Far-right militia takes hold of island town in Washington: They're 'becoming the new norm'

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Khashoggi’s Ghost
@UROCKlive1
I spent a couple of weeks on this island in the 1980s. It was a lovely place then, with lovely people. Seemed like a great place to settle down.

Now? Not so much.

Far-right militia takes hold of island town in Washington: They're 'becoming the new norm'

Far-right militia takes hold of island town in Washington: They're 'becoming the new norm'
Tensions are rising in Whidbey Island, Seattle, after residents say a right-wing extremist group is tearing the fabric of the community apart, The Daily Beast reports. The tension started when the...
rawstory.com
2:46 PM · Jul 5, 2021

https://www.rawstory.com/far-right-militia-takes-hold-of-island-town-in-washington-they-re-becoming-the-new-norm/

Tensions are rising in Whidbey Island, Seattle, after residents say a right-wing extremist group is tearing the fabric of the community apart, The Daily Beast reports.

The tension started when the The Washington III Percent militia took control of the local Grange association (a community gathering place) and began rejecting membership applications from anyone not aligned with them. Now, III Percenter flags and bumper stickers have increasingly popped up around town and left-wing rallies.

"They've been trying to do this for quite some time now: Extremists running for office, local elections, you know, county councils, state legislatures, things like that," said Daryl Johnson, a former Homeland Security analyst who runs DT Analytics. "Once it creeps in, if nobody challenges, it becomes the new norm."

The group's founder and president Matt Marshall says his group is neither extremist nor racist, and says local activists' criticism of his organization amounts to a "smear campaign."

*snip*

[Lovie777]

1. I'm pretty sure USA's law enforcement is aware of this and is watching . . .

[BeerBarrelPolka]

6. Sadly

Many in law enforcement are far right, white supremacist bigots, and as anti-American as Joe Stalin. They are not friends or on the side of real Americans.

[CrackityJones75]

7. No.

Why do we allow this BS on these forums? Talking about exterminating people? Really?

[atreides1]

8. Well

Because sometimes you have to open your eyes and see who the enemy is...and do what may become necessary to preserve our lives and the lives of those we love.

[smirkymonkey]

19. +1000

[reACTIONary]

31. So, what is it that you think is necessary?

What exactly are you advocating? Please spell it out.

[CrackityJones75]

22. Under what grounds

Under what grounds would you EXTERMINATE them?

Seriously???? Holy hell.

[reACTIONary]

32. If they break the law...

... the law is enforced. Is that what you are calling for? If not, what? How do you propose to go about "getting rid" of your fellow human beings?

[Hekate]

37. Please Alert

[reACTIONary]

41. It looks like someone did and it was removed...

... Thank goodness.

[Hekate]

42. ****

[reACTIONary]

28. +100 ...

... It's god-awful. Advocating violence should be against the tos.

[Hekate]

38. Seriously, I think it is against the TOS

[reACTIONary]

39. I do too, but...

... But when I alert the categories dont match up exactly.

I submitted this to the ask forum:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/125618788

To be honest, I'm sick and tired of seeing death threats on DU.

[Hekate]

40. I went for kooky and extremist

[MerryBlooms]

43. There are several posts agreeing with the post that was removed, did you alert those?

There isn't a specific rule against the post that was removed. Admin may have to step in on this issue. One shouldn't be removed while others stand. Luck of the jury shouldn't matter here, it should be uniform and in the rules of tos. Violent rhetoric of this sort should be discouraged and against tos, in my opion.

[Hekate]

51. One cannot do that. By all means I encourage the Admins to have a look at bloodthirsty posts...

But did I alert on others? No. There’s an automatic block on alerting on more than one post in a thread.

However, other people were objecting, as I was, and were upset, as I was, and I simply let them know they had an option.

If talk of killing (“exterminating”) people is the direction the DU community wishes to go, so be it, but I won’t be here if that becomes the case.

[MerryBlooms]

54. There's a limit on how many alerts you can send in a time frame, not how many alerts

can be sent on a thread. I think it's a half hour or hour.

I would encourage you to continue to alert. I agree it's troubling to see folks talk of "exterminating".

[LiberatedUSA]

53. Well, in that regard...

...at least as what I have observed on this site, it seems to me there is a good long list of unspoken rules that can get one’s post hidden. If enough of a team of people observe those unspoken rules, then one can catch a hide even if their post didn’t technically violate any rules.

Those unspoken rules seem to be geared towards two or three very sensitive topics that make it best to simply not post in on those threads, if one has even a small amount of disagreement on the issue.

Even wording a post well, combing over it first won’t help if it angers the right amount of people and gets the right jury.

