Patriot Movement In Electoral Politics

The Oregon GOP and Patriot Movement Involvement in Electoral Politics

In Oregon today, there are a number of local and state elected officials who are known to be sympathetic to the Patriot movement, including sheriffs like former Josephine County sheriff Gil Gilbertson and Douglas County’s John Hanlin. But newcomers are also seeking office in November 2016, and many ran in the May 2016 Republican primary. The most prominent new wins for the Patriot movement are Mark Callahan getting through the GOP primary to run against incumbent Democrat Ron Wyden for the U.S. Senate, while Dennis Linthicum is the Republican candidate for state senate.

It is not new for the movement to have connections with Republican elected officials. In the 1990s, militia movement sympathizers included U.S. Representatives Steve Stockman from Texas and Helen Chenoweth-Hage from Idaho, as well as state and local legislators like Colorado State Representative and Senator Charlie Duke.⁽¹⁾Stern, A Force Upon the Plain, 212–17. Others were also involved in the U.S. Taxpayers Party (which changed its name to the Constitution Party in 2000).

However, in Oregon today, the Patriot movement is attempting to use the Republican Party as a political vehicle—its “inside” strategy. You will find Patriot movement activists inside the county party structures. These include Tim Smith, chair of the Harney County Committee of Safety, who is the former chair of the Harney County Republican Party. A leading figure in the Central Oregon Patriots (and a supporter of the Harney County Committee of Safety, founded by Ammon Bundy) is Ken Taylor, who through mid-2016 was treasurer and budget chairman or the Oregon Republican Party, and was also the chair of the Crook County Republican Party.⁽²⁾Taylor is listed on the “Executive Committee” of the Oregon Republican Party, www.oregonrepublicanparty.org/executives, and well as the county GOP chair; see “Crook County,” Oregon Republican Party, www.oregonrepublicanparty.org/CrookCounty. However, he says he is no longer the county GOP chair, and that he submitted his resignation for the state positions in July 2016; email to author, August 8, 2016. Oath Keeper Kody Justus is the vice chair of the Baker County Republican Party, and Jeff Heyen‎ is the vice chair of Marion County Republican Party.⁽³⁾Heyen is active in Patriot movement social media, where he promotes involvement with the state’s Republican Party. Screenshots in possession of author.

In the run-up to the May 2016 primary, state Patriot movement leaders encouraged activists to become a Precinct Committee Person (PCP) in the Republican Party. (PCPs are the lowest-level position in the party; although not a government position, PCP elections are overseen by the county Board of Elections.) This is a strategy known as “entryism,” in which smaller, usually more radical, political factions enter into larger political parties or groups, and attempt to either take them over entirely, or capture part of them, in order to turn it into a vehicle for their own ends. Many Patriot movement activists are now Oregon Republican PCPs—at least 50, and quite possibly double that—including leaders like John Parker, Jr., David Samuel Hill, Jeff Heyen, Joseph Rice, and Colby Damon Olsen.⁽⁴⁾John Parker Jr. and David Samuel Hill, Facebook posts, 2016. Screenshots in possession of author. For Heyen, see “County Officers and Delegates Officers,” Marion County Republicans, www.marioncountygop.org/county_officers_and_delegates; for Olsen, see “Colby Olsen,” LinkedIn page, www.linkedin.com/in/colby-olsen-5b781689; for Rice, see “Precinct Committee Person—Male Republican—21 Cloverlawn (REP) (Vote for 6)” in “Statement of Votes Cast, May 17, 2016 Primary Election, Josephine County, Summary Report,” Josephine County, Oregon, 18, www.co.josephine.or.us/SIB/files/Clerk/Web Results.pdf. Some had to be write-in candidates because they had only recently switched their affiliation so that they could infiltrate the party; party rules require those running to be registered as party members for 180 days before the election.

