An ax to grind! Tucker Carlson is seen rebuilding his barn-turned-satellite studio after Fox News dismantled his remote set near Maine summer home – as loyalists quit the network to join his new secret venture
Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show Tucker Carlson hard at work at his satellite studio in Woodstock, Maine, as he prepares to launch his new media venture following his unexpected departure from Fox
The ousted host would have started broadcasting his nightly Fox talk show from the remote set for the summer by now, but instead is rebuilding the studio after it was dismantled by the network
‘Fox came in last week and got all their sh*t out of there,’ construction manager Patrick Feeney told DailyMail.com. ‘They took the set and everything, all the equipment, the chairs, the desk, the fake walls’
Workers from Fox News swooped in and dismantled Tucker Carlson’s Maine recording studio just as he was preparing to take his show to Twitter, DailyMail.com has learned exclusively.
And the studio – in a converted barn – will now have to be completely rebuilt after being left in shambles by the network’s crew.
‘Fox came in last week and got all their sh*t out of there,’ Patrick Feeney, who is managing the work, told DailyMail.com.
‘They took the set and everything, all the equipment, the chairs, the desk, the fake walls, everything.’
Now the conservative firebrand is helping work alongside a three-man construction crew at the studio in downtown Woodstock, DailyMail.com’s exclusive photos show.
Ousted Fox News host Tucker Carlson was seen unloading equipment and materials out of his SUV as he carried out construction work at his now defunct satellite studio in Woodstock, Maine last week
Carlson, who was axed by Fox last month, has returned to his summer hometown where he would usually film his long-running nightly talk show remotely for the season, to repair and rebuild his studio after it was dismantled by the network
Sources tell DailyMail.com the political pundit is trying to get his studio back up and running as he prepares to launch his new venture
Carlson, 54, spends his summers in the rural town, 55 miles west of the state capital Augusta, where Fox had built a set in an old barn so he could broadcast the show remotely. He was due to start filming from the satellite studio within a few weeks when he was suddenly fired by the network on April 24.
Tucker has since given his own crew a new job, to get the studio back up and running. But the removal of the original set meant they had to repair the infrastructure.
‘There’s no hardware in place at all,’ Feeney said. ‘There’s not even an infrastructure for a TV studio for a long time.’
Feeney told DailyMail.com that his boss, who spends much of the year in Florida, had only recently returned to Woodstock, where he owns a house on a lake on the outskirts of town.
‘He just got back late last night after meeting with lawyers and all that stuff,’ he said. ‘As you can imagine, he’s very, very busy right now.’
The polarizing host was booted from his top-rated show Tucker Carlson Tonight in late April.
The company gave no official reason why they let their most-watched anchor go, but the decision came just six days after Fox settled with Dominion Voting Systems paying the company $787.5 million in a defamation lawsuit.
One of Tucker’s daughters was seen visiting her father at his studio to drop off packages, one of them being an ax
The political pundit was seen handling an ax and other equipment as he and a three-person construction crew got to work on the studio last week
Carlson was due to start filming at the satellite studio (pictured) for the season when he was abruptly fired on April 24. The network recently traveled to Woodstock to remove the set and the equipment, his local construction manager told DailyMail.com
The conservative firebrand was dressed for a day of work, sporting a checkered flannel, utility vest, pants, and flat bed clogs
One of his daughters was seen helping her father unload items from his SUV, including a brand new ax delivery
Soon after, some of the pre-trial discovery materials leaked, including a slew of incendiary text messages Carlson sent the day after the January 6 storming of the Capitol when he recalled seeing a mob of three white men attacking an ‘Antifa kid’ and said he initially wanted the victim to be killed.
Out of a job while still due to receive a hefty Fox salary through 2025, Carlson didn’t wait long to make his next move.
On May 10, he announced he is launching a new version of his show. He posted a three-minute video on his Twitter page captioned ‘We’re back,’ slamming the mainstream media while telling his followers: ‘Starting soon we’ll be bringing a new version of the show we’ve been doing for the last six and a half years to Twitter.’
Variety reported last week that several Fox anchors have reached out to Carlson expressing their desire to join him when their contracts expire.
The publication also wrote that he is poised to launch the show within a month, with his former senior executive producer Justin Wells – who was fired at the same time as Carlson – on board.
