We're Jason Dearen and Michelle R. Smith, investigative reporters with the AP, and Aaron Kessler, a data journalist and investigative reporter with the AP.
Jason and Michelle have covered extremism for years, and it grabbed our attention when University of Maryland researcher Michael Jensen, a leading extremism researcher, found a “huge spike” in the number of extremists with a military background starting in 2017. Jensen agreed to provide his group’s exclusive data to AP for deeper analysis. We've interviewed dozens of researchers, service members, advocacy groups and extremism experts to understand the problem. We found that since 2017, more than 480 people with a military background were accused of ideologically driven extremist crimes, while nearly 100 people were killed or injured in plots involving current or former military members, most in service of a far-right agenda. Among the findings was that extremist plots involving service members or veterans were more likely to involve weapons training or firearms than plots that didn’t include someone with a military background. And that such attacks were more deadly.
The AP’s main story focused on Chris Arthur, a former National Guardsman and Iraq War veteran, who began preparing for civil war and training civilians, one of whom got into a gun battle with police. Our story presented new evidence that countered official accounts of the growth of extremism among the nation’s military service members and veterans, and painted a damning picture of years of inaction by the Pentagon and federal law enforcement. A follow-up story looked into a study the Pentagon funded into extremism in the military after veterans and service members were among the crowd that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The study’s findings downplayed the issue, but our reporting found that it relied on old data, misleading analyses and ignored evidence. As a result, the AP found the study grossly undercounted the number of military and veterans arrested for Jan. 6 and provided a misleading picture of the severity of the growing problem.
We're here to talk about this project and how we were able to tell this story. Who is here:
– Jason Dearen and Michelle R. Smith, reporters for AP’s global investigations team
– Aaron Kessler, a data and investigative journalist for AP
Read the full investigation: https://apnews.com/article/military-extremism-pentagon-veterans-terrorism-capitol-riot-jan-6-0c1fdd7b6b761e9c9e8556a9b9e45dc9
The follow-up: https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-military-extremism-jan-6-pete-hegseth-ea43535cd37abded5a0ed6aaba514115
Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9O9A832Qmo
PROOF: https://bsky.app/profile/apnews.com/post/3lcobm7qjys2q
We investigated extremism among members of the U.S. military and veterans for The Associated Press. Ask us anything.
byu/APnews inpolitics
18 comments
How do you define right wing and left wing, and what traits distinguish their forms of extremism from each other?
What is the average amount of time in the military for the extremists in your study, and what is the breakdown of branch of service?
What is the percentage of extremists that believe that a civil war si likely?
How many extremists are privates? How many are officers?
> The researchers, whose names were redacted, wrote that the results were a first step toward developing a way to identify incidents of extremism, and that the method could be used in other DoD databases.
> And while the research was shared among some departments in the DoD after Jan. 6, it never made it to Garrison, who was leading the Pentagon’s extremism working group, he told the AP. He called the oversight “problematic” given his, and the working group’s, mission.
> “I am very surprised by the existence of the report.”
> A defense official did not address why the report was not sent directly to the working group.
In what ways does the US military as a system have norms that might attract or make it harder to root out extremists?
For example, is there resistance from members to seeing the military disparaged, or is there maybe ideological sympathy that’s repeated in the system?
1. Are there any statistical differences between Active Duty and Reservists?
2. Are there any statistical differences between Combat Deployed troops, Non-Combat Deployed troops, and Non-Combat Non-Deployed troops?
What do you think is causing the rise in extremism in the ranks?
I was in the Army for 8 years, and I came in just as Trump was elected. At the time, no one really talked about trump. It was always “just another president” but before I left, which was only a few months ago, Trump supporters were far more vocal. They also spewed alot more of the hateful rhetoric that he did. Shit pertaining to Illegals, welfare participants, and pure disdain for the current commander and chief. There was no loyalty in the ranks for alot of those people. And they generally werent typical E-1 -> E-4 shit bags just being contrarian for the sake of pissing people off. These were Section NCOIC’s, PSG’s even command teams. Theres a Trump epidemic in the ranks, and no one believes me. It seems theyre all going off older polling data that says the military is surprisingly liberal. They dont take into account that service members,in my humble opinion, are just as, if not MORE likely to fall for propaganda and disinformation than the average American. Mostly because the military is built on the pretense of, “do as I say, not as I do”, and a lack of perceived ability to question the authority of those above them in the CoC.
Bit of a rant, sorry
Is the extremism limited to the lower enlisted ranks or is it present in the NCOs and higher ranks? Does there seem to be coordination or is it mostly “lone wolves”?
Would you rather have as many hamburgers as you can eat or as much pizza as you can eat?
On a scale of aah to AAAHHHHHH, how fucked are we as a nation?
In your opinion, how likely is it that the incoming administration will result in noticeable rifts between service members?
As a veteran, the military always seemed more or less insulated from politics. Sure people disagreed, but it was over small degrees of change the status quo or foreign policy. This seems different as the difference in opinion involves more fundamental aspects of our society, like rights and citizenship.
Where does this radicalization come from?
Could it be linked to foreign disinformation campaigns, from Russia for example?
Arthur would’ve had a good life without the paranoia and radicalization. Sad times.
Is there any connection or organization between the individual enlisted extremists or groups? What is the most common type of ideology amongst enlisted extremists, in your opinion?
I think the question a lot of us are asking right now (based not on reporting or opinions but on some of the rhetoric coming directly from the incoming administration), is — to what extent have you found that the men and women in active service are supportive, neutral, or actively opposed to the prospect of being deployed on American soil against American citizens and protected residents– potentially in violation of rights they otherwise have a sworn duty to protect?
Is there a structure/hierarchy within the military that caters to these extremists? Will your work ever expand to include contractors and civilians who work with the military?
To what extent does our duopoly and divisive politics contribute to or even cause extremist? It seems apparent that when political leaders supported an ideal of America, we didn’t have as much extremism whereas now that our politicians intentionally practice demagoguery, sow division, and tear down opposition, the American public is more extreme as one would expect.
What will the AP do to protect America from far right extremists?
Given how often the word “extremist” gets tossed around these days, i’m sure most of these people are Christians or regular dudes who have some conservative opinions and like to shoot guns on the weekends with the boys.
This kind of extremist ideology has always existed in the military. They may not have all been ready to commit to acts of terrorism, but the sympathies have been there. Most of them consider themselves to be Patriots. There’s a bunch to unpack there, but a lot of it definitely stems from a belief that this is a Christian nation. For a lot of years, much of my job was to disseminate the core values from the top to junior sailors as they progressed into positions of leadership. Core values such as the navy’s “Honor, Courage, Commitment”, by necessity support the larger mission by reinforcing such mundane ideals as human dignity, fairness, and respect. Some may call that DEI.
With that in mind, I’d like to submit that of the former military extremists and J6 rioters you have seen, very few or none held rank above O6. The military weeds them out before they advance too far. Sure, a few weasels like Flynn worm their way up, but most of our high-ranking officers (O7 and above) are academy graduates who value education. That’s why you saw General Milley so vocally defending studying CRT. These are leaders who, to this point, have put loyalty to the Constitution above loyalty to an individual. These are people who have had the ability to grasp these fundamental concepts.
Here’s the problem. After Trump forms his review board, all these “woke” generals and admirals are going to be fired. The doors for advancement for Trump sycophants will be thrown wide open. The problem isn’t “Oh dear, there’s a bunch of extremists in the military!” The problem is that the military may very soon be run by them.
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