These new PCPs came to the June 20, 2016 Republican state convention, to help the Patriot movement activists gain party positions. Oath Keeper Joseph Rice became an “at-large delegate” to the national convention; he is also the party chair of CD2 (the second congressional district). Oregon State Representative Bill Post and State Senator Kim Thatcher are at-large delegates. Jo Rae Perkins, who unsuccessfully ran in the May 2016 primary for U.S. Representative, became an “elector,” and the CD5 commission vice chair is now Jeff Heyen.⁽⁵⁾“Oregon Republican Party Delegate Selection Convention OFFICIAL RESULTS of the elections for National Convention Delegate-Elector-Congressional District Officer Elections as of June 20th, 2016,” https://oregon.gop/2016-official-results-national-convention-delegate-elector-cd-officer.

While this level of interaction may seem surprising to some, many of the Patriot movement’s political positions are now standard planks in the GOP. The Oregon Republican Party platform calls for “coordination” and transferring federal lands to “local control,” and denounces Agenda 21, a non-binding United Nations resolution that some see as a conspiracy, as well as the supposed “United Nations efforts to subvert” Second Amendment rights.⁽⁶⁾“Oregon Republican Party 2015 Platform, as amended October 24th 2015,” Oregon Republican Party, https://oregon.gop/sites/default/files/pdfs/ORP_2015_Platform_as_AMENDED_2015-10-24.pdf; see sections 5.1 and 7.6. The platform of the national Republican Party says, “We emphatically reject UN Agenda 21 as erosive of American sovereignty, and we oppose any form of Global Tax.” It also calls for the immediate transfer of federal land to state governments.⁽⁷⁾“Republican Platform 2016,” Republican National Committee, 51, https://prod-static-ngop-pbl.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/DRAFT_12_FINAL%5B1%5D-ben_1468872234.pdf.

These developments may have long-term implications for the Republican Party in the state, and suggests a possible trend to watch for elsewhere in the country.

State-Level Officials

Today, you will find state-level elected officials who are sympathetic to the Patriot movement—in addition to U.S. Representative Greg Walden, who champions some movement causes. They sponsor legislation to pursue movement goals and speak publicly on activists’ behalf even when they take up arms.

When Patriot movement activists established armed camps around Sugar Pine Mine, State Representative Carl Wilson (District 3) wrote a letter in support of the miners—earning the praise of the Oath Keepers.⁽⁸⁾The Facebook account of the Oath Keepers of Oregon posted, “Every Politician should be supporting the miner’s rights or else they are violating their oath. At least Oregon state Rep. Carl Wilson Supports Miners’ Access To Due Process,” May 15, 2015, www.facebook.com/OathKeepersofOregon/posts/686948074750130; the Josephine County Oath Keepers posted Representative Wilson’s press release on their site. “Rep. Carl Wilson Supports Miners’ Access To Due Process,” Oath Keepers of Josephine County, April 28, 2015, http://oathkeepersjoco.com/downloads/Rep-Carl-Wilson-Supports-Miners-Access-To-Due-Process.pdf. Now offline. Wilson also sponsored a failed measure to transfer federal lands to state control; it was cosponsored by State Senators Kim Thatcher (District 13) and Tim Knopp (District 27), and State Representative Duane Stark (District 4).⁽⁹⁾“Senate Joint Memorial 7,” 78th Oregon Legislative Assembly—2015 Regular Session, https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2015R1/Measures/Overview/SJM7; “Senate Joint Memorial 7,” OregonLive/Oregonian, http://gov.oregonlive.com/bill/2015/SJM7. Wilson also cosponsored a bill, HB 3240 to establish a task force on federal land transfer; it, too, went nowhere.⁽¹⁰⁾“2015 Regular Session: HB 3240,” Oregon State Legislature, https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2015R1/Measures/Overview/HB3240 In 2015, Wilson received a $2,500 election donation from Koch Industries (owned by the politically influential Koch Brothers, who help fund the land transfer movement).⁽¹¹⁾Jason Wilson, “The rise of militias: Patriot candidates are now getting elected in Oregon,” Guardian, May 10, 2016, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/10/patriot-movement-oregon-militias-donald-trump-election-2016. After an uncontested primary, Wilson is up for reelection in November 2016.⁽¹²⁾“State Representative, 3rd District,” May 17, 2016, Primary Election Abstract of Votes, 42, http://sos.oregon.gov/voting/Documents/P16Abstract.pdf.

