猫咪社区

During last month鈥檚 presidential debate, President Trump encouraged his supporters to, 鈥済o to the polls and watch very closely.鈥� His call to action was followed by claims that voter fraud was already occurring this election cycle, citing alleged examples in  that were debunked within days by government officials.  

But a report by the Department of Homeland Security released earlier this month suggests that one of federal law enforcement鈥檚 top concerns this Nov. 3 isn鈥檛 ballots being dumped into rivers or fraudulent mail-in voting鈥攊t鈥檚 domestic extremists at polling sites. 

 explicitly acknowledges that 鈥渄omestic violent extremists,鈥� or DVEs, are the most likely groups to engage in Election Day violence. 鈥淪ome DVEs and other violent actors might target events related to the 2020 Presidential campaigns, the election itself, election results, or the post-election period,鈥� the report states, adding that, 鈥渟uch actors could mobilize quickly to threaten or engage in violence.鈥� 

The report also suggests that, 鈥淥pen-air, publicly accessible parts of physical election infrastructure, such as campaign-associated mass gatherings, polling places, and voter registration events, would be the most likely flashpoints for potential violence.鈥�

In West Virginia, local law enforcement are quick to downplay concern about such groups, and so far there have been no reports in the state of plans or efforts by groups to intimidate voters.  that the type of armed violence and intimidation used by similar groups against civil rights activists and COVID-19 related government orders this summer may be a foreshadowing of violence on or after Election Day.

In a statement published last week,  at the polls:

鈥淩ight-wing activists and self-styled militias mobilized first this year as part of anti-lockdown protests and later in response to the nationwide Black Lives Matter demonstrations, taking to the streets in an effort to counter the racial justice advocates, antifascists and leftists they consider political adversaries. For many in the far right, the contest taking place at the polls is simply a continuation of the one they鈥檝e been carrying out in the streets: It鈥檚 an effort to take a stand against groups they see as domestic enemies and impose their own version of 鈥渙rder.鈥�

West Virginia has a long history with domestic extremism in all of its flavors. The , according to one study of period documents. The SPLC鈥檚 website shows that, as of 2019, there were  in the state鈥攐ne participated in the 2017 Charlottesville, Virginia, neo-Nazi rally. Meanwhile, militia-style groups are an open secret in West Virginia, but overt violence has been a rare occurrence in recent years. In 1996, seven West Virginians were arrested by the FBI for a plot to attack an FBI building in Clarksburg. Their group, the Mountaineer Militia, openly recruited members through flyers posted around the state. Today, there are at least four active militia style groups operating in West Virginia alone and dozens of similar groups from neighboring states that frequently travel through West Virginia for training and protests. Until recently, Facebook groups were the preferred recruitment tool. Now that most have been removed from the social media site, they use encrypted chat apps and militia-oriented websites to communicate. 

鈥淭he way that these groups are often organized is in response to political dynamics that are being observed. What becomes a very clear spatial indicator of that is where they run into people who have, for example, Biden signs in some yards. So they can still be pretty small towns, but there are pockets of people who disagree politically,鈥� explained Hampton Stall, editor in chief of , an independent research blog that recently published a  with the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, or . 

In neighboring Pennsylvania, widespread concerns about potential violence at voting locations prompted Attorney General Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania District Attorney鈥檚 Association to team up as prosecutors to 鈥渆nsure the election process is free from fraud, intimidation and other violations of the law.鈥�

鈥淲e will not hesitate to use our authority to hold people accountable for violating our Election Code, which gives Pennsylvanians the right to have their vote count and to cast their vote free from intimidation,鈥� Shapiro said in a . 

West Virginia county government and law enforcement officials reported a lack of any training or advice from state elections officials on countering potential DVE in-person threats to this year鈥檚 election, but they also were quick to say that they don鈥檛 expect any violence or intimidation incidents to happen. Law enforcement officers who鈥檝e worked multiple elections suggested that the worst Election Day violations they鈥檝e dealt with were people placing signs too close to polling sites and the occasional power failure requiring a frantic search for generators, and none appear concerned about Election Day intimidation or violence.

