat Fitzgerald in KSTP – “Self-described ‘Boogaloo Boi’ sentenced to 2 years in prison for possession of machine gun”
Other Boogaloo court proceedings
Two Boogaloo adherents from Central Washington, Daniel Anderson and Connor Goodman, were indicted on 5 January on charges related to explosive devices intended for use against cops. Anderson made IEDs from glass mason jars and commercial fireworks. Goodman was the leader of a Boogaloo group that gave Anderson a shotgun at a September meeting of the group.
Things to read:
- Kip Hill in Spokesman-Review – “Two men with ties to Central Washington anti-government militia indicted on federal charges”
Boogaloo adherents in Richmond for VCDL Lobby Day 2022
In a second year of fairly moot organizing by the right-wing Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), Boogaloo adherents once again dominate the pro-gun demonstrations. Confronted lightly by police about their illegal armed presence, the Boogaloo adherents (most are a part of the Virginia Kekoas, a partial rebrand of Mike Dunn’s Virginia Knights) turned and left the space near the Virginia Capitol. Activists from the widely-disavowed BLM757 also showed up to demonstrate alongside the Boogaloo groups, as did the AnCap LiberateRVA. All but the VCDL representatives showed armed.
Things to read:
- Full Beard in Dirty South Right Watch — “The 2022 VCDL Lobby Day Was a Bust”
- Live Twitter thread by Goad Gatsby on Boogaloo presence for VCDL Lobby Day
Patriot Front RocketChat Leaks During Action in DC
Patriot Front isn’t technically a militia group but is an influential far-right actor in the US right now. Tangentially, they’re worthwhile to keep an eye on. During their appearance in DC for the March for Life anti-abortion rally, a leak of one of their network files was posted by Unicorn Riot. The files therein give some crucial insight into the group, how it functions, and what it wants. The leaks of the group have also provided new information to local researchers and activists to unmask the neo-Nazis in their neighborhoods of the US.
Things to read:
- Chris Schiano and Dan Feidt in Unicorn Riot — “Patriot Front Fascist Leak Exposes Nationwide Racist Campaigns”
- Caroline Kitchener, Ellie Silverman, and Michelle Boorstein in the Washington Post “Antiabortion activists brave cold, pandemic fears to rally for what they hope is the end of Roe v. Wade”
- Dan Goodin in Ars Technica — “A white supremacist website got hacked, airing all its dirty laundry”