Later in the day Tucker’s wife Susan also swung by the studio for a quick visit to drop off some more packages
There was a lot of work being done to the space throughout the day, with at least three workers coming in and out between sawing wood and working on other various projects
The removal of the original set meant the construction crew has to repair the infrastructure of the studio to get it back up and running
An insider told DailyMail.com that several Fox employees have already quit to join the startup. But according to Carlson’s own construction manager, the new show won’t happen within a month, at least if they’re relying on Woodstock to be the hub.
And as far as he knows, details of any new venture are still being worked out and there is no date yet for launch.
‘We just came to clean it up and get it looking like something again,’ Feeney said. ‘There’s no imminent venture. We’re just getting ready in case something does happen.
‘There’s nothing we’re doing other than cleaning the place up, shoring up the walls, making it look good again.’
A three-man construction crew could be seen last Thursday in the garage sawing wood, extending electrical wires and repeatedly entering the once-and-future studio, while banging away with hammers.
Carlson spent much of his day inside working the phones, dealing with fallout from Fox and plotting his new endeavor.
At one point, he emerged to greet his wife Susan, who drove up to the building in an SUV hauling crates.
Carlson, 54, was dressed down in a brown vest with the sleeves to his red Oxford shirt rolled up, grabbed an axe and drill from the trunk, along with several boxes.
Carlson spent much of his day inside working the phones, dealing with fallout from Fox and plotting his new endeavor
The refurbishing of the set comes as Tucker prepares to launch his own, new media venture following his departure from Fox
A three-man construction crew could be seen Thursday in the garage sawing wood, extending electrical wires and repeatedly entering the former and future studio, while banging away with hammers
He sorted through the items, bringing some into the building and discarding others in a nearby dumpster.
The cable commentator spends summers in the small town near the Sunday River ski resort with his wife. The couple has four children, including son Buckley who is due to get married this month.
Carlson was busy preparing for the wedding as he dealt with work. He also fitted in a fishing trip. He declined an interview request.
Before the Twitter announcement, Carlson’s attorney Bryan Freedman sent an aggressive letter to Fox arguing that the $25million noncompete provision in his contract is no longer valid, which would in turn allow him to launch a competing show, or media entity.
‘We bring some other things too, which we’ll tell you about,’ Carlson stated on the video. ‘But for now we’re just grateful to be here. Free speech is the main right that you have. Without it, you have no others.’
Afterwards, Elon Musk – who purchased the platform last October – clarified that he had not signed a deal with Carlson, and like other creators on the platform, the political host would generate his own revenue from advertising.
For all of 2022, Carlson averaged 3.03 million viewers, second only to Fox’s ‘The Five’ as the most popular program on cable television
The Fox News star was due to start filming locally in his studio in just a couple weeks when he was fired on April 24
Both Susan and their four kids have tried to stay out of the limelight over the years, and none of them use social media
‘I also want to be clear that we have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators,’ Musk tweeted.
It has also been revealed that Carlson had a conversation with Musk about working together.
The billionaire Tesla and SpaceX chief executive added that he would like to see others, especially those who lean left, follow Carlson’s lead.
The Twitter show would seem to violate Carlson’s contract with Fox, but his attorneys’ claim in their letter that Fox breached the contract first.
Carlson’s contract technically runs through January 2025, and Fox reportedly wants to keep paying him until then, which would prevent him from starting a rival show.
Freedman’s letter indicates that Fox employees, including ‘Rupert Murdoch himself,’ broke promises made to Carlson ‘intentionally and with reckless disregard for the truth.’
Specifically, the letter alleged that Fox broke an agreement with Carlson not to leak his private communications to the media and not to use Carlson’s private messages ‘to take any adverse employment action against him.’
Tucker Carlson seen doing construction work on his former satellite studio after Fox departure
“Mercy Rule”: CNN Abruptly Cut Trump Town Hall Short by Twenty Minutes | The Gateway Pundit | by Kristinn Taylor
CNN cut short the network’s town hall with President Trump Wednesday night by twenty minutes after Trump, backed by a wildly supportive audience (hand picked by CNN), took control of the forum from anchor Kaitlan Collins right from the start and never let up. The live event at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire was scheduled to run from 8 p.m. EDT until 9:30 p.m., however right before 9:10 p.m. Collins abruptly ended the town hall.
President Trump smiles as he walks on stage at start of CNN town hall, screen image.
