Antigovernment groups are part of the antidemocratic hard-right movement. They believe the federal government is tyrannical, and they traffic in conspiracy theories about an illegitimate government of leftist elites seeking a “New World Order.” In addition to groups that generally espouse these ideas, the movement is composed of sovereign citizens, militias, overt conspiracy propagandists and constitutional sheriff groups. In the past, this movement was referred to as the “Patriot” movement by adherents and critics.
Top Takeaways
For the last several years, the conspiracy theories and claims made by antigovernment groups have penetrated the mainstream, making extremism and fascism central to discourse and politics in the country. In 2021, the conspiratorial and dubious view of government was pervasive, as evidenced by the movement’s popular rhetoric on such issues as COVID-19 regulations, local school curriculum, the “Big Lie” of voter fraud, and border security. These views largely continued in 2024, but with a marked and troubling rise in antigovernment activity against inclusive public schools and the continued incorporation of white Christian nationalist ideas.
The Jan. 6 insurrection was the most public moment for the movement since the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. In 2024, more trials and convictions took place for those alleged to be criminally responsible for the events on Jan. 6. More than 1,200 people have been charged with offenses ranging from trespassing to seditious conspiracy for their actions on Jan. 6, and over 80 of them were either members of identified antigovernment organizations or said to be motivated by the movement’s conspiracies.
Some prominent groups have waned since the insurrection. Key groups behind it, including the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, have seen their numbers and influence dramatically shrink. The Oath Keepers, in particular, received a nearly fatal blow in May 2023 when their founder and leader, Stewart Rhodes, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy for his role in the insurrection. To date, somewhere around 20 Oath Keepers have been convicted for their activities related to the insurrection, but the growing availability of antigovernment organizations means that the losses experienced by them can be made up by alternative groups.
The far right’s focus in 2024 was largely on the national and state elections in November 2024, which saw the partial capture of the White House and Congress by politicians, and the organizations backing them, who are themselves either far right or beholden to the far-right base. This is a serious and sobering moment that is transforming what we call “extremism” into the status quo.
Much of the efforts by antigovernment groups focused on election matters, including the continued push on the right to undermine democracy by falsely claiming that the election system was rigged or fatally compromised. An entire cottage industry built for that purpose continued spreading its baseless claims about the need for supposed “election integrity.” The various conspiracies driving the disinformation were repeated, and acted on, by groups across the antigovernment movement, including attempts to get constitutional sheriffs to interfere in local elections. Not surprisingly, Donald Trump’s win in November silenced the vast majority of these efforts. This reveals the cynicism that informs right-wing groups and their attacks on democracy. Such accusations against the electoral system, which resulted in threats against poll workers and a chilling effect among elections workers, were little more than a cynical defense to be wielded in case Trump and his followers lost electorally.
Dominionism and Christian Supremacy
Christian supremacy and dominionism were some of the biggest winners in 2024, and the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) in particular had a major victory with Trump’s election. The Courage Tour with Lance Wallnau and Mario Murillo eventually succeeded in getting JD Vance to join the last leg of the tour in Pennsylvania, a state that Apostle Abby Abildness has argued is the key for implementing dominion in the United States. Such tours have become a paradigm for many on the far right, mixing exclusivist, authoritarian theologies with political organizing. Unlike the old Moral Majority and Christian Right, NAR dominionism makes no promise to uphold the Constitution or democracy in the United States.
With the federal government under GOP control after the 2024 elections, NAR has the situation for which it has been pushing. Trump is very much in the debt of Christian supremacists, and based on his past actions, he’s proven himself ready and willing to institute their vision. Of course, Trump’s debt to such groups will likely cause tension at times. Despite potential disagreements, NAR and other similar para-political institutions are going to have a major influence over government. NAR and other Christian supremacists know this, and they will bend and adapt to keep favor with a president they think is key to imposing dominion.
Dominionism has been spreading and taking root in conservative movements for several years now, and the SPLC has noted how this once radically marginal theological movement has risen to power on the coattails of the MAGA movement. Dominionism is the theocratic idea that Christians are called by God to exercise dominion over every aspect of society by taking control of political and cultural institutions. As noted expert Frederick Clarkson states, “It envisions a very different society than one defined by democratic aspirations and equality for all people.” Another significant example of this influence came in 2023 when U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson was elected Speaker of the House. Johnson, who was elected after multiple other candidates lacked enough support within the party, is a dominionist associated with the NAR. Numerous revivals and other events meant to prop up support for dominionism and to recruit new followers happened in 2024 around the country. The SPLC’s monitoring also noted an uptick in right-wing extremists calling political opponents “demons,” “Satanists” and similar epithets, another indication of how dominionist ideas have become more common.
Militias
As we predicted in the 2023 Year in Hate & Extremism, the militia movement continued to restructure itself into local and regional groups, while leaning into public relations campaigns portraying themselves as benign entities to help during emergencies. They burgeoned this claim by responding to Hurricane Helene by providing some supplies; however, they focused mostly on promoting conspiracy theories that targeted government agencies and relief workers. The SPLC also tracked a new approach taken by “patriots” to gain a veneer of legitimacy for their actions. Especially in Virginia, the SPLC has documented a push urging county commissions to create their own militias. Despite not having the constitutional ability to take this action, numerous counties are considering it, while a few have already done it. The head of the Campbell County militia, Daniel Abbott, is under investigation, as he is also a member of the Virginia National Guard. Abbott has said publicly they should have a 10,000 strong county militia body, along with 5,000 sheriff deputies, so they can create a division-level force to oppose the government.
Sovereign citizens
The sovereign citizen movement’s demographics continue to move beyond its historical trend of older white men. It continues to capitalize on finding ways to combine its traditional teachings with QAnon, COVID fears of the medical community, Child Protective Services’ custody cases, and other current developments. As a result, the movement continues bringing in younger and more female recruits. More and more new supporters come with professional jobs. The year 2024 also found a number of sovereign citizens involved in illegal and/or violent incidents.
Education and anti-student inclusion
Most anti-student inclusion groups, which maintain antigovernment ideals and use extremist tactics to combat student diversity and inclusive education, formed in response to COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates in public schools. However, they quickly evolved their focus to attacks on historically marginalized students. Their tactics include challenging reading materials, mostly pertaining to people of color and the LGBTQ+ community; challenging school policies that allow LGBTQ+ students to be accepted and safe at school; and pushing to eliminate inclusive curriculum that includes the accurate teaching of hard parts of American history.
The main goal of these groups is to gain power, mostly at the local level, and bring their hard-right agendas into the classroom, often focusing on approaches that deny LGBTQ+ and Black students representation and quality education. The driving narrative of anti-student inclusion groups is that public schools and educators are attempting to indoctrinate and sexualize students through a radical Marxist agenda.
Moms for Liberty has been the flagship of anti-student inclusion groups; however, it has started to experience some harder times. Following dismal election results in November 2023, one of the group’s founders, Bridget Ziegler, got embroiled in a sex scandal while another founder, Tina Descovich, had her nomination for the Florida Ethics Commission tanked by the Florida Senate. Many in the media started noting Moms for Liberty’s waning influence in 2024, as the group had smaller turnout at events during the year. The group did file a federal lawsuit against proposed Title IX changes to protect LGBTQ+ students and won an injunction.
Attacks on public schools continued on many fronts. In Oklahoma, Ryan Walters, the superintendent of public instruction, emerged as a major voice targeting public education and students. He routinely shares anti-LGBTQ+ messages on his social media. He also appointed Libs of Tik Tok founder Chaya Raichik to the newly created state Library Media Advisory Committee. Walters has vowed to make so-called school choice easier in his state and ordered schools to incorporate the Bible into lesson plans. After Trump won, Walters publicly advocated for abolishing the federal Department of Education.
Constitutional sheriffs
During 2023 and into 2024, constitutional sheriffs continued to show their abject disrespect for the rule of law. Dozens of sheriffs across the country took a stand against gun laws, publicly refusing to enforce current rules or future laws that would change the status quo around gun ownership. Antigovernment movement activists worked to further popularize both county supremacy and attempts to nullify federal laws. The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), the flagship constitutional sheriffs organization in the country, continues to recruit law officers into the group and its related ideology. CSPOA does this through events targeting law enforcement, an online television show and membership in their association.
Many of the groups the SPLC monitors, including militias but also MAGA groups, have kept their focus local, creating conflict and raising tensions in school board and town hall meetings. This is a strategy touted by many hard-right extremists over the years, and antigovernment groups are using it to try and take over and radicalize local GOP committees and local governments. As SPLC has seen in Virginia with county militias, they want to take back the monopoly of violence that the state has. It reveals that, at least in the militia movement, but also the antigovernment movement more broadly, the only check on political power that they are interested in is an armed one, where local groups can wield violent force as a check against the government.
Coming out of 2024, SPLC continues to find a movement that feels freer to engage in narratives that emphasize harassment, threats and violence. Each year, parts of the antigovernment movement have moved closer to power and have felt emboldened to spread fear and hatred, as well as conspiracy theories ranging from anti-vaccination falsehoods to the threat of DEI and trans persons in schools. If ever one needed confirmation that the antigovernment movement, when empowered, comes with the seeds of fascism, the past few years have given all the evidence one needs.
Key moments
Ammon Bundy’s so-called People’s Rights network launched at the beginning of the pandemic and was a major driver of antigovernment activity, especially in the Pacific Northwest. In 2023, Bundy and his group faced legal challenges. In July, an Idaho jury slapped Bundy and People’s Rights with an order to pay St. Luke’s Health System $52.5 million in damages for swarming its Boise hospital, forcing it to briefly shut down, and harassing medical personnel. Bundy refused to participate in the trial and made multiple efforts to get his supporters to rally to his property in north Idaho, with little success. As a follow-up to the St. Luke’s judgment, a judge issued a warrant for Bundy’s arrest in November 2023 because he missed a contempt of court hearing. Bundy disappeared following the hearing and resurfaced in Utah in 2024.
Among the revivals and events meant to prop up support for dominionism and recruit new followers this year was the Courage Tour led by NAR leaders and Christian supremacists Lance Wallnau and Mario Murillo. It targeted specific swing counties to help ensure a Trump victory in the 2024 election. These events were part political rally and part Charismatic revival. Similarly, Don’t Mess with Our Kids, an organization run by NAR leader Jenny Donnelly, who is a protégé of Lou Engle, held rallies at state capitols against trans people. This culminated in a Million Woman March in October 2024, hosted by Lance Wallnau, to coincide with the 2024 election.
Hurricane Helene devastated the western mountain region of North Carolina. Many militias came to the area, not just to help individuals but to spread conspiracy theories about FEMA and try to drive sentiment against the federal government. This included Veterans on Patrol, Southern Mountains Observer Group, River Valley Minutemen and others.
