In September of 2022, Gun Owners of America (GOA) lawyer Stephen Stamboulieh leaked documents to AmmoLand News showing the FBI targeting so-called “militant violent extremists” (MVEs) by referencing symbols such as the Betsy Ross flag and a symbol of a minute man. This leak led GOA to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents.
The FBI initially refused to turn over any documents to the gun rights group, leading GOA to file a lawsuit against the FBI demanding that the Bureau turn over the documents. Instead of the court issuing an order compelling the government to release the documents, the FBI relented and gave them up.
Since we initially broke the story, GOA has furnished AmmoLand News with an exclusive look at the documents. The new documents show that the FBI’s targeting of certain groups is not limited to the Three Percenters and Oath Keepers. The FBI is also targeting other groups. Some threats seem credible, while other threats seem like the government is reaching. AmmoLand News will be running a series of articles about what is in the documents. This series will shed light on what the FBI believes to be threats to the homeland.
The first set of documents is the FBI addressing what it calls “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists” (RMVEs) and Islamist extremists. This document covers these two ideologies working together for a shared goal. That goal is to bring about the collapse of Western democracies.
The FBI defines RMVEs as “those that advocate for the superiority of the White race.” The document claims that Islamic “Foreign Terrorist Organizations” (FTOs) are likely discouraged from working with RMVEs due to distrust, but the FBI claims that some RMVEs are sympathetic to Islamists and want to pursue alliances with these groups. It seems like the FBI thinks these groups believe in the “enemy of my enemy is my friend” strategy. The FBI states that both RMVEs and FTOs are brought together by their anti-Semitism and their opposition to liberal Western democracy.
According to the FBI, both groups believe in an “international Jewish conspiracy to control government, international finance, and the media. Islamic extremist believes there is a conspiracy among Jews to promote Zionist imperialism. They view Western countries as part of a “Zionist-crusader alliance.” Whereas RMVEs believe that Jews are complicit in White genocide.
The FBI claims that both groups are concerned with social values being pushed by liberal Western democracies. These values include globalism, multiculturalism, and feminism. Both groups view these values as “corrosive” to society. The Islamic extremists seek to “replicate the legal traditions and customs during the time of the Prophet Mohammed.” RMVEs view these values as compromising the integrity of the White race. The FBI claims that RMVEs have sought an alliance with Islamic extremists to speed up the collapse of Western society through violence.
The FBI is also concerned about “ideology hoppers.” Ideology hoppers are based on the concept of “ideology mixers.” These are US-based people that “adopt aspects of, or switch between, FTO-inspired violent extremist and RMVE ideologies.” The FBI does not consider these moves to be a true ideological conversion. The FBI believes that these conversions outnumber actual conversions. The FBI is also worried about these groups sharing tactical strategies. Suicide terrorism is mentioned in the documents.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. Mr. Crump has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.