Right-Wing Militia Group Recruited Network Of Police And Military, Leaked Website Shows
Published
A website leak has shown that a right-wing militia group recruited current and former military members as well as police and border patrol agents.
There have long been concerns that military and police officials have been involved in some way with right-wing militia groups, especially in the wake of the Capitol riots that shook Washington DC in January.
Prior to Biden’s inauguration, 12 National Guard members were removed from the now president’s security detail due to ties with right-wing militias or extremist views.
Concerns have further been heightened after a leak from right-wing website American Patriots Three Percent of its membership showed current members of the military, police force and border patrol.
However, according to the The Guardian, the list showed Americans from all walks of life.
Members of the far-right, anti-government group were found to be both men and woman who ranged from being in their 20 all the way up to their 70s. The list of people also detailed an array of occupations held by its members, who are located all over the US.
A source told The Guardian that the WordPress site’s poorly configured membership plugin left those details exposed to public view.
One member thought to have been named is 61-year-old Phillip Whitehead of Prescott Valley, who is reportedly the commander of Arizona’s American Legion post. Speaking to the newspaper, he blamed American Patriots Three Percent for the leak and described it as an ‘invasion of privacy’.
Whitehead added that he is ‘appalled that information attached to individuals’ had been leaked from the site, and that he hadn’t actaully entered his own details in the site.
He further confirmed that several members are in fact police or military personnel.
Whitehead, who worked in law enforcement for 34 years, said:
A lot of us are former military, former law enforcement. Some of us have had high level security clearance.
He added that the leak has put him and his family in danger.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has recently ranked white supremacists, who are sometimes linked to right-wing groups, as a ‘top threat’ to American citizens.
Discussing the matter yesterday, March 2, Wray said, ‘The top threat we face from [domestic violent extremists] continues to be those we identify as Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists (RMVEs), specifically those who advocate for the superiority of the white race.’
He made the comments as part of his testimony during the ongoing investigations into January’s Capitol riots.
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