Neo-Nazis protest drag show; Tucker Carlson show about Jan. 6 precedes spike in online threats
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An all-age drag show in Wadsworth, Ohio, on Saturday drew hundreds of protesters including armed neo-Nazis who chanted Nazi slogans, the latest in a nationwide escalation of extremists targeting drag shows. Meanwhile, after Fox News host Tucker Carlson aired a report full of inaccuracies about the Jan. 6 insurrection, threats of violence and intimidation exploded online, according to a report. And in San Diego, a crucial criminal case that could redefine the movement known as Antifa heads toward trial, with some bizarre attention from far-right media.
It's the week in extremism.
Drag show targeted by neo-Nazis
Protesters from a who's who of white supremacist extremist groups descended on a city park in Wadsworth, a small town in Northern Ohio on Saturday to protest a drag queen storytelling event. Two people were arrested in scuffles in the latest example of the extremist right wing's focus on drag events.
A drag show, protest, and guns in Texas: A drag show, a protest and a line of guns: How the battle over one issue is tearing at America
Club Q attack 'no surprise': Club Q attack no surprise for extremism experts who saw looming threat, decades-old pattern
The protesters included a neo-Nazi group known to extremism experts, who shouted "Sieg heil" and carried firearms; the white supremacist groups Patriot Front and White Lives Matter; and members of the Proud Boys.
Counter-protesters including a Colorado pro-LGBTQ group held up rainbow colored umbrellas as a form of "shield."
Context: Drag shows, especially shows catering to all ages, have become the central focus of far-right extremists in the last two years. It's just the latest example of a marginalized group being targeted by hate groups.
Read more: We delved deep into the anti-drag phenomenon in this investigation into an all-ages drag show in Texas that was protected by armed anti-fascists.
Fox's false Jan. 6 narrative brings spike in online threats
A broadcast on Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight last week misrepresented the events of the Jan. 6 insurrection, using new footage given to Carlson by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The show portrayed Jan. 6 as a mostly peaceful gathering of sightseers. The show led to an explosion of online threats and intimidation, a report provided exclusively to USA TODAY found.
Social media threats explode:Social media threats exploded after Tucker Carlson's Jan. 6 claims, analysis finds
The Advance Democracy report found that Twitter posts relating to Jan. 6 using violent rhetoric increased fivefold from the previous week. Violent threats included calls to lynch Jan. 6 Committee members and Democratic lawmakers such as "hang them high" and "hang 'em all."
The spike concerns experts on extremism, who worry it could lead to acts of violence against the targets of Carlson's misinformation: "I mean, that's basically what we're expecting right now," one expert said.
Not journalism: Carlson's latest falsehood-ridden report shows the Fox News host has left behind any intention to inform his viewers, journalism ethics expert Kelly McBride told us: "There's no way you can look at his (Carlson's) Jan. 6 special and conclude that he has any interest in doing journalism," McBride said.
San Diego Antifa case update
Last year, we published this deep-dive investigation into a San Diego criminal case that has caught the attention of extremism watchers across the country. The case of the San Diego 11 could become a model for prosecutors to charge leftist activistsby branding them as part of Antifa, and billing that movement as a criminal gang. This week, I have an update on the case:
Antifa trial: How one criminal case could redefine the murky left-wing movement
The latest: As crucial legal test for Antifa ideology heads to trial, right-wing media also scrutinized
Going to trial: While six of the San Diego 11 have made plea deals with prosecutors, defense attorneys for the remaining defendants say they are determined to take the case to trial. “This is the criminalization of an ideology,” Curtis Briggs, one of the attorneys told USA TODAY. “Really it's McCarthyism, and the United States went through this already.”
Journalist using fake name: The San Diego case took a curious turn last month when one of the defense attorneys filed a motion claiming a local journalist has committed felonies by filling out court paperwork in an assumed name. Catherine Cranston, who has long written for the San Diego reader under the pseudonym Eva Knott, filled out court forms in her pen name and had a police-issued press pass in that name.
Defendants criticize key expert: One of the defense attorneys on the case said he also plans to file a motion seeking to dismiss charges against his client based on the claim the prosecution's main expert was unqualified to provide evidence to the grand jury. As USA TODAY reported last year, Dawn Perlmutter, who claims to be an expert on Antifa, has written articles on conservative media sites railing against the Black Lives Matter movement.
Statistic of the week: $2,000
It's not all bad news.
A reader contacted USA TODAY to share a positive story concerning a drag event at an elementary school in Vermont: Two drag queens, Lucy Belle LeMay and Amber LeMay hosted a fundraiser to raise funds to purchase a service dog for a young boy with autism.
The event raised $2,000.
"I would love to see a story about how there is not hate everywhere," Amber LeMay wrote.
Well, here you go!
Last week in extremism: Jan. 6 defendants on the loose; domestic terrorism charges at Atlanta's 'cop city' protest
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: fox news jan 6 footage online threats week in extremism