Many antigovernment groups went to the U.S.-Mexican border during 2024 wanting to take action against immigrants based on the various conspiracies targeting that constituency. This included the Take Back Our Border convoy that attracted militia members, sovereign citizens, conspiracy propagandists and other hard-right extremists.
What’s Ahead
Militias will continue to use a local/regional structure and frame themselves as helpers of the community, while at the same time engaging in combat training. Sovereign citizens will continue offering seminars and classes to train both followers and entice new recruits, all the while trying to remain relevant to the younger crowd they’ve found over the last few years. Constitutional sheriffs will try to capitalize on interest in both county supremacy and dubious efforts to nullify federal law. Anti-student inclusion groups and white Christian nationalists will continue trying to build political power and be front-and-center in efforts to dismantle our democratic institutions and democracy itself.
The most profound event for the antigovernment movement was Donald Trump’s win in the 2024 election and the GOP takeover of Congress, as the House is led by Michael Johnson, who has strong associations with David Barton and WallBuilders, Patriot Academy, the NAR and the Family Research Council. The Trump administration will attempt to fill cabinet positions with far-right extremists. The goal will be to destroy the checks and balances of the federal government in the name of renewal and restoration. Christian supremacists and hard-right conspiracy theorists will have unprecedented access to the halls of power, affecting legislation and the lives of countless people in the United States. The scare tactics directed at immigrants, trans persons, and DEI have and will continue to distract persons from the near-fascist goals of this administration and the movements that have helped them seize power. The overall goals will include implementing mass deportations, limiting the rights of women and trans persons, and continuing the scapegoating of immigrants and LGBTQ+ persons.
Background
Antigovernment groups are part of the antidemocratic hard-right movement. They believe the federal government is tyrannical, and they traffic in conspiracy theories about an illegitimate government of leftist elites seeking a “New World Order.” Adherents and critics have in the past referred to this movement as the “Patriot” movement.
A particularly prominent conspiracy in the antigovernment movement — and one conspiracy propagandist groups often push — claims there is an effort to create a New World Order through a One World Government, often facilitated by the United Nations to institute communism/socialism and take away private property rights. Another conspiracy alleges there are plans to merge the United States, Canada and Mexico into a single country. Other notable conspiracies include the idea that the federal government is secretly planning to round up citizens and place them in concentration camps run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Fears of impending gun control or weapons confiscations, either by the government or international agencies, also run rampant in antigovernment circles.
These conspiracy theories identify grievances, both real and imagined, and demonize groups deemed responsible for them. Conspiracy propagandists offer simple answers to complex problems but often stop short of offering a specific solution to the perceived threats, instead hinting at actions to be taken by movement members while being careful to maintain plausible deniability. Such groups and outlets as the John Birch Society, WorldNetDaily (WND) and Infowars are crucial to the antigovernment extremist movement in that they help craft and nurture the very conspiracy theories that animate the movement’s activists.
The antigovernment movement has experienced waves of popularity, including during the 1990s. In 1996, the year after the Oklahoma City bombing, 858 groups were documented active in the U.S. Timothy McVeigh, one of the Oklahoma City bombers, was motivated by extreme antigovernment beliefs then circulating in the militia movement. He was also inspired by the racist novel The Turner Diaries, modeling his attack on a scene from the book. The antigovernment movement of the 1990s, typified by the proliferation of militias, was fueled by a string of incidents where antigovernment figures clashed with law enforcement, including the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff, the 1993 Branch Davidian Waco compound siege and the 1996 Montana Freemen standoff. Other factors included the struggling economy in the early 1990s, particularly in Western states, and the election of President Bill Clinton, who was characterized by antigovernment activists as a liberal intent on seizing their weapons.
Similarly, in the late 2000s and 2010s, the antigovernment movement was animated by the Tea Party movement, with both national and local groups mobilizing resentment around the economic challenges of the Great Recession and in opposition to the presidency of Barack Obama.
Historically, the militia movement engages in paramilitary training aimed at protecting citizens from the pervasive fear of an impending government crackdown. Militia groups often engage in firearm and field training, maintain internal hierarchical command structures, obsess over guns and the Second Amendment and oppose immigration. Notable groups have included the Wolverine Watchmen, Ohio Defense Force, Hutaree Militia, Oath Keepers, Minutemen American Defense, Militia of Montana and various Three Percenters-affiliated groups. The Wolverine Watchmen were charged, and later convicted, in connection to the 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Oath Keepers and Three Percenters group members have been arrested for charges relating to the Jan. 6 insurrection. Three Percenters groups adhere to the dubious historical claim that only 3% of American colonists fought against the British during the War of Independence.
The Oath Keepers were founded in 2009 by Elmer Stewart Rhodes, a veteran Army paratrooper, law school graduate and former Ron Paul congressional staffer. Like some antigovernment groups and activists such as Jack McLamb’s Police Against the New World Order, Oath Keepers primarily sought to recruit current and former law enforcement, military and first-responder personnel, though they also accepted civilians. Unlike many other militia groups that are local, geographically based groups, Oath Keepers had a centralized hierarchical leadership and tiered structure at national, state and local levels. It was a leading antigovernment group that helped plan and stage the Jan. 6 insurrection. Many of its members, including founder and leader Rhodes, were charged and convicted of crimes pertaining to the insurrection. In May 2023, Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison after being convicted of seditious conspiracy charges. A small but influential and foundational segment of the antigovernment movement is the constitutional sheriff movement. These groups adhere to the concept of county supremacy and the idea that the county sheriff has the ultimate law enforcement authority in the United States. This idea was pioneered in the 1970s and described as “Posse Comitatus.” The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) is the largest and oldest national constitutional sheriffs organization.
