The Marine Corps has implemented new rules requiring immediate reporting of extremist activity within 30 minutes of its discovery, following previous scandals involving members entangled with extremist groups. The guidance includes a hotline for reporting and suspension of security clearance if credible accusations are made. This mirrors actions taken in the U.S. Navy and Army, with the Pentagon updating its definition of extremism to include electronic and cyber activities related to extremist groups.
A Department of Justice indictment revealed that two Russian nationals funded a covert influence campaign to pay influential far-right commentators in the U.S. through a Tennessee-based media company. The commentators, including Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson, claim ignorance of the scheme and are considered victims of the disinformation operation. This is not the first time Russian operatives have been linked to funding American activism and extremism.
In Tallahassee, Florida, a white supremacist group called Patriot Front marched through downtown, waving flags and placing propaganda stickers promoting their ideals. Members of the group have been arrested for conspiracy to riot in the past, and the organization, led by Thomas Rousseau, has been exposed as a committed white supremacist group despite portraying itself as promoting traditional values. Local residents removed the stickers, calling them “racist garbage.”
In other news, Robert Rundo, the leader of the white supremacist Rise Above Movement, reached a plea agreement resulting in a two-year prison sentence for federal rioting charges related to brawls in California in 2017. Rundo fled to Eastern Europe and was extradited to the U.S. last year to face the charges.
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