In general, the Patriot movement seems to operate with an \u201cinside\/outside\u201d strategy: some parts of the movement work inside of established government structures to change them, while at the same time other parts work outside the system to undermine it. The most dangerous elements of their political toolbox involve an obsession with armed political action and threatening their political opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The establishment of armed camps, when movement supporters are in conflict with the federal government, is the most visible tactic. However, movement activists have also brandished weapons at many other political events which otherwise would be familiar to the political mainstream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The movement holds armed marches, including many \u201copen carry\u201d marches to publicly exercise their legal rights to brandish firearms in public. (In the movement\u2019s jargon these are called \u201c2A\u201d events, after the Second Amendment of the Constitution.) As already mentioned, in July 2015, the Oath Keepers called for their armed followers to \u201cguard\u201d military recruiting stations around the country, including several in Oregon. The Oath Keepers also had people in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014 and 2015. They also offered to guard Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis; she refused the offer, however. The Patriot movement\u2019s armed demonstrations outside mosques have become more frequent, and the movement is involved with vigilante border patrols, especially in Arizona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The heavily armed Patriot movement is well-known for threatening its opponents. This was also a feature of the Posse Comitatus and militia movements. Oregonians have been flooded with threats from movement members; targets include Rural Organizing Project staff and board, environmentalists, the Harney County sheriff and his family, other law enforcement officials, federal employees, a Native American leader, Oregon legislators that support gun laws, and the Oregon Governor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The threats come in the context of wild calls for armed resistance against looming tyranny. A combination of accessible video recording on smart phones, services like YouTube and Facebook that can host video, and distribution via social media helps facilitate these violent calls, which often originate from grassroots activists who are under less pressure than top leaders to constrain their rhetoric. One example is a video of a man with an assault rifle\u2014filmed at night and shared over 2,000 times on Facebook\u2014who calls President Obama a Nazi and a traitor, and says, \u201cI openly advocate armed, deadly and, lethal force against any future national gun confiscation.\u201d(1)<\/sup><\/a>James J Stachowiak, Facebook post, October 7, 2015, www.facebook.com\/freedomfighterradio.net\/videos\/428643073992803<\/a> (private settings), screenshot in possession of author. Also online at: \u201cA warning to all politicians We the People will not disarm,\u201d YouTube video, 15:36, posted by \u201cJohnny Infidel,\u201c July 22, 2016, www.youtube.com\/watch?v=taKvec7eEo8<\/a><\/span><\/span>