Removing posts for agreeing, even if the wording didn’t violate the rules, or going after those that liked a thread that angered people (even the suggestion of it) shows this place can get very touchy even for those with thousands and thousands of posts.

I have also noticed that older, pro gun posters with many thousands of posts, can get away with one post that another, low count new poster, would be insta banned for saying the exact same thing in the exact same wording.

This also applies to gun topics in general discussion. It is totally random whether someone will get a bunch of posts that say “get this crap out of general” or will be allowed to stay with many responses.

[MerryBlooms]

56. I get where you're coming from.

I will always post against pro canned hunts, pro trophy hunts, the bs fair hunts. I will risk the hide. My family has always fished and hunted for food. I've spent many summers canning trout and catfish,. My brothers hunt white tail and elk. We have never had to do a fru fru hunt on some bullshit vacation hunt where we had to pay some guy to hunt on his fenced land to make sure the animals were fenced and a sure kill. That is bullshit. Like I said, I will take the hide, but so far, so good... Never know.

DU is awesome, stick with us!

[Hekate]

36. Please Alert

[I_UndergroundPanther]

15. I agree with you

These fucking racists and Nazis won't stop by themselves they have to be stopped by a force bigger than they are. And truthfully I think they have to die to be stopped.
Or a large number of them killed to get the others to stop.
Many German nazis had to die to put a stop to thier vile agenda.

These braindead loyal to fascism fools will destroy everything until they are forced to stop.
I think they're that far gone.

We cannot reason with them.
We cannot work around them.
We can't be safe around them.

How far is too far when dealing with these fascists?

[MerryBlooms]

47. You can't really want folks exterminated for stating views, but they have not

committed violent crimes? Are you a death penalty proponent? I understand the emotional anger, but I won't advocate murdering people. I am wondering if this story is blown up by the media... Look how some media demonized our brothers and sisters in the BLM movement. There were people all across the country blaming BLM for violence and wanting them killed too... NO. No, just no. I will not condone the killing of people on a news story. Just no.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

48. I was referring to if they

Started taking over towns like Nazi marauders killing innocent liberals,
nonwhites and gblt people living there outright.

Then it would be a war.
And we'd have to fight back like it was war.

Until they start doing that to innocent people no need to go exterminating them.

But I do advocate using every law and technique we can to disempower them and make them crawl under the rocks they came out of.
That would be a good idea..

I'm actually kind of scared a war is what they ultimately want tho.

[MerryBlooms]

55. I'm glad you took a minute and rethought agreeing with that post that was removed.

Take care.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

57. I guess I said it all wrong

Sorry.

But the right wing these days really freaks me out. The idea of living under violent fascism is scary too.

[Hekate]

49. How far is too far? Becoming them and making death threats. Either we are a country of laws...

…or we are not.

[underpants]

3. They are going to go local. I've heard lots of chatter on regular talk radio about it

Not surprising but still alarming.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. For the record, Whidbey Island is not part of/connected to Seattle

One lives ON Whidbey Island, with an address of whichever town you live in, this case being Langley, WA.

Also, these right wing goons have to have some money, 'cause Whidbey is very expensive to live on.


The FBI chased down and killed one of the Idaho right wing goons who had fled to Whidbey, back in mid'80's.
Was just down the road from my place at the time

Pretty sure they can come back and get these newest goons if needs be.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

14. Yep Robert Matthews

I used to work on a farm not far from where Matthews was gunned down.

[dixiegrrrrl]

50. I was on a small place on Day road, in Greenbank.

They had the hwy closed by the Greenbank store, and a fire engine was there...I had driven off the ferry just as they were surrounding the area/road/house where he was, which happened to be the road I had lived on about 6 years previously.
Was surprised to hear about the "house fire" that ended it all, but much later started seeing a pattern of standoffs ending in fire.

[maxsolomon]

21. Whidbey NAS and environs has its share of blue-collar whites.

It's not all waterfront weekend homes.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

26. The NAS also makes it more ethnically diverse than most small towns in Washington

My dad was career Navy and retired in Oak Harbor. That racist shit won't hold there.

[maxsolomon]

44. they've got the right to rally and make noise

everyone else has the right to shun them

[OneGrassRoot]

63. I always get the slippery slope argument...

but what if self-professed Neo-Nazis -- the entire group being comprised of Nazis, not merely a percentage as if often the case like in Charlottesville (though I believe every single white supremacist is a Nazi sympathizer at the very least) -- were gathering throughout the country, rallying and making noise.

Do you believe they have the right to do so? At what point does a group's beliefs, steeped in supremacy and violence, pose a credible threat to the general populace and common good and thus even their gathering is clamped down on?