Good evening. Follow our updates as Donald Trump participates in a ‘town hall’ during which he will face questions from a live audience. The 90-minute event comes one day after a civil jury found the former US President liable for the sexual abuse of writer E Jean Carroll. Mr Trump reacted to that finding by posting on his Truth Social app that the case was a “witch hunt” and that he had “absolutely no idea who this woman is”. Expect further defensive comments when Mr Trump takes the stage in New Hampshire tonight. The event will be moderated by former chief White House correspondent and CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins.
Puck’s Dylan Byers reported on CNN cutting the town hall short, “Note: The CNN Town Hall was a 90 minute broadcast, though the network expected the actual event to go as long as 75 minutes. They stopped less than 70 minutes in. In other words, they could have gone longer if they wanted—which is usually what executives do with big ratings draws”
Exchanges like these were why CNN threw in the towel.
Breitbart’s Joel Pollak observed the audience was laughing at Collins, “The @CNN audience is laughing at Kaitlin Collins because she keeps trying to squeeze Trump’s answers into her preconceived categories. It’s stupid and, yes, it is funny to laugh at her doing that.”
Clip where audience laughs at Collins:
Earlier Wednesday, Dylan Byers reported CNN was set to promote Collins to host of her own prime time show.
Collins was so confident and loaded for bear at the outset.
Last word to Steve Bannon, “First Time Ever ‘Mercy Rule’ Invoked…”
He argued that Carlson‘s takes over the years on issues such as environmental, social, and governance scores may have led the firm, which manages trillions of dollars, to pressure Fox to let him go.
“Wanna get to the bottom of anything? Follow the money,” Higbie began. “The abrupt departure of Tucker Carlson has raised some questions, some that deserve to be looked at … There is a company called BlackRock. It’s the world’s largest investment firm, with about $8.5 trillion under management.”
Higbie went on to quote a story from Forbes that suggested Carlson’s openly anti-ESG agenda “courted controversy by taking on … BlackRock, which has been a leading advocate for ESG investing.”
The NewsMax host showed a number of clips in which his former Fox News counterpart slammed the concept of ESG, saying, “The poorer you get, the more suffering there is, the higher your ESG score, and that’s important because companies will not invest unless you have a high ESG score.”
Higbie pointed out that in the months following Carlson’s attacks on ESG, a number of states pulled their pension investments from BlackRock, causing the investment firm to lose a substantial amount of money. Then in February 2023, BlackRock announced that it had acquired 15 percent in Fox Corporation stock, which according to Forbes was “enough to get a seat at the table.”
Higbie also highlighted the fact that Carlson often went after big pharma and the arms industry, both of which BlackRock was heavily invested in.
“There is no proof that BlackRock fired Tucker Carlson, and I am certainly not asserting that,” he concluded. “I just think it’s an interesting trail of money.”
Fox News lost in the primetime ratings in the 25-to-54 year old demographic without Tucker Carlson hosting the 8 PM Eastern slot, with both CNN and MSNBC topping Carlson’s interim replacement in the demo on Tuesday.
On Monday, April 24, with Brian Kilmeade piloting the renamed Fox News Tonight at 8 PM, the network hemorrhaged about 600,000 viewers from the previous Tucker-hosted Monday. Kilmeade’s poor performance resulted in Fox News actually losing the 25-to-54-year-old demographic in the primetime (8 p to 11 pm) period. MSNBC beat Fox News in primetime in the demo with about 247,000 viewers to Fox News’ 245,000, according to market data.
Things got worse for Fox News on Tuesday. Brian Kilmeade dropped to a paltry figure of about 1.7 million total viewers and he actually lost in the 8 pm timeslot among 25-to-54 year olds, picking up only about 149,000 demo viewers while Anderson Cooper nabbed about 163,000 on CNN and even Chris Hayes got about 162,000, according to market data.
Tucker Carlson was a ratings juggernaut who smashed the all-time record in July 2020 as the highest-rated cable news host ever. So obviously, Fox News was not operating based on market considerations when the network reportedly fired Carlson, forcing Tucker to leave after a historic run in primetime. Tucker’s truth-telling obviously got in the way of Fox News’ globalist neoconservative political agenda. Former network booker Abby Grossberg did not care for Carlson’s desire to use television to wield political power, which his viewers clearly wanted him to do.
Undeterred, Tucker Carlson dropped a new monologue Wednesday night disparaging the television industry and hinting at brighter horizons ahead.
Tucker Carlson delivered a powerful speech over the weekend that warned how conventional politics was failing to address the anti-human policies being pushed by the establishment.
Carlson’s now-viral speech resurfaced Monday because it accurately explained how transgenderism is child mutilation, how the pro-abortion argument has devolved into advocating child sacrifice, and how both the federal government & corporate push to both resembles evil.
Watch his speech below where he even calls for people to pray for America:
“Good is characterized by order, calmness, tranquility, peace, lack of conflict, and cleanliness,” said Carlson Friday at the 50th anniversary of the Heritage Foundation. “Evil is characterized by the opposites: violence, hate, disorder, division, disorganization, and filth.”
“If you are all-in on the things that produce the latter basket of outcomes, what you’re really advocating for is evil.”
Carlson went on to explain how the side that doesn’t want to debate is the same side advocating for ideas – like castrating children – that any rational person would never want under any circumstances.
“These are manifestations of some larger force acting upon us,” said Carlson. “It’s obvious!”
“I’m not calling for a religious war, I’m calling for an acknowledgment of what’s happening.”
Tucker Carlson has the top rated cable news show in the country right now, and there’s a good reason for that. He is genuine and honest.
Tucker is doing something that almost no one else in media does. He invites people who are ignored by the rest of the media onto his show and actually listens to them.
He recently appeared on a podcast and was asked what his greatest regret is, in terms of working in media. His answer may surprise you.
CARLSON: I’ve spent my whole life in the media, my dad was in the media. That is a big part of the revelation that’s changed my life is that the media are part of the control appartus.
(crosstalk)
Yeah, I know, cause your younger and smarter, and you’re like “yeah.”
But what if you’re me and you spent your whole life in that world, and to look around and all the sudden you’re like “oh wow,” not only are they part of the problem, but I spent most of my life being part of the problem. Defending the Iraq War, like I actually did that. Can you imagine if you did that?
CARLSON: For too long, I participated in the culture where I was like, “anyone who thinks outside these pre-prescribed lanes is crazy, is a conspiracy theorist.” And I just really regret that, I’m ashamed that I did that.
Watch the video below:
Other people in media never talk like this.
Has a single member of the liberal media ever apologized for pushing the Russia collusion lie? Of course not. Some of them even seem to still believe it.
This is one of the things that sets Tucker apart. He is willing to be candid and admit his mistakes. It’s an admirable quality for someone working in media.
BREAKING: Police Body Cam Video Released of Paul Pelosi Attack – PELOSI WAS IN HIS UNDERWEAR, HOLDING A DRINK – GRAPHIC VIDEO
San Francisco court officials announced late Thursday that they will release the Paul Pelosi attack video on Friday morning.
On Friday morning at 9 AM Pacific Time, 12 noon Eastern, the court released footage to reporters.
The court released the 911 call and the video of the alleged attack.
A San Francisco judge on Wednesday granted a motion to release SFPD body cam footage of the Paul Pelosi attack and other evidence sought by a coalition of news organizations.
The coalition includes the Associated Press, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Press Democrat, CNN, Fox News, CBS, ABC, NBC, and KQED.
Pelosi opened the door and looked calm holding the hammer and holding a drink in his underwear.
Pelosi did not scream for help and did not run from the house.
October 25, 2022 at 04:50PM Watch: Trump Supporters Drop Jan. 6 Truth Bombs On MSNBC
An MSNBC discussion with Pittsburgh-area Trump supporters that aired Monday morning highlights how average conservatives really feel about January 6th.
While mainstream media and Democrat politicians continue to push the narrative that the massive protest was “worse than 9/11” or the attack on Pearl Harbor, these working-class Republicans showed they understand what actually took place.
For example, when MSNBC host Elise Jordan told the focus group Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano was “at the insurrection” and that he breached “a restricted area,” one man explained Capitol Police were filmed removing barriers and holding open doors for demonstrators to enter the building.
“They opened the gates and let them in,” one man said, with another guy noting Mastriano “didn’t strike anybody” and “didn’t hurt anybody.”
A woman in the focus group pointed out the only person who died on January 6th was the unarmed female protester Ashli Babbitt, and the MSNBC analyst incorrectly claimed, “A police officer did die.”
Explaining the facts to the mainstream media reporter, a couple of the Trump supporters said officer Brian Sicknick died of a stroke the day after the incident, which is accurate.
Perhaps realizing she was not as informed as the focus group, Jordan moved on and asked what they thought about January 6th overall.
Avoiding falling for the bait, several of the Trump voters said the scene on Jan. 6th was nothing compared to the BLM riots of the summer before where cities were burned to the ground, billions of dollars in damages was caused and dozens of people were killed.
One woman noted “antifa” was spotted instigating the violence at the Capitol on January 6th as well.
The Pittsburgh conservatives also criticized the Biden administration for holding several individuals in jail as political prisoners despite the fact they never committed any vandalism or assault on the infamous day.
Next, the mainstream media reporter asked the group if they think President Trump could have stopped the violence.
Again proving to be more knowledgeable on the subject than Jordan, the GOP voters informed MSNBC viewers the initial breach of the Capitol took place while Trump was still speaking and that he specifically advocated for a “peaceful” rally.
The overload of truth in the brief segment was too much to handle for MSNBC, which brought on a panel of eight left-wing propagandists to pick apart the claims.
Joe and Mika Scarborough of MSNBC‘s “Morning Joe,” Democrat charlatan Reverand Al Sharpton and a slew of others chimed in.
Hypocrite Joe Scarborough was upset the conservatives called the Jan. 6th protests “mostly peaceful,” which is obviously the phrase used by the left throughout the George Floyd BLM riots that caused more death and damage than Jan. 6th by far.
Flat-out lying to his audience, Joe then said, “There were four cops who died” on January 6th.
Joe Scarborough misled the MSNBC audience by making that statement when in reality, officer Brian Sicknick died of a stroke over 24 hours after the protest, officer Jeffrey Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department killed himself on January 15 and officer Howard S. Liebengood of the Capitol Police died by suicide four days after Jan. 6th.
Two Metropolitan Police Department officers who responded to the Capitol on Jan. 6 committed suicide in July, six months after January 6th.
The “Morning Joe” host admitted he has many friends who hold the same views about the Capitol incident as the GOP focus group and said he can’t discuss the topic with them if he wants them to remain friends, “Because they’ve been lied to.”
Yes, the person who just lied minutes earlier about four police officers dying due to the January 6th protest says his friends are being lied to.
Mainstream media is too out of touch with reality to understand the segment backfired and exposed MSNBC content as the low-IQ drivel it truly is.
Of course, the big fish the left is using Jan. 6th to go after is Donald Trump.
• To see the 2021 groups broken down by state click here.
Top takeaways
The Intelligence Project identified 488 extreme antigovernment groups that were active in 2021, down from 566 in 2020. Of these groups, 92 were militias, 75 sovereign citizen, three constitutional sheriff, and 52 conspiracy propagandist groups. The number of antigovernment groups peaked in the 2010s and has declined since, but the current decrease in organized group numbers is not reflective of a lack of broad support or activity. In 2021, the conspiratorial and permanently dubious view of government was pervasive, as evidence by the movement’s popularity on such issues as COVID-19 regulations, local school curriculum, the “Big Lie” voter fraud, border security and various technological advances such as 5G cell service. Antigovernment imagery, such as the Gadsden flag and the Three Percenter logo, was commonly displayed by adherents across the country. Antigovernment groups were linked up with other hard-right groups in 2021, as they often targeted the same marginalized communities and engaged in actual or threats of political violence.
The Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and attempt to stop the democratic transfer of power through the formalized counting of electoral votes was the most public moment for the antigovernment movement since the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. Of the over 700 people charged with offenses ranging from trespassing to seditious conspiracy for the actions on Jan. 6, at least 25 were members of identified antigovernment organizations.
Faced with greater scrutiny and deplatforming, antigovernment groups reorganized and were dispersed in communities focused on localized activities – a mainstay tactic of the antigovernment movement. Some local chapters of national organizations disbanded or unaffiliated, including chapters of Oath Keepers, the American Patriots Three Percent, III% United Patriots, the Three Percenters/III%ers, and the State of Jefferson Formation.
Ammon Bundy’s People’s Rights activists held a variety of small-scale demonstrations for individual grievances and organized a series of stunts disobeying COVID-19 public health measures, one resulting in Bundy’s arrest, throughout 2021.
In the Southwest, militias and other extremists set up camps in the desert engaging in vigilante activities including harassing migrants and humanitarian aid groups and coordinating with border patrol agents.