The second tenet of county supremacy centers on the idea that county government should have control of all the land within its borders, taking this power away from the state and federal government. Antigovernment groups who focus on this tenet are often active in the antipublic lands movement popular in the Western U.S., also known in previous decades as the Sagebrush Rebellion or Wise Use movement.
Sovereign citizens, a subset of the antigovernment movement, believe that they, not judges, juries, law enforcement or elected officials, decide which laws they must obey and which to ignore. They also think they shouldn’t have to pay taxes.
Sovereign citizen ideology is highly conspiratorial, and its adherents are best known for clogging up the courts with indecipherable filings and bogus liens targeting public officials. Sovereign citizens are frequently engaged in criminal activity and have been violent, particularly when confronted by government officials such as police officers. Some concerning groups are part of a subset of sovereign citizens termed Moorish sovereign citizens.
The antigovernment movement has also included groups whose focus was on tax protest and survivalism. While groups associated with both segments still exist, their prevalence has diminished in recent years. Though the antigovernment movement has changed in the last 50 years, with different segments either growing or shrinking, the key conspiracies and ideas are always taken up by other antigovernment groups and often reemerge later.
Key moments in movement history
- The John Birch Society is founded in 1958. The organization is dedicated to opposing communism but also pushes conspiracy theories that become standard in the antigovernment movement.
- The beginning of the antitax movement in the 1950s and into the 1960s, which opposed a federal income tax, is often seen as an important source for the antigovernment and militia movements that take off in the 1980s and 1990s.
- Christian Reconstruction and Christian Identity, two movements that have influenced militias in the United States, begin to take form in the 1950s. Although never large in terms of direct adherents, Christian Reconstruction introduced the idea of dominionism — the rule of society and politics by certain and specific types of Christians and Christian institutions — which some white Christian nationalists have adopted, as well as others in patriot and antigovernment groups. Their influence on the extremist right and militia groups begins in earnest in the late 1970s into the 1980s.
- The Posse Comitatus begins in the Western United States in the 1960s. Adherents argue that there is no legitimate government above the county level. There are many strong connections between Posse Comitatus and Christian Identity, including common anti-Black and antisemitic beliefs.
- At a joint session of Congress in 1991, President George H.W. Bush describes the first Gulf War as an effort to protect a “new world order” of international collaboration birthed after the Cold War’s end. This feeds conspiracy theories popular with militias and antigovernment activists that globalist political elites conspire to create a worldwide government at the expense of U.S. sovereignty.
- Louis Beam publishes an essay in 1992 on “leaderless resistance,” a concept that becomes influential in antigovernment organizations.
- The 11-day Ruby Ridge standoff with the Weaver family and law enforcement occurs in Boundary County, Idaho. In August 1992, U.S. marshals moved to arrest Randy Weaver under a warrant. Weaver refused, and a standoff ensued. Weaver’s son, his wife and a deputy U.S. marshal were killed. This serves as a rallying cry to the growing antigovernment and militia movements.
- At the “Gathering of Christian Men,” also known as the “Rocky Mountain Rendezvous.” in Estes Park, Colorado, in 1992, 160 neo-Nazis, Klan members, antisemitic Christian Identity adherents and others arguably lay the groundwork for the militia movement that would explode in 1994.
- The 1993 federal siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, ends with nearly 80 dead and the compound burned to the ground. The Ruby Ridge standoff and the lethal siege in Waco become seminal events in the lore of the extreme right, in particular the antigovernment movement, which has also been called the “Patriot” movement.
- The antigovernment right views passage of gun control laws — such as the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, more commonly known as the “Brady Bill,” in 1993 — as a sign of a growing tyrannical federal government bent on making individual Americans defenseless.
- On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols bomb the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The bombing killed at least 168 people and injured at least 680 additional individuals. McVeigh and Nichols were motivated by the Waco and Ruby Ridge standoffs, and McVeigh apparently visited the Waco compound both during and after the siege. This attack continues to motivate antigovernment groups decades after the event.
- Montana Freemen, a Christian sovereign citizen group, engage in a standoff with federal authorities that ends with the Freemen’s surrender.
- Conspiracy website WorldNetDaily (WND) is founded in 1997 by Joseph Farah.
- On June 27, 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court in Printz v. U.S. sides with Sheriff Richard Mack, the future founder of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, and Ravalli County Sheriff/Coroner Jay Printz in their case against a provision of the “Brady Bill.”
- Infowars is founded in 1999, and with antigovernment conspiracy theorist and supplement salesman Alex Jones, it goes on to craft and nurture the conspiracy theories that animate the antigovernment movement.
- Barack Obama is elected in 2008 as the first Black president of the United States. After a spike of militia activity in the 1990s, the antigovernment movement seemed to wither, only to rebound in the number of groups created during the Obama administration.
- Shawna Forde, leader of the militant group Minutemen American Defense, coordinates a home invasion on May 30, 2009, that results in the murders of Arivaca, Arizona, resident Raul Flores and his 9-year-old daughter Brisenia. Forde and one other group member were sentenced to death; a third member of the group gets life in prison.
- Oath Keepers forms in 2009. The organization, made up of present and former law enforcement officials and military veterans, becomes one of the largest far-right antigovernment groups in the United States and will be integral to the violence on Jan. 6.
- Richard Mack, a former sheriff and Oath Keepers board member, establishes the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association in 2011.