According to Preston County Sheriff Dan Loughrie, the strategy for Election Day security is, 鈥渨hatever happens at the time, it happens. I鈥檝e been here eight years and I鈥檝e never had any issues.鈥� As for the threat of domestic extremist activity, 鈥渨e鈥檙e not concerned with that, not at this point.鈥� 

But only a month ago, extremism reared its head in Preston County, when a small group of Black Lives Matter demonstrators were met by more than 50 armed counterprotesters in front of Loughrie鈥檚 office in Kingwood, West Virginia. In many ways, Kingwood embodies how a tumultuous and sometimes violent summer across America played out in small-town Appalachia. Only a month and a half before that demonstration in the county seat,  was peaceful, resulting in calm conversations between the BLM demonstrators and members of an armed counter movement, serving as a touchstone of pride for communities who feared widespread violence and bigotry. By September, something had changed.

Rumors on Facebook circulated among counterprotesters before the Sept. 12 demonstration in Kingwood that claimed, without evidence, 鈥渂usloads鈥� of protesters from Baltimore or Pittsburgh were heading to the mountain community. Many counterprotesters cited a  of restaurant-goers in Pittsburgh antagonized by BLM activists as evidence that the small protest in their town was a threat to the community. 

The counterprotest in Kingwood was attended by a variety of groups that the DHS report warned of in its October threat assessment. At least three neo-Nazis stood alongside Three Percenters, militia members from Pennsylvania, dozens of Trump supporters and other Preston County locals armed with rifles as they berated the small group of BLM supporters, which included state delegate Danielle Walker, who later  to the governor asking him to condemn the openly racist verbal attacks she experienced that day. Gov. Jim Justice publicly announced that he鈥檇 directed the West Virginia State Police and the West Virginia Human Rights Commission to investigate the incident, but Preston County Sheriff鈥檚 Department officials said the protest was overblown and an anomaly, not representative of the political climate in the area. 

On the other hand, Stall of MilitiaWatch said the protest in Kingwood and similar incidents in the state may be a cause for deeper concern come Election Day. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a huge red flag, I鈥檇 say, for a couple different reasons. But specifically, networked right-wing violence relies very heavily on patterns. If there鈥檚 been action in that particular location, especially if it鈥檚 been a highly tense situation, those events can replicate themselves and escalate. So, if it鈥檚 a space where these guys saw it as a victory, as a uniting event that will almost certainly replicate itself should those networks remain active.鈥�

West Virginia鈥檚 Secretary of State Mac Warner has an unambiguous message for anyone tempted to follow the President鈥檚 call to action or other calls to show up at polling sites: 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not allowed to go inside the polling sites, they鈥檙e not allowed within 100 feet. That鈥檚 not permissible in West Virginia.鈥� 

According to West Virginia law, only poll workers and voters are allowed within 100 feet of a polling location on Election Day. While the law is unambiguous, there鈥檚 been enough incidents in neighboring states鈥擳rump supporters  during early voting and 鈥攖o give some cause for concern. Local concerns about the election appear to roughly fall along partisan lines: Democrat voters are concerned about Election Day intimidation by Trump supporters and right-wing groups, while conservative voters are distrustful of mail-in voting and fear violence by antifa. 

At a small pro-Trump truck parade in Fairmont, West Virginia, on Oct. 25, Shawn Devericks, who鈥檚 been involved in pro-Trump organizing since 2016, expressed concern about the upcoming election. 

鈥淚 think that people will actually do what鈥檚 right, in a sense, but you鈥檝e got to keep on a lookout for everything. With the militias going around and antifa, Black Lives Matter, everybody else, there鈥檚 going to be intimidation.鈥� 

Standing next to another Trump supporter鈥檚 truck with a Three Percenter sticker in the window, Devericks said that, while he doesn鈥檛 expect issues at the polls on Nov. 3, reports of left wing activists at polling sites could draw people to action. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to come armed and dangerous, Trump supporters are coming armed. Not saying dangerous, but we believe in the Second Amendment. West Virginia is an open carry state.鈥�

Devericks is not, by any means, an extremist. But his concerns about the election鈥攁nd what he thinks would justify armed civilians at polling sites鈥攕peak to a growing concern about the potential for voter intimidation on Election Day, according to Stall.

