The Age of Insurrection: The Radical Right’s Assault on American Democracy

Journalist Neiwert (Red Pill, Blue Pill) offers a brisk and searing history of right-wing extremist groups in America from the 1970s to the January 6 Capitol riot. As a reporter in northern Idaho in the 1970s and ’80s, Neiwert witnessed the arrival of the Aryan Nations from their former base of operations in Southern California. Noting that the white supremacist group “terrorize[d] the local population with waves of violent hate crimes” and “slowly alter[ed] the local demographics by attracting scores of fellow far-right extremists to the region,” Neiwert traces the ripple effects to the 1992 Ruby Ridge raid, in which Aryan Nations “convert” Randy Weaver refused to surrender to the FBI on weapons charges, leading to the deaths of his wife and son; the launch of the Patriot militia movement, which “spread like wildfire” after the 1993 raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Tex.; and the emergence of the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys, and other paramilitary groups that played roles in the January 6 insurrection. Though not much new ground is broken, Neiwert offers visceral descriptions of these groups’ intimidation tactics; astutely analyzes the overlaps between Christian nationalism, white supremacism, the sovereign citizen movement, and other aspect of their ideology; and sheds light on the right-wing media’s “mind-bending efforts to help Republicans avoid accountability for the January 6 insurrection.” It’s a disturbing look at how hard extremism is to stamp out. (June)