US militias forge alliances with conspiracy theorists ahead of election

[marmar]

(Guardian UK) Armed militia groups are forging alliances in the final stages of the US presidential election with conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxxers who claim the coronavirus pandemic is a hoax, intensifying concerns that trouble could be brewing ahead of election day.

Leading advocates of anti-government and anti-science propaganda came together at the weekend, joined by the founder of one of the largest militia groups. The rare connection occurred at the Red Pill Expo, a conference convened on Jekyll Island, Georgia – a symbolic location as it is the birthplace of the US Federal Reserve, a popular bogey figure for conspiracy theorists.

The summit, staged indoors in front of a packed and maskless audience of about 350, was headlined by Stewart Rhodes, president of the Oath Keepers. The militia, which turned up menacingly at several Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests over the summer and has acted as a vigilante squad at numerous Donald Trump campaign rallies, has links to 25,000 current or past members, mostly military or police veterans. ............(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/14/armed-militias-conspiracy-theorists-anti-vaxxers-red-pill-expo

[Squinch]

1. More accurately: "Armed white supremacist gangs of thugs." (I know you don't write the headline,

I'm just making it my hobby to reframe whenever I see that "militia" bullshit.)

[crickets]

2. Crap. Just what we all need: crazy people with money (Jekyll Island? Really?)

making friends with crazy people who have guns. Here's hoping plenty of them purchased the chlorine dioxide elixir being hawked at the end of the show.

[BusyBeingBest]

3. Armed militia groups? What are those? Do they mean "terrorists"?

[Baked Potato]

4. Now they're having summits and expos. Next we'll have "Alt Home Shows"...

bringing together all the terrorist groups. They’ll have Q booths, and Oath booths, and some guns and ammo booths. Maybe some cooking classes for survivalists. Throw in some log cabin building kits and RVs. Prime time for grifting fun! Monetize the crazy!

[Boogiemack]

5. OK, lock up all of them. nt