State Representative Dallas Heard (District 2) represents Roseburg, where a lone gunman killed nine people at Umpqua Community College and whose county sheriff appears sympathetic to the Patriot movement. Heard visited occupied Malheur on January 9, 2016 on a trip organized by Coalition for Western States (COWS), a Patriot movement-affiliated group which includes elected officials and prominent movement members. (Heard said he is not a member, however.)⁽¹³⁾John Sepulvado, “Oregon Lawmaker Says Roseburg Shooting Prompted ‘Fact-Finding’ Visit To Armed Occupation,” Oregon Public Broadcasting, March 20, 2016, www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/roseburg-shooting-republican-politician-dallas-heard-occupation-visit. He was uncontested in the May 2016 primary, and is up for re-election in November.⁽¹⁴⁾“State Representative, 2nd District,” May 17, 2016, Primary Election Abstract of Votes, 41, http://sos.oregon.gov/voting/Documents/P16Abstract.pdf.

Three Republican state legislators were willing to appear at Patriot movement rallies against state gun control law SB 941: State Senator Thatcher and State Representatives Post (District 25) and Nearman (District 23) The first, a February 9, 2015 “Patrick Henry Rally,” was organized by the Oregon group Heirs of Patrick Henry; the Central Oregon Constitutional Guard provided “security.”⁽¹⁵⁾“Patrick Henry Rally,” Facebook event for February 9, 2015, post by Brandi Hawkins on February 3, 2015, www.facebook.com/events/882773421735610/permalink/932186430127642.

The second rally, “SB 941 I Will Not Comply,” on May 30, 2015, provided a platform for national Patriot movement leaders and Sheriff Glenn Palmer; Tom McKirgan from the Oregon III%; Casey Runyan from the Heirs of Patrick Henry, Northwest; and Jeff Ford, then still Coordinator of the Oregon Oath Keepers.⁽¹⁶⁾Taylor W. Anderson, “Gun Backers Make It To Salem—Before Gun Control Bills Do,” Bulletin (Bend, OR), February 10, 2016, www.bendbulletin.com/newsroomstafflist/2867910-151/gun-backers-make-it-to-salem-before; “Speaker list for We Will Not Comply Rally,” Sipsey Street Irregulars, May 27, 2015, http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2015/05/speakers-list-schedule-for-salem-event.html. A video of the entire rally is available here: “We Will Not Comply Rally—Salem, Oregon—May 30, 2015,” YouTube video, 1:10:53, posted by “Devin Burghart,” July 3, 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDD7GZJLSkE. Separate videos are also available: “Senator Kim Thatcher—‘I will not comply!’—SB 941 Protests,” YouTube video, 12:58, posted by “S. Thomas Lewis,” May 31, 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oe3co_tHfU; “Bill Post—‘I will not comply’ SB 941,” 7:57, posted by “S. Thomas Lewis,” May 31, 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycbey1vMyCQ; “Mike Nearman—‘I will not comply’—SB 941,” 2:31, posted by “S. Thomas Lewis,” May 31, 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ystyU-kv5J4.  It was on stage at this rally that Vanderboegh threatened “civil war” (as he did at the Bundy Ranch) as a response to the new law, calling Oregon Governor Kate Brown and others in the state government “tyrants” and “domestic enemies of the Constitution.” Vanderboegh concluded, “this country has long had a remedy for tyrants—a Second Amendment remedy. So be careful for what you wish for, Madam—you may get it.”⁽¹⁷⁾For Vanderboegh, see “We Will Not Comply Rally—Salem, Oregon—May 30, 2015,” 1:10:53, posted by “Devin Burghart,” July 3, 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDD7GZJLSkE. His call for “civil war” is around 57:15, and comments on Governor Brown around 1:04:40.

None of the state representatives seem harmed politically by their appearances: Thatcher is not up for reelection until 2018 and Post had an uncontested primary—while Nearman won his by 57.5 percent.⁽¹⁸⁾“State Representative, 23rd District,” May 17, 2016, Primary Election Abstract of Votes, 55, http://sos.oregon.gov/voting/Documents/P16Abstract.pdf.