- Cliven Bundy’s Battle at Bunkerville, Nevada, takes place on July 10, 2014. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department engaged in a four-day standoff against Cliven Bundy and his antigovernment followers over unpaid cattle grazing fees. The standoff ended when the BLM withdrew to avoid a violent clash with antigovernment supporters. The Bundys, as well as others in antigovernment circles, see this as a significant and inspirational win against federal authority.
- The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Occupation begins in January 2016. Antigovernment adherents, including Ammon Bundy and militia members, descend onto the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge for what escalates to a 41-day standoff, with law enforcement demanding that the federal government hand over public lands to states. The standoff ends with four arrests.
- Donald Trump is elected president in 2016 without winning the popular vote. Until the Trump administration, antigovernment activity and membership would increase during Democratic administrations and wane during Republican administrations. In a change to these trends, antigovernment activity holds strong into the Trump administration from the highs from Obama’s presidency. At this point, many antigovernment groups shift from opposing the federal government to opposing Trump’s perceived enemies. Many antigovernment groups support Trump’s election campaign and his administration.
- The height of the COVID pandemic hits in 2020 and 2021. Conspiracy propagandists, including the John Birch Society, find a niche audience with COVID-19 vaccine skeptics, using existing antigovernment mistrust and a historical relationship with the natural-health sector to push population and government control conspiracies. Likewise, constitutional sheriff organizations promoted COVID-19 conspiracy theories and refused to enforce health guidelines enacted by lawmakers.
- The Virginia Citizens Defense League Rally in Richmond, Virginia, is held in January 2020. The event brings together extreme antigovernment militia groups alongside other Second Amendment absolutists. Joining nearly 400 localities in 20 states, 120 localities in Virginia declared themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries.”
- During a rally on April 30, 2020, in Michigan’s Capitol building, attendees — some armed — storm the statehouse. Brothers William and Michael Null, members of the Wolverine Watchmen militia, attend the event, which is hosted in part by American Patriot Council’s Ryan Kelley.
- In May 2020, a police officer kills George Floyd in Minneapolis, sparking rallies for racial equality and criminal justice reform around the country. In many locations, armed militia groups respond by showing up at the events in full tactical gear, claiming they are protecting the community. A police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, shoots Jacob Blake in August 2020. Black Lives Matter protests occur throughout the state. Militias come out to counter them. Kyle Rittenhouse is accused of shooting three people, killing two. He receives an outpouring of support from the far right and is eventually acquitted of all charges, making him a celebrity of the extremist right.
- Violent domestic extremists, including antigovernment militias such as the Oath Keepers, storm the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 general election results. Members of the group face multiple federal charges. At least five people die in connection with the attack. Among those arrested are members of the Proud Boys, the Three Percenters movement and the Oath Keepers. Attacks by antigovernment militia groups also take place at state capitol buildings in Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
- Red Pill festivals in Montana and South Dakota take place in June and July 2021. Conspiracy theorists and lawmakers gather for regional events, which include such organizations as the John Birch Society, Redoubt News, Connecting the Dots, and Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. Speakers include Alex Newman, Caleb Collier, Bill Jasper, Matt Shea, Idaho Rep. Heather Scott, Joey Gibson, John Jacob Schmidt, G. Edward Griffin, Dan Happel and Richard Mack.
- Throughout summer 2021, Ammon Bundy’s People’s Rights threatens a standoff in Klamath Falls, Oregon, over water rights with the Klamath Tribes (Klamath-Modoc-Yahooskin).
- Arise USA claims it made an 85-stop tour promoting the “Big Lie,” QAnon, COVID-19 conspiracies, 9/11 antisemitic conspiracies and county supremacy from May to September 2021. Robert David Steele, who will die from COVID-19 that fall, organized the rally. Speakers included Richard Mack and Kevin Jenkins. Steele was a former CIA agent, 2016 Libertarian candidate for president and Holocaust denier.
- The ReAwaken America Health and Freedom Tour begins in 2021 as QAnon conspiracy theorists gather with other antigovernment activists in Michigan, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and California. Speakers include Clay Clark, Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, Gene Hoe, Richard Mack of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, Joe Oltmann of FEC United and Artur Pawlowski, Canadian Black Robe Regiment pastor. This eventually grows into the ReAwaken America tour that occurs throughout 2022 in the run-up to the midterm elections that year. The ReAwaken America events continued to tour the country into 2023.
- The first American trucker convoy departs Adelanto, California, in February 2022 on its way to Washington, D.C. This “People’s Convoy” was an effort by truckers and others to publicly highlight their right-wing beliefs, including opposition to COVID vaccines and public health measures during the pandemic, with a cross-country parade fashioned after the disruptive trucker protest in Canada in early 2022. Convoy organizers and supporters included far-right figures such as Michael Flynn, Patrick Byrne and the Washington III Percent. In September, some of the group reorganized to protest imprisonment of Jan. 6 insurrectionists by flooding the veterans suicide hotline with nonemergency calls.
- Members of the Wolverine Watchmen, along with members of the Michigan Militia, are arrested by the FBI and Michigan State Police on Oct. 8, 2022 after plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. A Jackson County, Michigan, jury in late 2022 found three members of the Wolverine Watchmen guilty on all charges for their plot to kidnap and kill Whitmer.
2024 General Antigovernment Groups
* – Asterisk denotes headquarters.
