If you have time to read any long form piece this weekend, read this one from Pro Publica about the militia movement. They have been following one large national militia group that has avoided scrutiny up until now called APIII (American Patriots Three Percent) for several years and it’s enough to make the hair on your neck stand up. Perhaps the biggest threat comes from the fact that they have indoctrinated many members of law enforcement:
AP3 has expanded at a dramatic pace since Jan. 6, while keeping much of its activity out of view. This rise is documented in more than 100,000 internal messages obtained by ProPublica, spanning the run-up to Jan. 6 through early 2024. Along with extensive interviews with 22 current and former members of AP3, the records provide a uniquely detailed inside view of the militia movement at a crucial moment.
The messages reveal how AP3 leaders have forged alliances with law enforcement around the country and show the ways in which, despite an initial crackdown by social media, they have attracted a new wave of recruits. A change in the political climate has also helped: In a matter of months after Jan. 6, rioters went from pariahs to heroes in the rhetoric of prominent Republican politicians. By the summer of 2021, people were enlisting in AP3, saying that Jan. 6 inspired them to join.
A portrait emerges of a group alternating between focused action and self-destructive chaos and facing a schism over whether political engagement can still address our nation’s problems — or whether violence is the only option. It can be hard to discern the line between bluster and imminent threat in the messages, a perennial struggle for FBI agents who monitor paramilitary groups. But some senior AP3 members grew so alarmed that they quit, scared by the number of people, even high-level leaders, advocating acts of terror.
As I said, read the whole thing if you have the time. I wonder if the Trump cult will rise up en masse if he loses again. But these guys are another matter entirely. They worship Tim McVeigh. ‘Nuf said.