It's been nearly one month since a militia-led recall effort affiliated with the Proud Boys succeeded in ousting Supervisor Leonard Moty in Shasta County. An avowed Proud Boy is openly running for the 7th Assembly District against incumbent Ken Cooley. A Sacramento County supervisor, Sue Frost, recently engaged in discussions with extremists, including the Proud Boys, about how to help the Canadian trucker convoy (she claims she was unaware she was talking to far-right groups). Over the past few years, protesters on the far right and far left have shown up at politicians’ homes and threatened them. Demonstrators have harassed school children, prompting buffer zones around schools in Beverly Hills.
If you think these are anomalies, think again. It’s part of a pattern of rising political extremism, and GrassrootsLab’s Mike Madrid believes it’s about to get much worse. Madrid told the Capitol Weekly Podcast that he not only expects more extremist-driven recalls, but also a rise in intimidation tactics and violence over the next 18 months.
These groups aren’t waging ideological battles, says Madrid. Their efforts are designed to disrupt government itself. At times with the help of foreign sources, these groups seek to undermine confidence in democratically-elected governments.
Listen to the episode here and check out Mike's latest op-ed for the Sacramento Bee.