Conspiracy propagandists, including the John Birch Society, found a niche audience with COVID-19 vaccine skeptics, using existing antigovernment mistrust and a historical relationship with the natural-health sector to push the conspiracies around population and government control. Likewise, constitutional sheriff organizations promoted COVID-19 conspiracy theories and refused to enforce health guidelines enacted by their lawmakers. Some of these sheriffs teamed up at events alongside QAnon adherents, antisemites and sovereign citizens.
The coalescing of QAnon adherents with sovereign citizens, constitutional sheriffs and militia members, along with conspiracy minded anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers, has produced an environment where groups can openly recruit and market their ideas to each other and the general public.
Key moments
John Birch Society (JBS) founded, 1958: The organization is dedicated to opposing communism.
Ruby Ridge Standoff, August 1992: An 11-day standoff with the Weaver family and law enforcement occurred in Boundary County, Idaho. United States Marshals moved to arrest Randy Weaver under a warrant, Weaver refused and a standoff insured. Weaver’s son and wife, and a Deputy U.S. Marshall were all killed.
Oklahoma City Bombing, April 19, 1995: Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols bomb the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The bombing killed at least 168 people and injured at least 680 additional individuals.
Conspiracy website WorldNetDaily (WND) is founded in 1997.
Printz v. U.S., June 27, 1997: The U.S. Supreme Court sides with Sheriff Mack and Ravalli County Sheriff/Coroner Jay Printz in their case against a provision of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act.
Infowars founded, 1999: Infowars is founded, and with antigovernment conspiracy theorist and supplement salesman Alex Jones it goes on to craft and nurture the conspiracy theories that animate the antigovernment movement.
Cliven Bundy’s Battle at Bunkerville, July 10, 2014: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department engaged in a four-day standoff against Cliven Bundy and his antigovernment followers over unpaid cattle grazing fees. The standoff ended when the BLM withdrew to avoid a violent clash with antigovernment supporters.
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Occupation, Jan. 2, 2016: Antigovernment adherents, including Ammon Bundy, and militia members descended onto the Malheur National wildlife refuge for a 41-day standoff with law enforcement in an attempt to get the Federal Government to hand over public lands to states.
Arivaca murders, May 30, 2009: Shawna Forde, leader of the militant group Minutemen American Defense (MAD), coordinated an attempted home invasion turned double homicide when members of the group killed Raul Flores and his 9-year-old daughter Brisenia. Forde and one other member were sentenced to death while a third member was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the killings.
The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) Rally in Richmond, January 2020: The event brought together extreme antigovernment militia groups alongside other Second Amendment absolutists. Joining nearly 400 localities in 20 states, 120 localities in Virginia declared themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries.”
Rally hosted in part by American Patriot Council’s Ryan Kelley in Michigan’s capitol, April 30, 2020: Attendees stormed the statehouse, many of them armed. Brothers William and Michael Null, members of the Wolverine Watchmen militia, were there.
Shooting of Jacob Blake by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, August 2020: Black Lives Matter protests occur throughout the state. Militias came out to counter them. Kyle Rittenhouse is accused of shooting three people, killing two. He received an outpouring of support from the far right.
Michigan Kidnapping Plot, Oct. 8, 2020: Members of the Wolverine Watchmen, along with members of the Michigan Militia, were arrested by the FBI and Michigan State Police after plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Jan. 6 Insurrection, Jan. 6, 2021: Violent domestic extremists, including antigovernment militias such as the Oath Keepers, stormed the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., in an attempt to stop the certification of the results from the 2020 general election. Members of the group face multiple federal charges. At least five people died in connection with the attack. Among those arrested were members of the Proud Boys, the Three Percenter movement and the Oath Keepers. Attacks by antigovernment militia groups also took place at state Capitol buildings in Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Red Pill Festivals in Montana and South Dakota, June and July 2021: Conspiracy theorists and lawmakers gather for regional events. Organizations represented include John Birch Society, Redoubt News, Connecting the Dots, and Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers. Speakers include Alex Newman, Caleb Collier, Bill Jasper, Matt Shea, Idaho Rep. Heather Scott, Joey Gibson, John Jacob Schmidt, G. Edward Griffin, Dan Happel and Richard Mack.
Throughout summer 2021, Ammon Bundy’s People’s Rights Network threatens a standoff in Klamath Falls in Dan Nielsen and Grant Knoll protest water rights with The Klamath Tribes (Klamath-Modoc-Yahooskin).