U.S. Representative Greg Walden (District 2) took advantage of the Malheur occupation to make a rousing speech on the floor of Congress on January 5, 2016. While perfunctorily denouncing the illegal armed action, he noted that he had known the Hammond family, who the occupiers said they were defending, for “close to 20 years.” Walden supported the occupier’s demands, and spent most of his speech attacking federal land ownership. He failed to mention the Department of Justice’s account of the fires that the Hammonds’ were convicted for setting, or the family’s history of threatening federal officials.⁽¹⁹⁾A transcript of Walden’s speech is in Les Zaitz, “Oregon militants: Walden takes BLM to woodshed—transcript,” January 6 (updated February 22), 2016, Oregonian/OregonLive, www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/01/post_227.html. Both the Oath Keepers and the Pacific Patriots Network promoted his speech.⁽²⁰⁾Elias Alias, “Rep. Greg Walden addresses U.S. House on situation in Oregon and the West,” Oath Keepers, January 8, 2016, www.oathkeepers.org/rep-greg-walden-addresses-u-s-house-on-situation-in-oregon-and-the-west; “Video,” Pacific Patriots Network, January 5, 2016, www.pacificpatriotsnetwork.com.

Walden has also said that he is working on legislation that will exempt arsons that occur during farm work from the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996—which, in practice would mean creating an exemption from this egregious legislation only for a group that is largely white and leans strongly to the right.⁽²¹⁾Allison Frost, “Walden Says Harney County Occupation Not Legal, But Echoes Resident’s Frustration,” Oregon Public Broadcasting, January 13, 2016, www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/walden-says-occupation-not-legal-but-echoes-frustration. One market-research poll—although of farmer producers with more than 200 acres of farmland—showed that only 18 percent identified as Democrats, or were Democratic leaning. See Agri-Pulse, “2016 Producer Survey Results,” Agri-Pulse, January 28, 2016, www.agri-pulse.com/uploaded/AgriPulse_Presidential_Survey_Results_1_29_2016.pdf, 11. Another study, based on campaign contributions as reported by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), showed that over three-quarters of those who self-identified as ranchers favored Republicans. See Verdant Labs, “Democratic vs. Republican occupations,” http://verdantlabs.com/politics_of_professions/index.html, see “Farming and Forestry” under the “Expand All” tab. Data is based on FEC filings available at www.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/ftp_download.shtml.

Walden played a similar role in 2001 in the Klamath Basin Water Crisis, taking the side of the farmers who damaged federal property and defied federal land use regulations by opening irrigation channels.⁽²²⁾Most, River of Renewal, xxx–xxxi. In May 2016, Walden won his primary by 80 percent.^{(23)“US Representative, 2nd District,” May 17, 2016, Primary Election Abstract of Votes, 10, http://sos.oregon.gov/voting/Documents/P16Abstract.pdf.}

Current County and City Level Officials

Woven through southern, central, and eastern Oregon are local elected officials who are members or supporters of the Patriot movement.
In Josephine County, Grants Pass City Councilor Roy Lindsay is the treasurer of the Josephine County Oath Keepers. Incumbent County Commissioner Keith Heck rode in a Memorial Day weekend Boatnik Parade with the group.⁽²⁴⁾Tay Wiles, “Sugar Pine Mine, the Other Standoff,” High Country News, February 2, 2016, www.hcn.org/issues/48.2/showdown-at-sugar-pine-mine. In the May 2016 primary, Heck came in first with 4,810 votes (19.49 percent)—beating out Hard Right challengers, including Joseph Rice.⁽²⁵⁾“Statement of Votes Cast, May 17, 2016 Primary Election, Josephine County, Summary Report,” Josephine County, Oregon, 5, www.co.josephine.or.us/SIB/files/Clerk/20160517230046.pdf.