[maxsolomon]

65. I think the Constitution is pretty clear on it.

They can assemble and speak about their fucked-up beliefs, but when it crosses in to violence, then it isn't protected.

It's hard to draw the line between protected speech and incitement, and America doesn't have a history of holding white supremacist speech to account. Like, ever.

We don't have clear laws about speech content like Germany does.

[Hortensis]

34. Yes, hard to imagine all the regular folk who like their island as

it was won't put a stop to this if it's grown to a problem they have to be aware of. Flooding election meetings and taking over is a common tactic of groups too small to win normally. But then they have to hold power against an awakened majority. Legally, also.

Whidby. We once considered moving there, but life took a different direction. Sigh.

[liberalmuse]

5. Damn, I wanted to live there someday.

But last time I went about a year ago there were a lot of right wing signs plastered all over a barn on a short stretch of the drive. There are some real right wing nutters here in WA.

[Initech]

12. I'd start classifying the III%ers the same way we classify ISIS.

I mean there's not much difference between the two.

[jmowreader]

24. About the only thing is the symbol on the door of their church

[obamanut2012]

9. I've also spent time there

Several times. Lovely, and am planning a trip back to the PNW next year and was planning to stay there again. No longer.

[Initech]

10. I'm heavily considering leaving the US in the next four years.

If Trump somehow got reelected that would pretty much seal the deal.

[rickyhall]

27. I often regret I didn't leave 40+ years ago. I fell in love with Vancouver in the 60's.

I got nothing to show for staying here. A kid and grand kids that won't have anything to do with me. That's about it.

[Initech]

52. New Zealand is looking pretty nice.

And especially since I am a college student and business / finance major, I could move there on a student visa. And I am heavily considering doing so.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

13. Raw Story again

Full disclosure. I grew up on Whidbey Island.

The Raw Story article takes you to The Daily Beast which takes you to a Seattle Times article.

Check out the so called crowd at the Freedom to Worship Rally.

[dchill]

17. Any are too many.

[reACTIONary]

35. As a liberal, I would like to point out that...

... we live in a free country. And that "liberal" means "of or related to liberty and freedom".

I take that seriously, for myself and for my fellow Americans.

[reACTIONary]

33. Thanks ... raw story 👎

[trof]

16. This has happened in my neighborhood.

Not militia, trumpers.
Our HOA prohibits political signs.
I like that.
In the past we didn't discuss politics and this was a very friendly and social neighborhood.
We have a clubhouse and had many fun gatherings throughout the year.

Then the trump banners went up in some yards.
Didn't violate the prohibition on yard signs.
Now we are split.
No more social gatherings.
It's sad.

[Ferrets are Cool]

18. I know it's sad, but I would rather know who my enemies are.

[KentuckyWoman]

46. Everything touched by him

Even remotely. It is ruined

[leftyladyfrommo]

64. Our neighborhood is split, too.

There's the "patriots" and the rest of us.

[orangecrush]

20. Field day for the FBI

They'll be joining their seditionist buddies in federal prison.

[Aviation Pro]

23. Oh, look, an AK-47/74 variant

A terrorist's weapon of choice.

[maxsolomon]

25. We had a little Far-Rightist encounter in downtown Poulsbo today

Poulsbo is ittle tourist town on the Kitsap peninsula with waterfront & a Norwegian-themed retail street.

We walked next to a Harley rider riding through town blasting white supremacist rap. the lyrics were pretty explicitly racist and profane. i've listened to my share of gangsta over the decades, but this was straight up inappropriate, and deliberate.

I believe he cued that song up just so everyone would have to hear the lyrics.

[ismnotwasm]

29. Whidbey's economy is tourism, service and military

People from around there are fairly mellow.
That said, I could totally see this happening out there. Those disgusting fuckers are everywhere.

[niyad]

30. Popped up around left wing rallies???

[Ex Lurker]

45. This is a little overblown

One of my relatives lives there. I texted her this article and she said there is a right wing presence, but to say they run the town is a vast overstatement.

[rockfordfile]

58. It sounds like typical terrorist and should be arrested.

[Jedi Guy]

60. Based on the information presented in the article...

What crime have they committed? Please be specific.

[pfitz59]

59. Whidbey is a large island

This is only a very small part

[vercetti2021]

61. Let them have their own little COD cosplay paradise

Big island, tiny (I mean their penis size) population with these weirdos. Let em play their war game fantasies

[nuxvomica]

62. Racists rarely think they are racists, or extremists, extreme

I don't consider myself particularly leftist, for that matter, but others might call me a socialist.

[Blue Owl]

66. Can we find a deserted island somewhere and send them all there?

Let 'em sort themselves out, a la Lord of the Flies...