Religious-right extremists who have spent most of their energy in recent years vilifying LGBT people or fighting the nation’s culture wars on other fronts have found a new demon to slay: gun control.

It might seem odd that those who profess allegiance to the teachings of Jesus Christ would be so vociferous about making sure that Americans have continued, unfettered access to assault rifles. But in the wake of the massacre of schoolchildren in Connecticut, which ignited the most heated debate about gun control in this country in a decade, some of the religious right’s most rabid voices are joining the fight. ( continue to full post… )

Michael Kleen, the Republican candidate for mayor of Rockford, Ill., is running on an innocuous “safer streets” platform, pledging “appreciation for commonsense and moderation” on a campaign website that sparkles with sweet reason, offering a profile of a trustworthy, public-spirited candidate.

But Hatewatch has discovered that there’s more to Kleen than the sanitized information his campaign offers. The citizens of Rockford — the third largest city in Illinois, with a population that is 20% African-American and 16% Latino — may not realize that Kleen has published his very controversial views on immigration, secession and education on hate-oriented sites such as VDARE.com and WorldNetDaily.com. He also participated in several interviews on The Voice of Reason Radio Network, a mouthpiece for the white nationalist movement that went offline last August. ( continue to full post… )

Editor’s Update: The Tennessee Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security Friday suspended the handgun carry permit of James Yeager, who earlier threatened to “start killing people” if gun control advanced, according to WTVF-TV in Nashville. Commissioner Bill Gibbons said Yeager’s comments were “irresponsible, dangerous and deserved our immediate attention.” Department officials said that they had not certified Yeager or his Tactical Response school as instructors.

The Department of Homeland Security is reportedly investigating threats made this week by a Tennessee businessman — the same private security contractor who was at the center of a controversial shootout while working as a mercenary during the Iraq War.

James Yeager, who owns Tactical Response and Tactical Response Gear Inc., based in Camden, Tenn., said on a YouTube video posted Wednesday that if President Obama uses executive orders to ban assault rifles, “I’m going to start killing people.” Yeager’s firm provides training and equipment to police and military units, as well as the private sector, according to his website. ( continue to full post… )

When Tennessee weapons instructor James Yeager threatened Wednesday to “start killing people” if President Obama moved ahead on gun control, his infuriated rant went national, with dozens of media outlets and blogs expressing amazement.

In thousands of comments about Yeager’s YouTube video and another video the unrepentant Tactical Response CEO posted yesterday, Americans wondered if Yeager was breaking the law, or mentally ill, or a perfect example of the need for gun control. “Amazing, really,” wrote a commenter on the Hatewatch blog. “Simply amazing. These people are certifiably insane.” Said another, “These are the words of a real terrorist.” And a third wondered, “Can’t he be arrested for this?”

But the truth is that the death threats from Yeager — a man who is a former police chief, protective services contractor in Iraq, and owner of two companies that provide tactical weapons and training to police and military units — are not unique. Although Yeager said it more clearly than most, and with more profanity, the far right in America generally is reacting to the prospect of gun control with hysteria. ( continue to full post… )

James Yeager, the furious tactical weapons trainer who yesterday threatened to “start killing people” if gun control advances, today put up a second video in which he said he had “probably allowed my mouth to overrun my logic” — but then immediately added that he did not retract any of his statements.

Yeager, who is CEO of Tactical Response and Tactical Response Gear Inc., said in his second video that he had been “overwhelmed” with sympathetic responses from alumni of his training programs and others. But he wasn’t too nice to them, either.

“People are saying stuff like, ‘Well, it needed to be said but you shouldn’t have said it.’ Well, look around. Who else is going to say it? Who else is going to say it?” Yeager demanded in another enraged rant. “And all you fucking fair-weather Second Amendment people that are telling me I’m doing a fucking disservice by saying that I’m not going to stand for the tyranny, fuck you. Our country wasn’t founded by a bunch of fair-weather pussies. Either you’re in or you’re out, and if you’re out, don’t call yourself a fucking Second Amendment advocate.” ( continue to full post… )

The CEO of two companies that provide tactical weapons training and supplies to the military and police — and who is a former Tennessee police chief — said yesterday that if President Obama uses executive orders to ban assault rifles, “I’m going to start killing people.”

James Yeager, CEO of Tactical Response and also of Tactical Response Gear Inc. of Camden, Tenn., made the statement as part of a furious, one-minute rant posted yesterday to YouTube. Today, after Yeager apparently thought better of his death threats, the video was pulled down. Hatewatch captured it, however, and it can be viewed here. ( continue to full post… )

Veterans Today, a website that purports to be a “military veterans and foreign affairs journal” but is really a locus of the far right, is now squarely in neo-Nazi territory.

Oh, sure, Veterans Today (VT) has engaged in all kinds of conspiracy theorizing, most of it focusing on the alleged evils of Israel, for years. Senior editor and board chairman Gordon Duff has claimed that the 9/11 attacks were a joint U.S./Israel operation and that the U.S. government is totally controlled by Israel. The site has even claimed that the Holocaust never occurred or was greatly exaggerated.

But this December, VT seemed to be trying to outdo itself when its financial editor Mike Harris, who also sits on VT’s editorial board, went on Iranian government-backed Press TV to claim that the recent murders of 20 small children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school was carried out by Israeli death squads. The reason, he said on Dec. 17, is that the Israelis were angry about the United Nations’ vote in November to grant the Palestinians non-member observer status. ( continue to full post… )

Whether the massacre of 20 Connecticut first-graders and six educators by a madman armed with an assault rifle in December will lead to meaningful gun control legislation is far from certain.

But nearly three weeks after the Dec. 14 bloodbath, the American far right – from elements of the Tea Party to bigoted bloggers to conspiracy theorists – is working itself into an absolute frothy uproar at even the possibility that it may become more difficult to purchase a military-style assault rifle or a magazine that carries dozens of bullets. ( continue to full post… )

Don Black, the founder of Stormfront, the oldest and largest white nationalist forum, is apparently trying to figure out what to do with his and his son Derek’s radio show, “The Derek Black Show.”

In a recent Stormfront thread, Black noted that as of January 20, 2013, the ownership of south Florida’s WPBR, the surprisingly Haitian-oriented station where the Black show which caters to white racists is based, changes. However, he said that the current owner would like Black to stay with the internet broadcasting service after January 20, but Black isn’t sure he wants to do that, and said that he may end the show tomorrow (December 28) because of a recent “screw-up,” he said, with the radio show’s archives. ( continue to full post… )

Last year at this time, self-described prophet Warren Jeffs was predicting the end of the world. According to eight revelations he issued from a jail cell at the beginning of December 2011, divine vengeance was slated to fall upon a nation “fully ripening in iniquity.” Earthquakes were to rock Arizona, and “melting fire” was supposed to roll out across Idaho.

This year? Jeffs is predicting the same demise, only this time compliments of the geysers at Yellowstone National Park. Once they blow their tops, it’s the end for all humankind. ( continue to full post… )