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On Friday, @secdef announced new measures Friday intended to address growing concerns about extremists in the DOD & armed forces.
@ProPublica has been covering this issue for years. (THREAD) https://twitter.com/DeptofDefense/status/1380591338736001034
@ProPublica has been covering this issue for years. (THREAD) https://twitter.com/DeptofDefense/status/1380591338736001034
2/ Working with @FRONTLINEPBS in 2018, we identified at least a half-dozen members of the white supremacist group Atomwaffen Division who were either currently in the military or had previously served. https://www.propublica.org/article/atomwaffen-division-hate-group-active-duty-military
3/ While the military is publicly unaccepting of extremists, one former Marine told us, “At the unit level, I believe there’s a willful ignorance.”
4/ Among those identified in 2018 was Marine Lance Corporal Vasillios Pistolis, who bragged online about violently attacking a trans woman in Charlottesville.
5/ When we spoke to him, Pistolis told us he'd been questioned about his extremist activities months earlier by NCIS, but that the investigation had been dropped.
6/ However, after our report was published, the Marines opened up a new probe of the young Marine, who was also linked to a number of other extremist hate groups. https://www.propublica.org/article/marines-open-investigation-into-active-duty-white-supremacist
7/ Pistolis was subsequently booted from the Corps and briefly imprisoned. https://www.propublica.org/article/vasilios-pistolis-imprisoned-marine-hate-groups
8/ Marine Corps leadership responded to concerns at the time by updating & clarifying orders, many of which hadn't been revised in years, on prohibitions against service members' participation in extremist groups. https://www.propublica.org/article/marines-move-to-tackle-racial-extremists-in-the-corps
9/ However, recent events have shown that there are still service members actively joining up with extremist factions.
10/ Through interviews, social media accounts & court records, ProPublica & FRONTLINE recently identified more than 20 Boogaloo Bois or sympathizers who’ve served in the armed forces.
11/ Over the past 18 months, 13 of them have been arrested on charges ranging from the possession of illegal automatic weapons to the manufacture of explosives to murder. https://www.propublica.org/article/boogaloo-bois-military-training
12/ “We are seeing an increase in concerning behavior,” said one official about reports of extremists within the military.
13/ This week, ProPublica once again joins FRONTLINE and @ucbsoj to examine the path that led to the attack on the US Capitol in "American Insurrection," airing 4/13 on PBS and streaming online. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/american-insurrection/
14/ Watch the trailer here:
