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Opposing Nationwide Protests Against Police Brutality聽

Fewer antigovernment groups were active in 2020, but we witnessed the mobilization of extremist groups against the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM).

BLM, a nationwide movement aimed at challenging and dismantling the structures of systemic racism, protested the killing of 46-year-old George Floyd, a Minneapolis man by a police officer while being detained on suspicion of buying cigarettes with a fake $20 bill.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽

In response to protests in more than 150 cities, antigovernment groups that have historically been at odds with government agencies experienced division when some factions initially came out in support of the protests.

Early signs of support

In Virginia, the Boogaloo group and militia organization Virginia Knights initially defended the rights of protesters to rally for justice. In a Facebook post shared in June, the 20-year-old leader of the group, Mike Dunn, shared an image of members taking on the role of security for a Black Lives Matter event in South Boston, Virginia. Dunn expanded on his post by saying: 鈥淧rotest was a success and wonderfully peaceful! We stood in support of the protest and were blessed many times by the words from the speakers.鈥�

These calls for police accountability also spilled over into the larger boogaloo movement, a community of far-right antigovernment libertarians who openly call for a second civil war. In an article published by Bellingcat, the internal struggle within the movement.

In Boise, Idaho, antigovernment activist Ammon Bundy voiced support for BLM rallies, , 鈥淵ou must have a problem in your mind if you think somehow the Black Lives Matter is more dangerous than the police.鈥� The Bundy family is best known for their ongoing disputes with the Bureau of Land Management that have resulted in high-profile standoffs between federal officers and Bundy family supporters. 聽

The initial outrage over the killing of George Floyd was even evident in some on the far right, but early signs of support quickly turned into disdain as antigovernment paramilitary organizations and others likened BLM 鈥� including through conspiracies and disinformation - 聽to the anti-fascist movement, or antifa, a loosely organized network of leftwing activists.

Then-President Trump also weighed in on the ongoing protests, but he focused much of his attention on a handful of violent incidents that occurred near peaceful protests. helped shift the antigovernment movement鈥檚 posture toward BLM from one of uneasy support to open antagonism. In late May, describing protesters in Minneapolis as 鈥渢hugs鈥� and saying, 鈥淲hen the looting starts, the shooting starts.鈥�

Shortly thereafter, the Oath Keepers militia, a far-right national vigilante group, took to Facebook to issue a statement reading:

I see some of you conflicted about how to handle what鈥檚 going on in the streets of this country. I too was conflicted but let me say this. Maybe you better read that Oath again it said protect the constitution from all enemies foreign and or here鈥檚 the part you better read slowly鈥� Domestic 鈥� Once these thugs turned to burning, killing and looting, they became domestic enemies.

鈥淎n unsanctioned show of unregulated force鈥�

The Trump administration鈥檚 role in portraying BLM protesters as 鈥渢hugs鈥� only encouraged the mobilization of far-right wing extremists. These actors quickly claimed to their supporters that armed citizens were needed in the streets to protect communities from vandalism and destruction. These groups capitalized on the domestic terrorist narrative to justify vigilantism, a role right-wing militias have historically embraced in their attempts to circumvent the law.

This vigilante narrative served as a rallying cry. The Southern Poverty Law Center has noted at least 50 instances where far-right wing extremists showed up to BLM rallies during the summer. One of the most notable encounters occurred in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Aug. 25, when Kyle Rittenhouse, then 17, traveled from Antioch, Illinois, to 鈥減atrol鈥� the streets, firearm in hand. Police say Rittenhouse shot three people, killing two, after a heated confrontation with BLM protesters.

The event in Kenosha wasn鈥檛 the only incident involving right-wing militants trying to act as ad hoc law enforcement. In June, members of a group calling itself the New Mexico Civil Guard were arrested after they tried to intervene in a shooting incident in Albuquerque. The group, which claimed they weren鈥檛 familiar with the victim or the shooter, were present at the scene brandishing firearms and donning paramilitary attire.

New Mexico Governor . She said, 鈥淭he heavily armed individuals who flaunted themselves at the protest, calling themselves a 鈥榗ivil guard,鈥� were there for one reason: to menace protesters, to present an unsanctioned show of unregulated force.鈥�

On Facebook, antigovernment groups praised the militia activity. 聽After the shooting in Kenosha, Dunn, who had backed the initial BLM cause with his group Virginia Knights, flipped his stance and posted to his page: 鈥淣o Kyle shouldn鈥檛 have been there. Yes he acted in self-defense. No he shouldn鈥檛 be a statist (sic). Yes people can change. Kudos to him for not lying down for a beating.鈥�

Chris Hill, leader of the III% Security Force militia, decried the arrests of the New Mexico Civil Guard members and instead tried to push the notion that antigovernment extremists were unjustly being targeted: 鈥淵ou see this shit?..random dude gets beat with skateboard, mob moves in to knock him out, stab him, and he shot the assailant. So, armed militants are the terrorists! This is a coup guys. Think big picture.鈥�

Over the course of 2020, the right wing increasingly turned their ire toward the Black Lives Matter movement as a perceived counterpoint to antifa. Armed militants will likely continue to make their presence felt at future public protests.

Return to The Year in Hate and Extremism 2020 landing page.

Photo byGetty/AFP/Logan Cyrus