Arise USA: Faith, Family, Freedom, May-Sept. 2021: Arise USA claims they made an 85-stop tour promoting the “Big Lie,” QAnon, COVID-19 conspiracies, 9/11 antisemitic conspiracies, and County Supremacy. The tour is organized by Robert David Steele who died from COVID-19 in fall 2021. Speakers included Richard Mackand Kevin Jenkins. Steele was a former CIA agent, 2016 Libertarian candidate for president, and holocaust denier.
Patriot Network Summit, July 30-Aug. 1, 2021: In Dugspur, Virginia,John Pierce, attorney for Jan. 6 Defendantsjoins Jeanette Finicum and health conspiracy theorists for an event focused on the Malheur standoff, while introducing the additional martyrdom of the Jan. 6 arrestees and opposition to national COVID-19 health efforts.
ReAwaken America Health and Freedom Tour, July-Oct. 2021: QAnon conspiracy theorists gather with other antigovernment activists in Michigan, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and California. Speakers include Clay Clark, Mike Flynn, Roger Stone, Gene Hoe, Richard Mack, (Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association), Joe Oltmann, (FEC United) and Artur Pawlowski (Canadian Black Robe Regiment pastor).
Sanctuary Church’s Rod of Iron Freedom Festival, October 2021: Antigovernment and hard-right leaders came together in Greeley, Pennsylvania,to promote guns and conspiracies. Speakers included Steve Bannon, Joey Gibson, Rep. Rick Saccone, and Dan Fisher and Gary Haskell of the “Black Robed Regiment.”
For God & Country Patriot Double Down 2021, October 2021: In Las Vegas Nevada antigovernment activists hold a rally promoting QAnon and other conspiracies. Speakers include Amy and John Sabal, Mike Flynn, Ron Watkins, Gene Ho, Jordan Sather, Zak Paine, Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers, Arizona state Sen. Mark Finchem and former Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Sheriff David Clarke.
What’s ahead
The antigovernment movement will look to expand upon the broad popularity of foundational ideas related to guns, government distrust and conspiracy theories. They will continue to capitalize on the current issues related to public health guidance, local school curriculum and practices, control of natural resources, claims of election fraud, immigration and national security. They will particularly seek to further mainstream their ideas and operationalize their power by running for office in large numbers from the local to federal level.
The movement will also seek to mitigate the damage to their brand in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection. Particularly, movement leaders will want to shift the media narrative and deflect legal, law-enforcement and public scrutiny. If historical trends are a guide, the movement could also see growth in response to federal government expansion and policy shifts under Biden.
Background
Antigovernment groups are part of the antidemocratic hard-right movement. They believe the federal government is tyrannical and they traffic in conspiracy theories about an illegitimate government of leftist elites seeking a “New World Order.” Adherents and critics have in the past referred to this movement as the “Patriot” movement.
A particularly prominent conspiracy in the antigovernment movement – and one conspiracy propagandist groups often push – involves an effort to create a New World Order through a One World Government, often facilitated by the United Nations in order to institute communism/socialism and take away private property rights. Another conspiracy alleges that there are plans to merge the United States, Canada and Mexico into a single country. Other notable conspiracies include the idea that the federal government is secretly planning to round up citizens and place them in concentration camps run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Fears of impending gun control or weapons confiscations, either by the government or international agencies, also run rampant in antigovernment circles.
These conspiracy theories identify grievances, both real and imagined, and demonize groups they deem responsible for them. Conspiracy propagandists offer simple answers to complex problems, but often stop short of offering a specific solution to the threats, instead hinting at actions to be taken by movement members while being careful to maintain plausible deniability. Groups including The John Birch Society, WorldNetDaily (WND) and InfoWars are crucial to the antigovernment extremist movement in that they help craft and nurture the very conspiracy theories that animate the movement’s activists.
The antigovernment movement has experienced waves of popularity, including the 1990s. In 1996, the year after the Oklahoma City bombing, 858 groups were documented active in the U.S. Timothy McVeigh, one of the Oklahoma City bombers, was motivated by extreme antigovernment beliefs then circulating in the militia movement. He was also inspired by the racist novel The Turner Diaries, modeling his attack on a scene from the book. The antigovernment movement of the 1990s, typified by the proliferation of militias, was fueled by a string of incidents, including the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff, the 1993 Branch Davidian Waco compound siege and the 1996 Montana Freemen standoff. Other factors included the struggling economy in the early 1990s, particularly in Western states, and the election of President Bill Clinton, who was characterized by antigovernment activists as a liberal intent on seizing their weapons. Similarly, the in the last 2000s and 2010s the antigovernment was animated by the Tea Party movement, with both national and local groups mobilizing resentment around the economic challenges of the great recession and in opposition to the presidency of Barack Obama.
