Neo-Nazis, White Supremacists, Militia Members, QAnon Conspiracy Theorists In U.S. Engage With Political System – Some Run For Office, Others Threaten Politicians And Express Disillusionment With Politics: 'There Is No Political Solution'; 'Voting Will Not Remove Them'

Following the November 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, extremists from across the fringes of the ideological spectrum have been increasingly attempting to gain a foothold in politics. While some neo-Nazis and white supremacists have run or plan to run for office at the federal level, the majority have sought election on a local and state level. Neo-Nazis, white supremacists, militia members, and QAnon conspiracy theorists have recently run for office in multiple states. As of this writing 68 former and current adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory, which has been linked to the January 6 Capitol riot, are running for Congress in 2022, making it the most highly represented extremist ideology in the coming election cycle.[1]

Independent candidates have run on extremist platforms, and a number of dedicated extremist political parties have emerged in recent years. The white supremacist National Justice Party (NJP), which is still in its nascent stages but is growing rapidly, is focused on promoting a "pro-white" agenda and promotes a number of markedly antisemitic policies. Some supporters believe that political ambitions lay in the NJP's future.

Additionally, there has been on social media a marked uptick in violent rhetoric directed against specific politicians and against the government as a whole. Some extremists have voiced their disillusionment with electoral politics, and often repeat the slogan "there is no political solution." Oftentimes this phrase is used by anti-government accelerationists who maintain that violence, or revolution is the only solution. More organized groups like the white supremacist Northwest Front promote a white ethnostate which would entail an independent governing body. In a similar vein, neo-Confederate white supremacist group the League of the South and its adherents advocate for secession. Politically and ideologically motivated secession discourse is popular among figures such as prominent neo-Nazi Billy Roper, who advocates for a white ethnostate in the Ozarks, or neo-Nazi USMC veteran Christopher Pohlhaus who encourages likeminded individuals to move to Maine. Eco-extremists and accelerationists reject politics altogether and condone sowing the seeds of chaos to destroy the system at large.

A multitude of neo-Nazi and white supremacists disseminate conspiracies espousing that Jews have an inordinate amount of control over American politics, while others maintain that there is little difference between the Democratic and Republican parties. In particular, the neo-Nazi group the Goyim Defense League have disseminated flyers purporting that Jews are behind issues such as immigration and gun control, and that they have an inordinate amount of influence in President Biden's administration.

The following report will examine the losses, victories, and upcoming midterm elections of a sample of extremists who span different ideologies. Additionally, the report will examine some of the discourse extremists engage in when discussing politics.

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