In Dallas, Polk County, city councilor Micky Garus achieved notoriety after his transphobic and Islamophobic outbursts in November 2015.⁽²⁶⁾Laura Gunderson, “Dallas City Councilor Micky Garus threatens transgender students,” Oregonian/OregonLive, November 11, 2015, www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2015/11/dallas_city_councilor_micky_ga.html. His Facebook account shows that he “Likes” the pages of the Oath Keepers, Bundy Ranch, Three Percenter Nation, and Oregon Firearms Federation.^{(27)“Likes,” Micky Garus’ Facebook page, www.facebook.com/micky.garus/likes.}

Mary Starrett, the Chair of the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners, is a fervent supporter of the Patriot movement’s politics. In 2006, as the Constitution Party of Oregon’s candidate for governor she garnered 3.6 percent of the ballots cast—over 50,000 votes.⁽²⁸⁾Nicholas Deshais, “Hail Mary,” Willamette Week, April 3, 2007, www.wweek.com/portland/article-6822-hail_mary.html. At a January 2016 board of commissioners’ meeting, she blamed the Bureau of Land Management for LaVoy Finicum’s death.⁽²⁹⁾“Board of Commissioners,” Yamhill County, Oregon, July 15, 2016, www.co.yamhill.or.us/boc; Nicole Montesano, “Commissioners urged to help calm Malheur tension,” Yamhill Valley News Register, January 28, 2016, http://newsregister.com/article?articleTitle=commissioners-urged-to-help-calm-malheur-tensio—-145402983—-20827–. Starrett was slated to appear at the February 2016 anti-SB 941 rally.

Baker County Commission Chair Bill Harvey is one of the most powerful local politicians with Patriot movement-style politics, although he has largely escaped the media glare. He is a proponent of the Hard Right reading of “coordination,” which asserts that local governments have huge power to help govern federal lands, and has close ties to the local Oath Keepers. Since taking office in January 2015, Harvey and his supporters on the county’s Natural Resources Advisory Committee have created a Natural Resources Plan, a first step in the Patriot movement’s made-up process for invoking their version of coordination with the Forest Service.⁽³⁰⁾Joshua Dillen, “County, Forest Service discuss coordination,” Baker City Herald, October 2, 2015, www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/County-Forest-Service-discuss-coordination. Letter from Thomas Montoya to Bill Harvey (file code 1950), November 19, 2015; digital copy of letter in author’s possession.

Harvey is influenced by the coordination advocate Fred Kelly Grant, who visited Baker County to promote coordination in January 2009, and returned to give a three-day seminar in August 2015, which featured Harvey as “emcee/moderator.”⁽³¹⁾Mike Ferguson, “Attorney urges counties to assert their rights in public land decisions,” Baker City Herald, January 14, 2009, www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/Attorney-urges-counties-to-assert-their-rights-in-public-land-decisions. For the August 2015 seminar, see “Coordination 101,” Forest Access for All, http://forestaccessforall.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Coordination-flyer.pdf. As emcee, see Fred Kelly Grant, “Letters to the Editor,” Baker City Herald, September 2, 2015, www.bakercityherald.com/Letters/Letters-to-the-Editor-for-Sept-2-2015.

Harvey, a climate change denier, also attended the 2014 American Lands Council conference. In 2015 he, his wife Lorrie, and Ken Ivory (then still head of the American Lands Council) came up with the idea to create a video blaming local wildfires on federal government ownership of land. (The website for the video originally promoted Patriot movement propagandist KrisAnne Hall’s organization and sold a coordination book; today it links to the American Lands Council.)⁽³²⁾Jayson Jacoby, “Harvey attends American Lands Council conference,” Baker City Herald, October 15, 2014, www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/Harvey-attends-American-Lands-Council-conference; Gina Perkins, “Wildfire Video Takes Some Heat,” Record-Courier (Baker City, OR), March 21, 2016, www.therconline.com/ – !Wildfire-Video-Takes-Some-Heat/cg4a/56ec33a30cf29acca8a2b2c8; “Informed,” Baker County Wildfire, www.bakercountywildfire.org/informed.html; Bill Harvey, email to author, August 11, 2016. Harvey’s reactionary views do not end there; on his Facebook account, he even shared an anti-immigrant post from the fascist British National Party (BNP). Screenshot of April 8, 2016 post in possession of author. In May 2016, he came under fire for refusing to name who was going to donate $1,000 to the county so it could purchase information from the American Stewards of Liberty, which promotes a Hard Right version of coordination.⁽³³⁾“Editorial: County needs to name donors,” Baker City Herald, May 20, 2016, www.bakercityherald.com/opinion/4348404-151/county-needs-to-name-donors.

