The Guardian - A nationwide US network of dozens of far-right, men-only fraternal clubs has what members describe as “literally hundreds” of participants who include past and currently serving military personnel, lawyers, civil servants, and prominent antisemitic influencers, a Guardian investigation can reveal.
The Old Glory Club (OGC) – which has at least 26 chapters in 20 US states and until now has drawn little attention – exemplifies the alarming rise of organized racist political groups in the past few years but especially during the rise of Donald Trump and his return to the White House.
The OGC network has held conferences, meetups and other events. Key members like podcaster Pete Quinones use their platforms to push far-right ideas about Jewish people and immigrants. Other members have used their platforms to respond to political events, and to advocate measures including “cancellation insurance” for members whose extreme political views might impede their professional lives.
Harry Shukman, a researcher at UK anti-fascist non-profit Hope Not Hate, who last month published an exposé on the OGC-affiliated Basketweavers organization in the UK, told the Guardian: “Groups such as the OGC are a new breed of extremist organization which aims first to build an offline social network before taking over society.”
He added, “They seek to lower the bar to participating in the far right, and by doing so have proved attractive to a cohort of mostly male members, some of whom have never before undertaken any form of activism.”
Heidi Beirich, co-founder and chief strategy officer of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, said the OGC “appears to be another major new network of racists, too many of which are springing up in the era of Trump”.
She said the group was “pushing violent ideologies, including race hate and antisemitism and has links to prominent figures on the far right”.
No comments:
Post a Comment