Skip to content Skip to footer

Far Right Extremists Flex Political Muscle Ahead of January 6 Anniversary

The House GOP’s failure to choose a speaker shows the power wielded by extremists at the national and local level.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, right, looks up as Rep. Andy Biggs, left, speaks to fellow members of the House of Representatives, as voting continues for new a speaker, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on January 4, 2023.

On the eve of the anniversary of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, experts say the House GOP’s failure to choose a speaker despite multiple rounds of balloting this week demonstrates the power wielded by far right extremists over both the Republican Party and the nation’s broader political atmosphere.

In the two years since former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally morphed into the January 6 mob, the movement behind the deadly riot spread out and became a more localized phenomenon, with militia groups and far right activists targeting LGBTQ people and public institutions such as school boards and libraries in their communities.

The rising tension on social media over hate speech, anti-transgender rhetoric and right-wing misinformation was punctuated by an increase in targeted violence and mass shootings targeting a Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, and a LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs. Experts say the greatest threat of domestic terrorism arises from the far right, not the anti-fascist left, despite ongoing efforts by Trump and other conservatives to draw a false equivalence between the two movements.

“What we are seeing now are the ongoing results of both [January 6] and the way that Trump really opened the door for bigoted and anti-democracy groups to enter the mainstream of politics,” said Lindsay Schubiner, director of a counter-extremist program at the Western States Center, in an interview.

Bigotry and extremism are problems nationwide, but Schubiner said there is a particular history of fringe movements in western states such as Oregon, Texas, Washington and Colorado, where white supremacists have gathered for decades and routinely target liberal enclaves in cities such as Portland and Houston. Militias and “Christian nationalist” groups regularly post viral videos of their members gathering outside drag shows and other LGBTQ events and clashing with anti-fascist counterprotesters.

“The insurrection two years ago saw this coalescing of a range of bigoted and anti-democracy groups, and they have continued to work together, spreading bigotry to build political power,” Schubiner said.

Back in Congress, a group of 20 far right House Republicans leveraged the GOP’s razor-thin majority to blockade Republican leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid for speaker, showcasing the deep ideological divisions between moderates and members who are still bristling with MAGA energy and eager to catch the spotlight. As of Wednesday, McCarthy was unable to secure a majority in six votes, with defectors rallying behind Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida.

The 20 Republicans include a dozen who have denied the results of the 2020 election, and almost every incumbent voted against certifying the results despite the Trump-inspired riot on January 6. Schubiner said several prominent McCarthy defectors — including Rep. Lauren Boebert, Rep. Paul Gosar, Rep. Andy Biggs and Rep. Matt Gaetz — have embraced conspiracy theories such as the racist “great replacement” theory about immigration.

“Bigoted conspiracy theories have served as an accelerant for white nationalist and other anti-democracy movements to reach people and build power,” Schubiner said.

Still, McCarthy maintained support among other right-wing figures, including self-described Christian nationalist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has complained on social media about the optics of failing to choose a speaker. Greene was likely offered plum committee assignments after being kicked off committees in the last Congress, and critics say McCarthy made a host of other concessions behind closed doors to rally the rowdy MAGA crowd behind him. So far, the Republican leader has been unsuccessful.

David Brock, president of bipartisan watchdog group Facts First USA, said McCarthy has already unleashed a “corrupt bargain” by cutting backroom deals with extremists and conspiracy peddlers.

“Whenever a final candidate stumbles into the speakership, it is absolutely imperative that the American people get transparency into what corrupt bargains were struck to gain power,” Brock said in a statement this week. “It is clear that any coming investigations or impeachments from the Republican caucus are already irreparably tainted by backroom dealing with the MAGA extremists who want to undermine democracy.”

We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.

As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.

Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.

As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.

At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.

Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.

You can help by giving today during our fundraiser. We have 4 days to add 310 new monthly donors. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.