2nd Amendment Patches.com
Halltown, Missouri
ActionUp America
Jacksonville, Florida
American Patriot Party
Ashland, Oregon
American Patriot Vanguard
California
Illinois
Indiana
Minnesota
Ohio
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
American Policy Center
Warrenton, Virginia
Audit the Vote PA
Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania
AVOW (Another Voice of Warning)
Rigby, Idaho
Awake Americans
Naperville, Illinois
Awake Illinois
Naperville, Illinois
Berks County Patriots
Blandon, Pennsylvania
Camp Constitution
Charlotte, North Carolina
Center for Self Governance
Oroville, Washington
Child Protection League/Child Protection League Action
Maple Grove, Minnesota
Citizens Defending Freedom
Brevard County, Florida
Duval County, Florida
Hillsborough County, Florida
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Nassau County, Florida
Osceola County, Florida
Polk County, Florida
Chatham County, Georgia
Fulton County, Georgia
Collin County, Texas
Denton County, Texas
Harris County, Texas
Nueces County, Texas
Tarrant County, Texas
Travis County, Texas
Williamson County, Texas
Citizens for Responsible Education
Newburyport, Massachusetts
Citizens Organized to Restore Rights
Fall River, Massachusetts
Concerned Parents of Texas
Austin, Texas
Constitution Club
Hemet, California
Constitution Party
Houston, Alaska
Colorado
Woodstock, Georgia
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Springfield, Illinois
Kennebunk, Maine
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Concord, New Hampshire
Charlotte, North Carolina
New Lebanon, Ohio
Scappoose, Oregon
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania*
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Fort Worth, Texas
Bountiful, Utah
Weston, West Virginia
Ripon, Wisconsin
Hartville, Wyoming
Constitutional Coalition of New York State
Cheektowaga, New York
Constitutional Education & Consulting / KrisAnne Hall
Wellborn, Florida
Constitutional Rights PAC
McLean, Virginia
Courage Is a Habit
Indiana
Cowboys Motorcycle Club
Idaho
Defense Distributed
Austin, Texas
Don’t Mess with Our Kids
Multnomah County, Oregon
Eagle Forum
Birmingham, Alabama
Orange County, California
Santa Rosa, California
Brighton, Colorado
Alton, Illinois*
Sterling Hills, Michigan
Nebraska
Elko, Nevada
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Nashville, Tennessee
Dallas County, Texas
Texas
South Jordan, Utah
Lynden, Washington
Ed Illuminati
Beaverton, Oregon
Education First Alliance
Apex, North Carolina
Education Veritas
Alpharetta, Georgia
Faith Education Commerce (FEC United)
Colorado Springs, Colorado
For Kids and Country
San Clemente, California
Free PA
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County and South End Chapters, Pennsylvania
Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Perry County, Pennsylvania
York County, Pennsylvania
Freedom Coalition
Butte County, California
Glenn County, California
Placer County, California
Sutter and Yuba County, California
Freedom First Society
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Freedom Law School
Spring Hill, Florida
Freedom’s Rising Sun
Logan, Utah
Granite Grok
Gilford, New Hampshire
Gun Owners of America
Florida
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Springfield, Virginia*
Her Voice Movement
Portland, Oregon
Institute on the Constitution (aka American View)
Arizona
Fresno County, California
Nevada City, California
Harbeson, Delaware
Lewes, Delaware
Beavercreek, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Warren County, Ohio
Ohio
South Dakota
LewRockwell.com
Auburn, Alabama
Liberty News Radio
American Fork, Utah
Lions of Liberty
Chino Valley, Arizona
Long Island Loud Majority
Lindenhurst, New York
Mamalitia
Los Angeles, California
San Joaquin, California
San Mateo and San Francisco County, California
Melrose Patriots
Melrose, Florida
Mom Army
Phoenix, Arizona
Coachella Valley, California
Los Angeles, California
Orange County, California
Sacramento, California
San Diego, California
Ventura County, California
Washington, D.C.
Indianapolis, Indiana
Las Vegas, Nevada
Charlotte, North Carolina
Knoxville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Austin, Texas
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
Houston, Texas
Salt Lake City, Utah
Seattle, Washington
Moms for America
Arizona
Arkansas
Brevard County, Florida
Polk County, Florida
Winter Haven, Florida
Illinois
Englewood, Ohio*
Moms for Liberty
Baldwin, County Alabama
Madison County, Alabama
Anchorage County, Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
Maricopa County, Arizona
Pima County, Arizona
Pinal County, Arizona
Craighead County, Arkansas
Lee County, Arkansas
Pulaski County, Arkansas
Washington County, Arkansas
Contra Costa County, California
Los Angeles County, California
Placer County, California
San Diego County, California
San Luis Obispo County, California
Santa Clara County, California
Shasta County, California
Tuolumne County, California
Yolo County, California
Boulder County, Colorado
El Paso County, Colorado
Larimer County, Colorado
Mesa, Colorado
Weld, Colorado
Hartford County, Connecticut
Litchfield County, Connecticut
New Castle County, Delaware
Bay County, Florida
Brevard County, Florida
Broward County, Florida
Charlotte County, Florida
Clay County, Florida
Collier County, Florida
Duval County, Florida
Flagler County, Florida
Hernando County, Florida
Hillsborough County, Florida
Indian River County, Florida
Leon County, Florida
Martin County, Florida
Monroe County, Florida
Orange County, Florida
Osceola County, Florida
Okaloosa County, Florida
Palm Beach County, Florida
Pasco County, Florida
Pinellas County, Florida
Polk County, Florida
Santa Rosa County, Florida
Sarasota County, Florida*
Seminole County, Florida
Volusia County, Florida
Cobb County, Georgia
Fulton County, Georgia
Gwinnett County, Georgia
Hall County, Georgia
Jackson County, Georgia
Oconee County, Georgia
Honolulu County, Hawaii
Cook County, Illinois
DuPage County, Illinois
Lake County, Illinois
Tazewell County, Illinois
Allen County, Indiana
Cass County, Indiana
Hamilton County, Indiana
Howard County, Indiana
La Porte County, Indiana
Noble County, Indiana
Tipton County, Indiana
