Patriot Front sued; New Mexico Civil Guard shut down: The week in extremism

It was a bad week in court for extremist groups. The Texas-headquartered white supremacist organization Patriot Front has been hit with a lawsuit from the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Meanwhile, in New Mexico, a militia group has been ordered to disband and slapped with a fine, and the Oath Keepers Jan. 6 trial continues.

It’s the week in extremism.

Patriot Front sued

White supremacist organization Patriot Front is the target of the latest lawsuit from the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The activist group and private attorneys are suing the Texas-headquartered hate group on behalf of residents of Richmond, Virginia, alleging Patriot Front members violated their civil rights when the group vandalized a Richmond mural honoring Black tennis great Arthur Ashe last year.

Patriot Front has caused a stir elsewhere in the country since then, particularly when members ended up being arrested in Idaho in June.  

Patriot Front:White supremacist group charged with planning ‘riot’ at Idaho Pride event

• The Lawyers’ Committee has a long history of suing extremist groups on behalf of local residents or organizations affected by hateful activity. Last year, the group sued the extremist group the Proud Boys and its then-chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio for vandalism during protests in Washington, D.C., in late 2020. That lawsuit is ongoing.
• In June, 31 members of Patriot Front were arrested while traveling in a U-Haul van allegedly to disrupt a Pride event in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. The group was also deeply exposed by a leak of its private messages earlier this year.
• Patriot Front is mostly known for spray-painting white supremacist propaganda and leafleting communities with racist flyers. It also holds occasional public appearances, where members dress in uniform and carry flags.
• Damages: The Lawyers Committee lawsuit claims the Patriot Front vandalism created “anger, fear and intimidation” in the neighborhood where the Ashe mural was vandalized, resulting in residents reducing their use of the local park.

New Mexico ‘militia’ ordered to cease activity        

A superior court judge has ordered the New Mexico Civil Guard, an armed paramilitary group, to cease publicly acting like a law enforcement agency or an unauthorized military force. 

A first: Experts say it’s the first example nationwide of a nongovernmental so-called “militia” group being banned by the courts. 

• The civil case stems from the NMCG’s activity during protests in 2020, when members of the group showed up armed and in fatigues to “protect” a statue of Juan de Oñate, the Spanish conquistador and colonial governor of New Mexico, in Old Town Albuquerque. 
• The case has also been something of a spectacle, with the group’s leader arriving for a deposition in “what appeared to be a Civil War era suit and overcoat” and carrying a copy of the conspiracy-theory classic “Behold a Pale Horse.” He said he “shredded and burned everything regarding the structure of the New Mexico Civil Guard” and “poured bleach on the hard drive of my laptop and then burned it.”

We wrote about this case in detail last year at USA TODAY, and detailed how armed militia groups like the NMCG are, technically, illegal in all 50 states. 

The ruling this week is groundbreaking, Georgetown University expert Mary McCord told USA TODAY, because it’s the first time a local district attorney has used their enforcement authority against a ‘militia’ group. The case sends a signal to local prosecutors around the country that civil actions like this can effectively shut down troublesome local militia groups, McCord said   

‘Militia’ on trial:New Mexico DA sues unauthorized militia group, then goes after Facebook for records to prove his case

‘Militias’ are illegal:Armed ‘militias’ are illegal. Will authorities crack down? 

Learn about the Oath Keepers on trial

The high-profile trial continues of members of the extremist group the Oath Keepers, who were charged with seditious conspiracy for their actions in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. USA TODAY has been following the trial every day (get up to speed on the case here).

This week, USA TODAY reporter Ella Lee takes a look at the Oath Keepers on trial alongside the group’s infamous leader Stewart Rhodes.

• The other defendants include a bar owner, a car dealership general manager, a welder and a retired military intelligence officer, Lee reports.
• While prosecutors have sought to portray the Oath Keepers as well-organized, militant revolutionaries, defense attorneys have tried to humanize them, Lee reports, “pointing to age-related ailments, social media aversion and gender identity as evidence they’re not as dangerous or calculating as the government makes them out to be.”