Image: A far-right militia member and a police officer in Stone Mountain, Georgia, August 2020.

2024

David Martin Davies: Constitutional sheriffs wrongly claim absolute power.

David Gilbert: Far-Right Sheriffs Want a Citizen Army to Stop ‘Illegal Immigrant’ Voters: Speakers at a conference for Constitutional Sheriffs claimed that militias need to patrol polling stations to stop the “expected flood” of immigrant voters.

Jake Hanrahan & Ali Winston: He Was an FBI Informant—and Inspired a Generation of Violent Extremists:Joshua Caleb Sutter infiltrated far-right extremist organizations as a confidential FBI informant, all while promoting hateful ideologies that influenced some of the internet’s most violent groups.

Jessica Pishko: The Unchecked Power Of Sheriffs.

Brad Reed: Ohio sheriff asks supporters to ‘write down’ addresses of Kamala Harris supporters.

Paul Rosenberg: Who created the “constitutional sheriff” myth? Hint: It’s not in the Constitution. Author Jessica Pishko on how two Arizona sheriffs created an entire mythology — and a dangerous movement.

Tracy Samilton: Far-right group has members running for sheriff in at least 5 Michigan counties in Tuesday primary.

WKYC: Portage County sheriff: ‘Write down the addresses’ of Kamala Harris supporters who display yard signs.

Brandy Zadrozny: A sheriff, a felon and a conspiracy theorist walk into a hotel. They’re there for the same conference.The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association is urging lawmen to form posses, seize voting machines and investigate baseless claims of voter fraud.

2023

Hannah Allam: A police chief got rid of a neo-Nazi. Then came the hard part. An Illinois police department’s year of reckoning shows the difficulties of fighting far-right extremism in law enforcement.

Jim Daley: Police district candidate’s social media full of racist and misogynist posts.

Josh Dulaney: Oklahoma sheriff, commissioner, accused of discussing killing a reporter and returning to Black hangings.

Extremism in the Ranks: Chicago police with extremist ties have troubling records.

Aria Jones & Kelli Smith: Fired Southlake cop smiled for swastika photo accidentally texted to citizen.

Kansas Reflector: Police stage ‘chilling’ raid on Marion County newspaper, seizing computers, records and cellphones.

NBC: Ex-FBI agent who feds say urged Jan. 6 rioters to kill police worked terrorism task force: Jared Wise was part of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and was supervisory special agent in charge of the Homegrown Violent Extremism unit.

Rachel Weiner & Dan Morse: Md. police officer, hired a year after Jan. 6, now accused of taking part in it: A Montgomery County officer was arrested Thursday and charged with assaulting police during the 2021 raid on the Capitol.

Daniel Wu: City will pay $750K after police allegedly drew swastika in man’s car.

2022

Bob Brigham: Cop quits after white supremacist views were exposed.

CBS: Community leaders call for CPD to fire officer over alleged ties to Proud Boys.

Maurice Chammah: Does Your Sheriff Think He’s More Powerful Than the President? Richard Mack has built a “Constitutional sheriff” movement to resist state and federal authority on guns, COVID-19 and now election results. A new survey shows just how many sheriffs agree with him.

Bart Jansen: ‘Elephant in the room’: Police grapple with charges against officers in Jan. 6 Capitol attack. At least 19 current or former officers were charged in Jan. 6, sometimes with assaulting officers.

Daniel Koehler: From Superiority to Supremacy: Exploring the Vulnerability of Military and Police Special Forces to Extreme Right Radicalization.

Christopher Mathias: District Attorney To Review All Cases Handled By Cop Who Planned Charlottesville Nazi Rally.

Brad Reed. Tampa cop’s stepson exposed as member of neo-Nazi group Patriot Front.

SPLC: New York Fired Racist Prison Guard for Identity Evropa Membership.

2021

Center for Strategic and International Studies: The Military, Police, and the Rise of Terrorism in the United States.

George Joseph and Micah Loewinger: Hack Of Oath Keepers Militia Group Includes Names Of Active NYPD Officers, De Blasio Launches Investigation.

NPR: Active-duty police in major U.S. cities appear on purported Oath Keepers rosters.

Jessica Pishko: Sheriffs Helped Lead This Insurrection: Sheriffs play a key role in right-wing white supremacist movements.

Ryan J. Reilly: FBI says former agent arrested over Jan. 6 called officers Nazis and encouraged mob to ‘kill ’em’: Jared L. Wise, who worked at the FBI for 13 years ending in 2017, was arrested Monday in Oregon.

Peter Wade: ‘Dozens’ of Oregon Cops Have Paid Dues to the Oath Keepers Militia Group: Law enforcement officers across the country are being exposed as having belonged to the far-right, anti-government group thanks to a trove of leaked data.

Carla F. Wallace: Ku Klux Klan members in the sheriff’s department show ‘who is inside the system.’

2020

Spencer Ackerman: FBI Sits on Report Detailing White-Supremacist Terror Threat.

Mike German:

• Hidden in Plain Sight: Racism, White Supremacy, and Far-Right Militancy in Law Enforcement.
• The FBI warned for years that police are cozy with the far right. Is no one listening? I was an FBI agent who infiltrated white supremacists. Too many local police don’t take the far right seriously – or actively sympathize.

Mike Giglio: A Pro-Trump Militant Group Has Recruited Thousands of Police, Soldiers, and Veterans.

Sam Levin: White supremacists and militias have infiltrated police across US, report says: A former FBI agent has documented links between serving officers and racist militant activities in more than a dozen states.

Christopher Mathias: White Vigilantes Have Always Had A Friend In Police: New data shows that far-right vigilantes, often with support from cops, have threatened protesters nearly 500 times since police killed George Floyd.

Cynthia Miller-Idriss: When the Far Right Penetrates Law Enforcement: America Can Learn From Germany’s Response.

The New York Times “Visual Investigations”: “I am on your side”: How the Police Gave Armed Groups a Pass in 2020.

Jamie Raskin: Subcommittee Chairman Raskin Releases FBI Document on White Supremacists in Law Enforcement.

Alice Speri: Unredacted FBI Document Sheds New Light on White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement: A 2006 intelligence assessment reveals that officials had concerns about the infiltration of police departments for years but failed to warn the public.

2017

Dan Berger: When white supremacists strike, police don’t always strike back: The long history of law enforcement’s complicity in the affairs of right-wing insurgents.

Anne Gray Fischer: Why do police riot squads target protesters instead of white supremacists?  Focusing on non-white citizens is part of their legacy.