Harvey described the Malheur occupation as “ill-timed and ill-advised” because it will “hurt our efforts [as] rural communities trying to take a stand against the federal government.”⁽³⁴⁾Pat Caldwell, “Harvey, Bentz say Refuge takeover a mistake,” Baker City Herald, January 5, 2016, www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/Harvey-Bentz-say-Refuge-takeover-a-mistake. Despite his apparent concern that the occupation would reflect poorly on his efforts to transfer federal lands, Harvey spoke at the Rural Lives Matter rally in the town of Halfway on February 6, 2016—which was the first post-occupation attempt to rally mass support for the Patriot movement cause.⁽³⁵⁾Jayson Jacoby, “Message Delivered,” Baker City Herald, February 8, 2016, www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/Message-Delivered. That same month he traveled to Central Oregon to give the Crook County Natural Resources PAC a seminar on “coordination,” where he drew the interest of Crook County Commissioner Seth Crawford.⁽³⁶⁾Aaron West, “Political group turns to obscure clause to protect land,” Bulletin (Bend, OR), March 6, 2016, www.bendbulletin.com/exports/newsletters/main/4071793-151/political-group-turns-to-obscure-clause-to-protect; Aaron West, “Crook County residents form a PAC to make a land use plan,” Bulletin (Bend, OR), February 29, 2016, www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/4042307-151/crook-county-residents-form-a-pac-to-make. For Harvey’s Crook coordination seminar, see “Coordination meeting #1,” YouTube video, 57:41, posted by “Crooked River Currents View,” March 4, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iSxfkIalHA; “Coordination meeting #2,” YouTube video, 57:36, posted by “Crooked River Currents View,” March 4, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHpPuPtMaoo; “Coordination meeting #3,” YouTube video, 24:45, posted by “Crooked River Currents View,” March 4, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN39G—-rpc. Harvey’s fellow Baker County Commissioner, Mark Bennett, has also gone along with the coordination scheme, and joined him at the Rural Lives Matter rally.⁽³⁷⁾Jayson Jacoby, “Message Delivered, Baker City Herald, February 8, 2016, www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/Message-Delivered.

Current Crook Commissioner Seth Crawford has also endorsed the coordination. He  apparently believes that coordination means that federal “agencies would be forced to follow our plan.”⁽³⁸⁾Minutes of Crook County, Regular Session, “Discussion of Natural Resource Planning,” Crook County, Oregon, February 3, 2016, 8, http://co.crook.or.us/Portals/0/minutes February 3 2016.pdf. Crawford came in second in the May 2016 primary with 2,852 votes (37.9 percent) for county judge, and so will be up for election in November; he beat out Central Oregon Patriots member Craig Brookhart, who came in third.⁽³⁹⁾“County Judge” in “Crook County, Oregon, Primary Election, May 17, 2016,” Crook County Oregon, June 2, 2016, 7, www.co.crook.or.us/Portals/0/Clerk/2016 Primary Results Final.pdf.

May 2016 Primary

Many Patriot movement activists ran in the May 2016 Republican primary, often seeking county commission seats. Many of these candidacies were profiled in the Political Research Associates and Rural Organizing Project article, “Gunning for Office: Oregon’s Patriot Movement and the May 2016 Primary.”⁽⁴⁰⁾Spencer Sunshine, “Gunning for Office: Oregon’s Patriot Movement and the May 2016 Primary,” Political Research Associates, April 19, 2016, www.politicalresearch.org/2016/04/19/gunning-for-office-oregons-patriot-movement-and-the-may-2016-primary.

