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Tracing the origins of anti-government extremism by examining a deadly series of historical events that galvanized far right radicals to take violent action.
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2022
What motivated extremists to commit shocking acts of anger and violence at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021? To begin answering this complicated question, we explore the stories of 2 Americans whose lives were touched by radical ideologies: a former violent skinhead who was radicalized at the infamous white supremacist compound Aryan Nations, and a real estate agent who decided to go on the offensive after her family was 'doxed' by followers of a prominent neo-Nazi website.
A peaceful apocalyptic religious community converts to a paramilitary force of white supremacists preparing for racial warfare. Fatal standoffs with the FBI create a legend of martyrs: Randy Weaver's wife and child at Ruby Ridge; and 20 children at Waco in a fire that ends in a showdown with David Koresh. Timothy McVeigh wanted revenge - and got it by blowing up a federal building in Oklahoma City. This anti-government rage is at work on January 6th as far right extremists storm the Capitol.
Young army veteran Timothy McVeigh becomes so disillusioned with the U.S. government he once swore to defend that he commits the deadliest act of domestic terrorism to date by blowing up the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and becoming a hero to future extremists. The father of a woman killed in the attack seeks understanding and offers forgiveness 27 years later.
Infamous extremist Robert Matthews of the white supremacist group, The Order, considered by experts as the most dangerous domestic terror group in U.S. history, is killed in a deadly shootout on Whidbey Island, turning him into a hero and a martyr. His followers return to the island each year to honor his death. The extreme right continues to use individuals like Matthews, Timothy McVeigh and Ashli Babbitt as propaganda for their dangerous cause.
Political and racial tensions reach a boiling point in 2017 with the deadly Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, a shocking public display of extremist violence that became normalized under President Trump after 8 years of growing resentment during the Obama administration.
This episode explores equipping the mainstream with tools to resist the propaganda from the fringes. Training social workers, teachers and therapists, learning about extremism, terrorism, prevention and radicalization. Former extremists say stay out of the echo chambers of a single point of view and the flood of disinformation. Conversations can heal the fissures that have arisen, don't disparage the far left or far right, understand there's real suffering and pain that's driving individuals.
Mandy Patinkin