鈥淭he fact that we see a lot of discussion about the election 鈥榖eing stolen鈥� by Biden, that鈥檚 something that鈥檚 highly notable here,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ecause even if it doesn鈥檛 actually happen, is a Trump loss going to be fully accepted by some of these people? Or is it going to be seen as a coup organized by the Democrats? In which case, response is not only likely, but for many groups will be seen as mandatory.鈥�

The single case of attempted election fraud reported this year in the state was an effort by a  on eight absentee ballot request forms to Republican. The ballot applications were intercepted and, according to Warner, the USPS Inspector General鈥檚 Office assisted the state and federal investigators in prosecuting the mail carrier in Pendleton County, who pleaded guilty to the charges. 

 were quick to defend election security efforts and assure voters that West Virginia鈥檚 elections are safe, whether one votes in person or by mail. But some West Virginians still echo the President鈥檚 claims that mail-in voting is insecure. 

According to Warner, more than 300 law enforcement agencies, from county sheriff鈥檚 departments to their Department of Defense cybersecurity liaisons, will be operating on Nov. 3 in West Virginia. But while the secretary and other state and federal law enforcement departments were quick to point out their coordination and preparation for Election Day security, none were willing to comment directly on their plans to specifically counter potential Election Day violence or in-person intimidation by extremists (the West Virginia State Police declined interview requests for this story). 

While violence by extremists has been almost nonexistent in West Virginia, incidents in other states have brought the issue to national attention recently. On Thursday, Oct. 8,  who were allegedly planning to overthrow the state government before Election Day, a plan that would begin with the kidnapping of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Witmer. The arrests of those involved鈥攁nd revelations that the plot began in early 2020 and had members and targets in other states鈥攅mphasized concerns by journalists, analysts and  that America is currently in the midst of a wave of extremist violence by far-right, anti-government and white supremacist groups across the country. 

鈥淰iolent extremist media almost certainly will spread violent extremist ideologies, especially via social media, that encourage violence and influence action within the United States,鈥� the October DHS report notes鈥�, in which the sharing of memes that openly endorse or advocate for the extrajudicial murder of 鈥渃ommunists,鈥� Black Lives Matter activists and law enforcement officers is common. 鈥淰iolent extremists will continue their efforts to exploit public fears associated with COVID-19 and social grievances driving lawful protests to incite violence, intimidate targets, and promote their violent extremist ideologies,鈥� says the study. A description that fits the profile of armed anti-mask protesters and  from overwhelmingly peaceful BLM demonstrations across the country鈥攊ncluding Berkeley Springs, Parkersburg and Kingwood in West Virginia.

Perhaps most telling is the description of what type of tactics the DHS report attributes to DVEs: Vehicle ramming, small arms, edged weapons and IEDs are all core tactics of the various groups that fall under the 鈥渇ar-right extremist鈥� umbrella. in the U.S. had been charged after attacking BLM protesters with their vehicles. In Appalachia,  along the route of a BLM march in Pittsburgh鈥攐ne of three men in Pennsylvania alone arrested this summer for illegal explosives. A group of BLM activists walking from Minneapolis to Washington, D.C., . 

The report does include one tactic that has been more associated with anarchists and antifa activists: arson. While so far  by a self-described antifa activist during an altercation at a far right rally in Portland, Oregon,  in major cities during BLM associated demonstrations鈥攖hough no arson attacks have resulted in death, and no attack has occurred or been directed at election efforts.

According to Stall, while there may not be clear indications of specific groups planning violence on Election Day in West Virginia, 鈥渨e have to read between the lines a lot here.鈥� 

鈥淭hinking about right wing activism in the United States,鈥� Stall said, 鈥渢he bigger picture of it is often fears of what is to come, rather than what is actually happening.鈥� 

This article was originally co-published by  and , for which Chris Jones is a  corps member covering domestic extremism in Appalachia.  his investigative reporting through the GroundTruth initiative. This article has been edited for 猫咪社区! Magazine.