Two non-incumbents won their primaries. Salem tech consultant Mark Callahan—who made a show of visiting the memorial where Finicum died, and called him a “great patriot”—won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, and is running against Democratic incumbent Jeff Merkley. Patriot movement supporter Dennis Linthicum was unchallenged in the District 28 Republican state senate primary.⁽⁴¹⁾For Callahan’s visit, see Mark Callahan, Twitter post, April 18, 2016, 2:02 p.m., https://twitter.com/markcallahan32/status/722123046815801345. For Callahan’s primary results, see “US Senator, Republican,” May 17, 2016, Primary Election Abstract of Votes, 6 http://sos.oregon.gov/voting/Documents/P16Abstract.pdf; for Linthicum, see “State Senator, 28th District, Republican,” May 17, 2016, Primary Election Abstract of Votes, 36, http://sos.oregon.gov/voting/Documents/P16Abstract.pdf.

Also running in the November 2016 general election are CSPOA member John Hoopes for Baker County sheriff, and Patriot movement activist Mandi Jacobs for Sutherlin city council in Douglas County.⁽⁴²⁾“Mandi Jacobs,” Fundly, https://fundly.com/mandi-jacobs-for-city-council. For Hoopes’s CSPOA membership, see comment from February 20, 2016 at 5:13pm on his February 19, 2016 post on John “Hoopes 4 Sheriff’,” Facebook page, www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1712394729036537&id=1708084419467568.
Most non-incumbents aligned with the Patriot movement lost the primary:

• Bruce Cuff for governor and Jo Rae Perkins, for U.S. Representative. Both have aligned themselves closely to the Patriot movement, spoke to their groups, and participated in the movement’s social media.
• In Harney County, Charmaign “Sis” Edwards and Anna Jo Surber ran for county commission and judge; both were supportive of the Malheur occupation and held Patriot movement views. Three in the commissioner and judge races said they had attended Committee of Safety meetings, including Surber and Rob Frank.⁽⁴³⁾HC Pols, “Commissioner/Judge Question #3,” “Harney County Politicians Q&A” Facebook group, April 27, 2016, www.facebook.com/groups/511827449004208/permalink/511851465668473.
• The head of the Josephine County Oath Keepers, Joseph Rice, was one of many Hard Right candidates who ran for county commission.
• Three people affiliated with the Central Oregon Patriots ran for the Crook County commission or judge office.
• Hardline Patriot movement activist J.d. Parks sought a commissioner seat in Douglas County.
• In Baker County, Kody Justus, head of his county Oath Keepers chapter, ran for county commission.

Most received less than 20 percent of the primary vote. There were a few exceptions: for example. Justus received 46 percent and Perkins received 32 percent.⁽⁴⁴⁾For all candidates, see Spencer Sunshine, “Gunning for Office: Oregon’s Patriot Movement and the May 2016 Primary,” Political Research Associates, April 19, 2016, www.politicalresearch.org/2016/04/19/gunning-for-office-oregons-patriot-movement-and-the-may-2016-primary. For Justus, see “Summary Report: Baker County, Oregon, Primary Election, May 17, 2016,” Baker County Oregon, www.bakercounty.org/elections/current/20160517.html; for Perkins, see “US Representative, 4th District, Republican,” May 17, 2016, Primary Election Abstract of Votes, 12, http://sos.oregon.gov/voting/Documents/P16Abstract.pdf.

A recall attempt against an opponent of the Patriot movement was also overwhelmingly defeated. Harney County Judge Steve Grasty, an outspoken opponent of the Malheur occupation, won against a recall vote by 70 percent in June 2016. The recall was launched by Patriot movement sympathizers who were angered that the Grasty did not allow the Malheur occupiers to use county buildings in Burns to hold a public meeting during the occupation.⁽⁴⁵⁾Jim Ryan, “Recall election to be held against Harney County Judge Steve Grasty: ‘I ask that you stand with me’,” Oregon Live/Oregonian, May 24, 2016, www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/05/recall_election_to_be_held_aga.html; Les Zaitz, “Harney County voters solidly reject effort to oust county judge who opposed Ammon Bundy,” Oregon Live/Oregonian, June 28 (updated June 29), 2016, www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/06/post_12.html—- incart_2box.

Now let’s take a closer look at what is happening in six key counties.

