#1375 The Militia Movement is Having a Moment (Throwback)
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.6 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 18 July 2025
⏱️ 70 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Original Air Date: 10–16-2020
Today we take a look at the history and origins of the American militia movement right up to the recent plot to kidnap the Governor of Michigan, the likelihood of more violence and the high probability that they will show up at polling places on Election Day.
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SHOW NOTES
Just months after President Trump tweeted for his supporters to "LIBERATE MICHIGAN!" the FBI has foiled an alleged plot to kidnap and take hostage Democratic Governor of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer.
Ch. 2: Ohio has long history with militias; 2020 saw a surge in activity - WBNS 10TV - Air Date 10-9-20
A group of men plotting to kidnap the governor of Michigan met in Dublin.
Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, and Daryl Johnson, owner of DT Analytics and former senior analyst at the Department of Homeland Security, discuss the implications for the upcoming election.
Ch. 4: Mary McCord on Unlawful Militias - CounterSpin - Air Date 10-9-20
Mary McCord, a law professor at Georgetown University & legal director at the school's Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection and an expert on unlawful militias that manage to be part of the political landscape while somehow escaping media.
Ch. 5: Great Replacement Theory - RE-EDUCATION - Air Date 8-16-19
This theory has become mainstream.
Armed vigilantes and militia groups are showing up to Black Lives Matter protests across the country.
Ch. 7: Robert Evans Are We In a Second Civil War? - The Zero Hour with RJ Eskow - Air Date 10-13-20
Robert Evans explains what we need to do to avoid a second Civil War
Belew explains white supremacy is a cultural, social and political problem not just the pathology of a small number of people, what "white power" means, and how white supremacist and other right-wing foot soldiers preparing for various forms of "race war"
Donald Trump told his followers to "liberate Michigan". They answered by attempting to kidnap Governor Whitmer.
SHOW IMAGE:
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to this throwback edition of the award-winning Best of Left podcast, where we remember the past and choose to repeat it. |
| 0:10.1 | Today, in light of ice, more or less officially employing the tactics of lawless, secretive violence and kidnapping in their racist aim to attack their perceived enemies, |
| 0:20.4 | I thought we would take a look |
| 0:21.3 | back just a few years to the right-wing militia movement that was acting illegally and |
| 0:26.4 | secretively in their goal to commit violence and kidnapping against their perceived enemies. |
| 0:31.9 | And now, to look back with an eye on the future, sources today include Democracy Now, |
| 0:37.2 | WBNS-10 TV News, the takeaway, |
| 0:41.2 | counterspin, re-education, the zero hour, the truth report, and the Tom Hartman program. |
| 0:53.0 | The guys that were arrested the other night, they got together online in various groups, |
| 1:00.0 | Facebook groups, and that caught the attention of the FBI. |
| 1:03.9 | Plus, when some of the plotting started to involve the attack on law enforcement, |
| 1:09.7 | somebody got cold feet and became an informant to the FBI, |
| 1:14.9 | and that gave them a better idea of what was going on. These guys are amateurs, essentially, |
| 1:20.8 | but some had explosive training and knew how to make a bomb with shrapnel that actually |
| 1:26.0 | tested it out, and they had tested out and figured out which bridge they wanted to blow up to help in the kidnap of Governor Whitmer. |
| 1:34.5 | So it was fairly along in the planning stages. |
| 1:38.5 | And they were set to go and take go through with their plot right before the election. |
| 1:46.3 | So when you talk about blowing up a bridge, explain what we're talking about here, |
| 1:50.8 | to prevent authorities to come to the aid of Governor Whitmer, who they also had talked |
| 1:56.5 | about lynching. |
| 1:58.3 | Yes, they had, you know, the misogynistic undertones have been there all along. |
| 2:04.2 | That includes in the protest back in April and May, lots of nooses, lots of, you know, Nazi |
... |
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