Carroll County, Iowa
Dallas County, Iowa
Hardin County, Iowa
Linn County, Iowa
Polk County, Iowa
Scott County, Iowa
Warren County, Iowa
Ford County, Kansas
Johnson County, Kansas
East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana
Kennebec County, Maine
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Baltimore County, Maryland
Carroll County, Maryland
Cecil County, Maryland
Frederick County, Maryland
Harford County, Maryland
Howard County, Maryland
Montgomery County, Maryland
Talbot County, Maryland
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Branch County, Michigan
Grand Traverse County, Michigan
Isabella County, Michigan
Kent County, Michigan
Macomb County, Michigan
Midland County, Michigan
Oakland County, Michigan
Wayne County, Michigan
Dakota County, Minnesota
Olmsted County, Minnesota
Otter Tail County, Minnesota
Scott County, Minnesota
Wright County, Minnesota
Green County, Missouri
Yellowstone County, Montana
Douglas County, Nebraska
Clark County, Nevada
Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
Rockingham County, New Hampshire
Bergen County, New Jersey
Camden County, New Jersey
Hudson County, New Jersey
Monmouth County, New Jersey
Morris County, New Jersey
Passaic County, New Jersey
Sussex County, New Jersey
Union County, Bew Jersey
Bernalillo County, New Mexico
Dutchess County, New York
Erie County, New York
Greene County, New York
Monroe County, New York
Nassau County, New York
Niagara, New York
Oneida County, New York
Onondaga County, New York
Orange County, New York
Putnam County, New York
Queens County, New York
Suffolk County, New York
Wayne County, New York
Westchester County, New York
Buncombe County, North Carolina
Cabarrus County, North Carolina
Chatham County, North Carolina
Davidson County, North Carolina
Forsyth County, North Carolina
Gaston County, North Carolina
Guilford County, North Carolina
Iredell County, North Carolina
Mecklenburg, North Carolina
New Hanover County, North Carolina
Onslow County, North Carolina
Rowan County, North Carolina
Stanly County, North Carolina
Union County, North Carolina
Wake County, North Carolina
Wilson County, North Carolina
Ward County, North Dakota
Williams County, North Dakota
Delaware County, Ohio
Hamilton County, Ohio
Lake County, Ohio
Madison County, Ohio
Stark County, Ohio
Summit County, Ohio
Canadian County, Oklahoma
Garfield County, Oklahoma
Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma
Tulsa County, Oklahoma
Douglas County, Oregon
Adams County, Pennsylvania
Beaver County, Pennsylvania
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Chester County, Pennsylvania
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Franklin County, Pennsylvania
Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
McKean County, Pennsylvania
Monroe County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Northampton County, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Pike County, Pennsylvania
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
Union County, Pennsylvania
Washington County, Pennsylvania
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
York County, Pennsylvania
Washington County, Rhode Island
Anderson County, South Carolina
Beaufort County, South Carolina
Berkeley County, South Carolina
Charleston County, South Carolina
Florence County, South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
Horry County, South Carolina
Kershaw County, South Carolina
Lexington County, South Carolina
Pickens County, South Carolina
Richland County, South Carolina
York County, South Carolina
Meade County, South Dakota
Minnehaha County, South Dakota
Pennington County, South Dakota
Blount County, Tennessee
Greene County, Tennessee
Hamilton County, Tennessee
Knox County, Tennessee
Putnam County, Tennessee
Shelby County, Tennessee
Williamson County, Tennessee
Wilson County, Tennessee
Comal County, Texas
Corpus Christi-Nueces County, Texas
Denton County, Texas
Galveston County, Texas
Gillespie County, Texas
Harris County, Texas
Hays County, Texas
Kerr County, Texas
Lubbock County, Texas
Lynn County, Texas
Montgomery County, Texas
Taylor County, Texas
Williamson County, Texas
Bedford County, Virginia
Fauquier County, Virginia
Loudoun County, Virginia
Montgomery County, Virginia
Prince William County, Virginia
Stafford County, Virginia
Suffolk County, Virginia
Benton County, Washington
Douglas-Chelan County, Washington
King County, Washington
Pierce County, Washington
Kanawha County, West Virginia
Burnett County, Wisconsin
Dane County, Wisconsin
Jefferson County, Wisconsin
Kenosha County, Wisconsin
Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Ozaukee County, Wisconsin
Polk County, Wisconsin
Racine County, Wisconsin
St. Croix County, Wisconsin
Washington County, Wisconsin
Waukesha, Wisconsin
Winnebago County, Wisconsin
Wood County, Wisconsin
Hot Springs County, Wyoming
Laramie County, Wyoming
Natrona County, Wyoming
Sweetwater County, Wyoming
National Constitutional Coalition of Patriotic Americans
Connecticut
Maine
Bridgeport, West Virginia
New Jersey Project
Medford, New Jersey
No Left Turn in Education
Hartford, Connecticut
Tallahassee, Florida
Louisville, Kentucky
St. Paul, Minnesota
Jefferson City, Missouri
Concord, New Hampshire
Portland, Oregon
Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Oath Keepers
Indiana
Oath Keepers USA
Orem, Utah*
Utah
Overpasses for Christ
Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma
Panhandle Patriots Riding Club
Kootenai County, Idaho
Parents Defending Education
Midlothian, Virginia*
Parents Involved in Education
Alabama
Alaska
California
Colorado
Florida
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
South Dakota
Parents’ Rights in Education
Alaska
Arizona
California
Idaho
Illinois
Maine
Montana
New York
Ohio
Oregon
Rhode Island
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin
Pavement Education Project
Garner, North Carolina
People’s Rights
California
Emmett, Idaho*
Central Oregon
Utah
Washington
PragerU
Sherman Oaks, California
Protect Your Children (Team PYC)
Trenton, New Jersey
Purple for Parents Indiana
Town of Winona Lake, Indiana
Reawaken America
Collinsville, Oklahoma
Renew America
Provo, Utah
Riders United for a Sovereign America Corp.
Tempe, Arizona
Rogue Nation Eternal Milita
South Dakota
Save Oregon Schools
Beaverton, Oregon
Secure Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
State of Jefferson Formation
Shasta County, California
Super Happy Fun America
Woburn, Massachusetts
Tactical Civics
Baldwin County, Alabama
Lee County, Alabama
Madison County, Alabama
Tuscaloosa County, Alabama
Walker County, Alabama
Maricopa County, Arizona
Mohave County, Arizona
Benton County, Arkansas
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Fountain County, Colorado
Longmont, Colorado
Weld County, Colorado
Colorado
Collier County, Florida
Duval County, Florida
Indian River County, Florida
Lee County, Florida
Manatee County, Florida
Oakaloosa County, Florida
Orange County, Florida
Osceola County, Florida
Polk County, Florida
St. Johns County, Florida
Bartow County, Georgia
Chattooga County, Georgia
Cherokee County, Georgia
Cobb County, Georgia
Dawson County, Georgia
Fannin County, Georgia
Floyd County, Georgia
Franklin County, Georgia
Habersham County, Georgia
Hall County, Georgia
Houston County, Georgia
Lamar County, Georgia
Lee County, Georgia
Macon County, Georgia
Miller County, Georgia
Montgomery County, Georgia
Pickens County, Georgia
Rabun County, Georgia
Union County, Georgia
Washington County, Georgia
Ada County, Idaho
Lawrence County, Illinois
Madison County, Illinois
Will County, Illinois
Lawrence County, Indiana
Marshall County, Indiana
Starke County, Indiana
Barton County, Kansas
Kentucky
Caddo County, Louisiana
East Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Lafayette County, Louisiana
St. Tammany County, Louisiana
Aroostook County, Maine
Maine
Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Barry County, Michigan
Gratiot County, Michigan
Montcalm County, Michigan
Ionia County, Michigan
Isabella County, Michigan
Oakland County, Michigan
Tuscola County, Michigan
Anoka County, Minnesota
Ramsey County, Minnesota
Wabasha County, Minnesota
Lamar County, Mississippi
St. Charles County, Missouri
Cascade County, Montana
Fergus County, Montana
Gallatin County, Montana
Jefferson County, Montana
Lewis and Clark County, Montana
Madison County, Montana
Park County, Montana
Silver Bow County, Montana
Lancaster County, Nebraska
Cheshire County, New Hampshire
Broome County, New York
Nassau County, New York
Suffolk County, New York
New York
Gaston County, North Carolina
Polk County, North Carolina
Rutherford County, North Carolina
Wake County, North Carolina
North Carolina
Geauga, Ohio
Creek County, Oklahoma
Hughes County, Oklahoma
Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
Malheur County, Oregon
Blair County, Pennsylvania
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Clearfield County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Charleston County, South Carolina
Greenville County, South Carolina
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Crockett County, Tennessee
Davidson County, Tennessee
Greene County, Tennessee
Hawkins County, Tennessee
Macon County, Tennessee
Morgan County, Tennessee
Tennessee
Austin County, Texas
Bandera County, Texas
Bexar County, Texas
Boerne, Texas*
Collin County, Texas
Dallas County, Texas
Denton County, Texas
Ellis County, Texas
Freestone County, Texas
Kendall County, Texas
Liberty County, Texas
Montgomery County, Texas
Palo Pinto County, Texas
Parker County, Texas
San Patricio County, Texas
Tarrant County, Texas
Van Zandt County, Texas
Washington County, Texas
Henrico County, Virginia
Virginia
Clark County, Washington
Dodge County, Wisconsin
Kittias County, Washington
Snohomish County, Washington
Spokane County, Washington
Marathon County, Wisconsin
Monroe County, Wisconsin
Tea Party of Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Tenth Amendment Center
Irvine, California
Texas Freedom Coalition
Flint, Texas
The Patriot Depot
Powder Springs, Georgia
Timber Unity
Oregon
True Texas Project
Tarrant County, Texas
Truth in Education
Milton, Georgia
United Patriot Party of North Carolina
Tobaccoville, North Carolina
United States Minutemen — American Patriots Coalition
Palm Bay, Florida
US Parents Involved in Education
Lugoff, South Carolina
Utah Constitutional Militia
Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah Parents United
North Salt Lake, Utah
Utah Patriots
Salt Lake City, Utah
We Are Change
Los Angeles, California
Denver, Colorado
Waterbury, Connecticut
Orlando, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Chicago, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois
New York City, New York
New York County, New York
Texas
Wild Bill for America
South Daytona, Florida