Far-right militant groups align with issue-oriented groups ahead of midterms

Far-right militant¹ groups align² with issue-oriented groups ahead of midterms

Transcript³

A report says instances of political violence were down slightly in 2021 from the year before. But militant groups were recruiting and shifting tactics to lay the groundwork for increased violence.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The legacy⁴ of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol looms⁵ over America's upcoming elections. A new report says that the number of active, self-styled militia⁶ groups in the U.S. thinned out last year. Politically driven protests declined, as well. But the study says these groups have shifted tactics in ways that may mean increased political violence around this year's midterm elections. NPR's Odette Yousef covers domestic extremism, and she joins us this morning. Hey, Odette.

ODETTE YOUSEF, BYLINE⁷: Good morning.

MARTIN: Lay out the findings of this report, if you could.

YOUSEF: Well, the report looks at protest activity in the U.S. in 2021, Rachel, which, as you note, started with a violent riot at the U.S. Capitol. And as you said, overall, there was a decline, but I want to share what Roudabeh Kishi told me. She's the director of research and innovation at ACLED, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, which put out the report.

ROUDABEH KISHI: Just because we saw a decline, it doesn't mean that the underlying⁸ problems are resolved. And it can, in fact, distract from early warning signs that can point to where these problems might only be metastasizing.

YOUSEF: So while some groups like the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters did decrease activity, others actually increased activity, most notably⁹ the far-right Proud Boys. We also saw some movements that we might have expected to wane¹⁰, like QAnon, that were just as strong as they had been the previous year. And, Rachel, one of the more concerning trends was increased activity by groups with an explicit¹¹ white nationalist or white supremacist agenda.

MARTIN: So despite some of these downward trends, sounds like you and the report are saying there is some cause to be worried as we look towards the midterms.

YOUSEF: That's right because of how these groups shifted tactics last year. You know, one concern is that they found new ways to recruit by kind of cross-pollinating with other groups or causes like anti-vax or anti-masking events. The data also showed an increase in armed demonstrations¹² at state capitols and a rise in violent or destructive counterdemonstrations. So all together, conflict scholars are looking at this and thinking it won't take very much to light a fuse around some flashpoint issue in this year.

MARTIN: Say more about flashpoint issues. What are those?

YOUSEF: Well, we've been talking about the midterms, but the truth is, you know, even people who track this stuff closely know you can't make predictions. You know, think about 2020. I don't think anyone would have guessed that the police killing¹³ of George Floyd would reignite a season of social justice demonstrations. So the best they can do is track what's motivating violent actors to mobilize. Right now, a big one is anti-LGBTQ rights. And we're also seeing violence now at abortion-related demonstrations that we hadn't seen in 2020.

MARTIN: So given how amorphous¹⁴ the risk is, what can anyone do to head off the possibility of political violence?

YOUSEF: I spoke¹⁵ with Shannon Hiller about this. She runs the Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University, which tries to track and mitigate¹⁶ political violence in the U.S. They're looking at what can be done in advance at a local level - so helping¹⁷ civic¹⁸ organizations and faith groups, for example, get de-escalation training and become aware of what local paramilitary groups operate in their area. She frames this as a, you know, as building community resilience.

SHANNON HILLER: We ramp¹⁹ up to these moments of the election, and then we ramp down again this capacity. But this is something that needs to be an ongoing²⁰ process and isn't something that we should only do around elections.

YOUSEF: You know, I should note, though, it's hard to say when advance work has successfully kept political violence from happening.

MARTIN: NPR's Odette Yousef, thank you.

YOUSEF: Thank you.

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

2 align   

vt.使成一线，结盟，调节；vi.成一线，结盟

参考例句：

• Align the ruler and the middle of the paper.使尺子与纸张的中部成一条直线。
• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals.有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

5 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

9 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

10 wane   

n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦

参考例句：

• The moon is on the wane.月亮渐亏。
• Her enthusiasm for him was beginning to wane.她对他的热情在开始减退。

11 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

12 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

14 amorphous   

adj.无定形的

参考例句：

• There was a weakening of the intermolecular bonds,primarily in the amorphous region of the polymer.分子间键合减弱，尤其在聚合物的无定形区内更为明显。
• It is an amorphous colorless or white powder.它是一种无定形的无色或白色粉末。

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

19 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

20 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。