Tucker out; hate leader arrested in Europe; Pentagon leaker's past: The week in extremism

Tucker Carlson, a leading amplifier of far-right extremist conspiracy theories to mainstream audiences, has parted ways with Fox News. Meanwhile, a long-sought violent white supremacist has been arrested in Romania, the Proud Boys seditious conspiracy trial goes to a jury and we learned about the Pentagon leaker's alleged history of racism.

It's the week in extremism.

Tucker, spreader of extremism, is out

Lies lead to increased threats online: Exclusive: Social media threats exploded after Tucker Carlson's Jan. 6 claims, analysis finds

Great replacement explainer: Racist conspiracy theory explained

In a seismic shift for the spread of disinformation and far-right extremist conspiracies, Carlson abruptly departed Fox News this week. On Monday, we took a look back at the man one expert once called "our hate mainstreamer-in-chief," and identifed five ways Carlson spread extremist content on his nightly shows:

• Carlson's coverage seemed obsessed with the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory. (For a measure of how much, see the end of this article.)

• Carlson pushed the trope of a "white genocide" in South Africa, a claim that has been utterly debunked.

• He overtly blamed America's problems on immigrants, saying immigration makes America “poorer, and dirtier and more divided,” words that cost Fox dearly in advertising revenue.

• Carlson whitewashed the Jan. 6 insurrection, leading to an immediate spike in hate speech and threats.

• And he pushed the canard of Antifa as an omnipotent leftist boogeyman.

White supremacist arrested in Romania

You may not have heard of Robert Rundo, but the California native is pretty famous among extremism watchers as the founder of the violent and hateful Rise Above Movement or RAM. Rundo was arrested in Romania on March 31 at the behest of US authorities, according to the BBC.

• RAM's members were infamous for attending far-right events, where they brawled with opposing protesters. Rundo and other members were charged with crimes related to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, or other violent rallies around the country.

• Rundo went on the lam in 2019 and avoided his initial charges, which were dismissed by a district court judge but then reinstated by a federal appeals court in San Francisco. Prosecutors indicted Rundo again in January.

• Rundo, who has been living in Eastern Europe, was recently tracked down by the news site Bellingcat, which geo-located him using photos Rundo placed on the internet to promote his far-right clothing brand.

Proud Boys case goes to jury

January 6 prosecutions: List: A comprehensive list of all prosecutions related to the insurrection

The jury in the seditious conspiracy case against members of the Proud Boys street gang began deliberating Wednesday. A day earlier, a lawyer for former Proud Boys national chairman Henry "Enrique" Tarrio told the court that former President Donald Trump, not his client, should be blamed for insurrection.

• “It was Donald Trump's words. It was his motivation. It was his anger that caused what occurred on Jan. 6th in your beautiful and amazing city,” defense attorney Nayib Hassan told the court. “It was not Enrique Tarrio. They want to use Enrique Tarrio as a scapegoat for Donald J. Trump and those in power."

• The trial is one of the most high-profile of more than 1,000 prosecutions related to the insurrection.

• If found guilty of seditious conspiracy, Tarrio and the others face prison terms of up to 20 years.

• Members of the extremist group the Oath Keepers were found guilty of similar charges last year.

Racist past alleged for Pentagon leak defendant

We learned a lot more this week about Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old accused of leaking hundreds of classified documents to his friends on the communication platform Discord,  including that he had a trove of weapons and allegedly has a troubling past that includes making racist threats.

Discord Explainer: What is Discord? And why does it keep coming up in news stories like the Pentagon leak?

• Legal filings claim Teixeira posted about mass killings online, including allegedly expressing his desire to kill a “ton of people” and cull the “weak minded.”

• Teixeira also has a history of making "racial threats," prosecutors said in the filings.

• The National Guard airman was also suspended from high school in 2018 for making comments about molotov cocktails and other weapons.

Statistic of the week: Zero

That's how many times the Great Replacement theory was promoted by Tucker Carlson on his nightly show this week.

Carlson's last show on Fox News aired a week ago.

In the years preceding his demise, Carlson had invoked the Great Replacement more than 400 times, according to an analysis from the New York Times.

Last week in extremism: Far-left activists charged with working for Russian agents

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Robert Rundo, wanted in white supremacist rallies, arrested in Europe