The militia movement engages in paramilitary training aimed at protecting citizens from this feared impending government crackdown. Militia groups often engage in firearm and field training, maintain an internal hierarchical command structure, are obsessed with guns and the Second Amendment, and are often opposed to immigration. Notable groups have included the Wolverine Watchman, Ohio Defense Force; Hutaree Militia, Oath Keepers, Minutemen American Defense, Militia of Montana and various Three Percenter-affiliated groups. The Wolverine Watchman were charged in connection to the 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Both Oath Keepers and Three Percenter group members have been arrested for charges relating to the Jan. 6 insurrection. Three Percenter groups adhere to the dubious historical claim that only 3% of American colonists fought against the British during the War of Independence.
The Oath Keepers were founded in 2009 by Elmer Stewart Rhodes, a veteran army paratrooper, law school graduate and former Ron Paul congressional staffer. Like some antigovernment groups and activists such as Jack McLamb’s Police Against the New World Order, Oath Keepers primarily recruits current and former law enforcement, military and first-responder personnel, though they also accept civilians. Unlike many other militia groups that are local, geographically-based groups, Oath Keepers has a centralized hierarchical leadership and tiered structure at national, state and local levels.
A small but influential and foundational segment of the antigovernment movement is the constitutional sheriff movement. These groups adhere to the concept of county supremacy and the idea that the county sheriff as the ultimate law enforcement authority in the United States. This idea was pioneered in the 1970s and described as Posse Comitatus. The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association is the largest and oldest national constitutional sheriff organization. The second tenet of county supremacy centers on the idea that county government should have control of all the land within its borders, taking this power away from the state and federal government. Antigovernment groups who focus on this tenet are often active in the anti-public lands movement popular in the Western U.S., also known as the Sagebrush Rebellion or Wise Use movement in previous decades.
Sovereign citizens, a subset of the antigovernment movement, believe that they, not judges, juries, law enforcement or elected officials, get to decide which laws to obey and which to ignore, and they think they shouldn’t have to pay taxes. Sovereign citizen ideology is highly conspiratorial, and they are best known for clogging up the courts with indecipherable filings and liens targeting public officials. Sovereign citizens are frequently engaged in criminal activity and have been violent when confronted, particularly against government officials such as police officers. Some concerning groups are part of a subset of sovereign citizens termed Moorish sovereign citizens.
The antigovernment movement has also included groups whose focus was on tax protest and survivalism. While groups associated with both segments still exist, their prevalence has diminished in recent years. As the antigovernment movement has changed in the last 50 years, different segments have either grown or shrunk, but the key conspiracies and ideas are always taken up by other antigovernment groups and often reemerge later.
Three Percenters
Percenterism is one of three core components within the antigovernment militia movement, along with the Oath Keepers and traditional militia groups. The reference to 3% stems from the dubious historical claim that only 3% of American colonists fought against the British during the War of Independence.
Oath Keepers
The Oath Keepers, another core component of the militia movement, was founded in 2009 by Elmer Stewart Rhodes, a veteran army paratrooper, Yale Law School graduate and former Ron Paul congressional staffer. It primarily recruits current and former law enforcement, military and first-responder personnel, though it also accepts civilians. Unlike Three Percenterism, Oath Keepers was conceived as an organization with hierarchical leadership at national, state and local levels, one committed to establishing a network of activists it hopes will lay the groundwork for the creation of state militias.
Conspiracy Propagandists
The John Birch Society, World Net Daily and InfoWars are crucial to the antigovernment extremist movement in that they help craft and nurture the very conspiracy theories that animate the movement’s activists, such as Oath Keepers and Three Percenters. These conspiracy theories identify grievances, both real and imagined, and demonize groups they deem responsible for them. Conspiracy propagandists often stop just short of offering a solution to the threats, instead leaving action up to movement members while being careful to maintain plausible deniability. These conspiracy theories generate a sense of urgency in the “Patriot” movement that can lead to criminal activity, including terrorism.
To see the 2021 groups broken down by category, click the links here:
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