White supremacists and far-right militants are celebrating the start of President Trump’s second term in the White House, just as they did at the beginning of his first. After the November 2016 election, Richard Spencer and 200 of his fellow white nationalists gathered at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC. Many of those in attendance threw Nazi salutes as Spencer chanted, “Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!”
Trump’s empowerment of far-right militancy during his first term resulted in deadly violence across the country, from Virginia, to Texas, and California, and ultimately put our democracy in peril on January 6, 2021, when Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and other militants led an assault on the U.S. Capitol. While some Trump-supporting police officers took part in the attack, far more officers stood in the breach to stop it and later helped to prosecute those who participated. The rule of law was tested, but it prevailed.
Trump’s blanket pardon of the January 6 insurrectionists is a betrayal of law enforcement that once again puts police officers, as well as government officials, journalists, and communities across the country at greater risk. But there are lessons that can be gleaned from Trump’s embrace of far-right militancy during his first term that must be heeded to avoid further carnage, particularly for law enforcement.
Back in 2016, Spencer appeared to enjoy the increased attention he received from mainstream media outlets, which played along with his rebranding of old-school white supremacy as a less threatening “alt-right” political movement. He used this newfound influence to help organize one of the largest public white nationalist events since the civil rights era. The 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was an effort to bring together often warring factions of the white supremacist movement in a show of force targeting the local progressive community. The white supremacist organizers planned for the violence that ensued, and their minions came equipped and ready to mete it out.
Nazis using public demonstrations to instigate violence wasn’t a new tactic. During the Weimar Republic in pre–World War II Germany, Nazi Party leaders chose to hold rallies and marches in cities where they knew they could provoke political opposition. When their opponents came out to protest their activities, the Nazis would attack with weapons brought surreptitiously for that purpose, enabling them to inflict a disproportionate level of violence while disingenuously portraying themselves as the victims, often with the support of a sympathetic law enforcement system.
Unfortunately, law enforcement ignored this history, failed to prepare for the level of violence that the white supremacists brought to Charlottesville that weekend, and stood down when it ensued. Many local residents were seriously injured, and one person was killed in an Ohio Nazi’s vehicle attack. Law enforcement’s failure to police the violence during and after the rally emboldened white supremacists and far-right militants to increase public violence at later events across the country. Because federal law enforcement doesn’t effectively track violence committed by nationally organized militant groups, the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and others were able to build networks and establish logistics that were used to transport fighters and weapons across the country. The lack of effective local or federal enforcement action, enabled them to threaten and attack local residents in one city after another.
Far-right militants feigned support for law enforcement, sporting Blue Lives Matter patches and flags, and far too often, law enforcement officers affiliated themselves with these militant groups and treated them as allies. But the fraud was exposed when these groups led the attack on January 6. More than 140 officers were injured, and one died after being maced during the melee.
Trump’s pardon of the insurrectionists showed which side he is on. Two of the freed insurrectionists have already threatened retribution against those who prosecuted them. State and local law enforcement leaders must acknowledge the threat that these and other white supremacists and far-right militants pose to their communities and their officers. Just as during Trump’s first term, they cannot rely on federal law enforcement authorities to provide accurate intelligence regarding these groups.
They must do their own intelligence gathering to better understand the tactics these violent groups use to inflict harm on their communities, as well as the statutory authorities they possess to address these crimes. And they must be diligent in policing their own ranks. The participation of law enforcement in the January 6 attack on fellow police officers demonstrated that officers who engage in misconduct and seditious activity pose a direct threat to their colleagues as well as the communities they are sworn to serve.
Unfortunately, police departments across the country have often proved unable or unwilling to investigate and prosecute white supremacist violence. But that doesn’t mean that Americans are without tools to protect themselves.
Communities should press their elected leaders to hold the police accountable, of course. But they should also organize to develop and implement alternative methods for reducing violence and seeking justice for crime victims. Anti-racism activists often track white supremacist activities and can be a resource to warn communities about local threats. Investigative journalists expose the crimes these groups commit, making it impossible for law enforcement to ignore them. Civil lawsuits against white supremacists and far-right militants have also proven effective in disrupting these groups’ ability to mobilize for violence, depleting their resources and holding them liable for their crimes in a court of law. There is much that communities working together can do to protect one another and restore the social cohesion white supremacists and far-right militants seek to destroy.
There are also lessons in this history for the pardoned January 6 rioters and anyone who might now join a far-right militant group expecting support from President Trump. Richard Spencer’s fame and influence was short-lived. By the end of Trump’s first term, Spencer was reportedly broke, as survivors of the Unite the Right violence successfully sued him and the other white supremacist organizers of the rally.
Others in the movement fared similarly. Just months ago, many of the January 6 insurrectionists were apologizing for their involvement in the attack, blaming Trump, informing on each other, and begging for mercy from the courts. Mercy is always welcome, and I can’t begrudge those celebrating their grant of clemency. But they should remember the despair they felt when they were paying the price for obeying Trump’s exhortations to violence. Anyone who chooses to follow Trump again in his promised campaign of retribution should know that at the end of his term, it is always his supporters who pay the price for his crimes.
