Friend,
SPLC Chief of Staff Lecia Brooks testified today before the U.S. House
Armed Services Committee about how the military has long failed to
adequately address far-right extremism in the ranks. Brooks outlined
the history of white supremacist ideology within the military,
discussed the SPLC's research finding that dozens of former and
active-duty military members participate in some of the
country's most dangerous white supremacist groups and urged
lawmakers to take action. Read the full written testimony here to
learn more about the state of far-right extremism in the Armed Forces
and review our recommendations to Congress.
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In her testimony, Brooks clarified that the vast majority of those who
serve in our Armed Forces have no connection to white supremacy or
extremism and strive to uphold the best traditions of our
nation's democratic ideals. However, the military has a growing
problem with white supremacy and extremism - because our country
does. The surging white nationalist movement presents a serious danger
to our country and its cherished institutions. It also poses a danger
to our security by threatening the morale and well-being of those
serving in our Armed Forces.
This is not a new problem.
We've been documenting white supremacist infiltration of the
military and urging officials to take action since 1986. That year, we
wrote Defense Secretary Weinberger and exposed the fact that
active-duty Marines at Camp Lejeune were participating in paramilitary
Ku Klux Klan activities and stealing military weaponry. One in five of
those arrested in connection with the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol
insurrection has served, or is serving, in the military. These numbers
show a stark failure to prevent servicemembers from acting upon
extremist ideologies.
Veterans and servicemembers are high-value recruitment targets for
extremist groups. They bring social capital, legitimacy, specialized
weapons training, leadership skills and an increased capacity for
violence to these groups. Over the last several years, our researchers
and journalists have identified dozens of former and active-duty
military personnel among the membership of some of the country's
most dangerous and violent white supremacist groups. Those groups
include:
* The Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi group whose members have
allegedly been responsible for five murders since 2017;
* The Boogaloo movement, from which three former members of the
military were charged with planning to use gas-filled canisters
and Molotov cocktails at a protest against the killing of George
Floyd; and
* The Base. A number of individuals affiliated with this violent
white nationalist group have military ties - including two
trained soldiers, one from the United States and one from
Canada. The SPLC has analyzed more than 80 hours of calls
between Base recruits and the group's leadership and found
that roughly 20% of recruits claimed to have military
experience. This number is consistent with other studies.
We've been sounding this alarm for over 30 years. Today, we
sounded the alarm again.
We hope that Congress will take swift action to counter the growing
threat of far-right extremism within the military. In our testimony,
we urged the Department of Defense (DOD) to expand and clarify
existing prohibitions against advocating for, or involvement in,
supremacist or extremist activity while protecting whistleblowers and
requiring strong internal reporting.
Additionally, the DOD should immediately rename the 10 U.S. Army bases
named for Confederate leaders. We applaud the current Marine Corps and
Navy prohibitions against the display of the Confederate battle flag
and other racist symbols and urge the Defense Department to apply
these regulations across all service branches.
Finally, we urged Congress to expand support services that work to
deradicalize active-duty servicemembers and veterans reentering
civilian life.
Our work tracking hate and extremist groups is possible because of
people like you who support our movement to dismantle white supremacy,
strengthen intersectional movements and advance the human rights of
all people. Please consider making a special donation to the
SPLC today to help us continue our work in partnership with
communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional
movements and advance the human rights of all people.
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Thank you for all that you do. We are so grateful for your ongoing
support that makes it possible to continue building a just and
equitable world for all.
Sincerely,
Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center
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