Right Woos Left

Sometimes Patriot movement groups reach out to progressive activists in an attempt to recruit them to their cause. As you would expect, they typically downplay their reactionary social views and stress the more libertarian parts of their ideology. This is what Political Research Associates calls the “sucker punch.”⁽⁴⁶⁾“The Sucker Punch of Right/Left Coalitions,” Political Research Associates, www.publiceye.org/sucker_punch. See also Chip Berlet, Right Woos Left: Populist Party, LaRouchite, and Other Neo-fascist Overtures To Progressives, And Why They Must Be Rejected, Political Research Associates, originally February 27, 1999, www.politicalresearch.org/1999/02/27/right-woos-left.Various right-wing populists reach out to progressives with rhetoric that seems to match their beliefs. But once they are drawn in, the real agenda of the Patriot movement comes into play: dismantling progressive social gains and reestablishing conservative racial, gender, and sexual hierarchies—as well creating unrestrained capitalism and greenlighting the destruction of the environment.

The Oath Keepers have been particularly keen on reaching out to progressives. They went to several Occupy Wall Street events, including in Oregon.⁽⁴⁷⁾Spencer Sunshine, “20 on the Right in Occupy,” Political Research Associates, February 13, 2014, www.politicalresearch.org/2014/02/13/20-on-the-right-in-occupy; witness testimony, as told to author, July 13, 2016. In the state, the Oath Keepers worked hand-in-glove with the group PANDA (People Against the National Defense Authorization Act)—who were able in turn to work with Occupy Wall Street, and other progressive groups. Many progressives were disturbed by the National Defense Authorization Act, originally passed in 2011; according to the American Civil Liberties Union, it “contains a sweeping worldwide indefinite detention provision.”⁽⁴⁸⁾“President Obama Signs Indefinite Detention Bill Into Law” (press release), American Civil Liberties Union, December 31, 2011, www.aclu.org/news/president-obama-signs-indefinite-detention-bill-law.

PANDA received support from some progressives during their successful campaign to get several Oregon counties to pass resolutions against National Defense Authorization Act; according to the Oath Keepers, these included Lane, Klamath, Josephine, Douglas, and Coos counties.⁽⁴⁹⁾Elias Alias, “Oregon Oath Keepers Slam NDAA In Five Counties!,” Oath Keepers, August 14, 2014, www.oathkeepers.org/oregon-oath-keepers-slam-ndaa-in-five-counties. Yet in the familiar bait-and-switch, after Patriot activists established armed encampments at the Sugar Pine Mine at the invitation of its owners, one PANDA leader denounced the Rural Organizing Project and defended both the Patriot movement in general and militia organizing specifically.

The Patriot movement’s interests overlap with a few other issues usually associated with progressives.

• They oppose intrusive government surveillance; the Oath Keepers have even praised Edward Snowden.⁽⁵⁰⁾Mike Riggs, “Oath Keepers Group Places Massive Pro-Snowden Ad Inside Pentagon Metro Station,” Reason, July 24, 2013, http://reason.com/blog/2013/07/24/oath-keepers-place-massive-pro-snowden-a.
• The Patriot movement often supports alternative energy sources and energy independence—positions which are consistent with its xenophobic nationalism.
• It is also opposed to eminent domain, used by the energy companies while building the fracking pipelines, as a violation of private property rights.
• Other popular sites of crossover include opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and GMOs (genetically modified organisms).

There is widespread anti-vaccine sentiment in the Patriot movement. There is also a strong emphasis on the home canning, rainwater collection, and other subsistence activities. On the Right, this is part of the survivalist/prepper movement, and on the Left, crosses over with the interests in D.I.Y. (do-it-yourself) culture and radical environmentalism.

The Patriot movement has spoken out of both sides of its mouth about Ferguson and Black Lives Matter. (See box on p. 41.) You hear some argue the conspiracy that Obama is stirring up racial tensions so martial law can be declared, or ludicrously claim that Black Lives Matter protestors are treated with leniency compared to the Malheur occupiers.

On the other hand, a Black member of the Malheur occupation, Brandon Dowd, hoped to recruit Black Lives Matter activists. “I would encourage more Black people to come here to get educated,” he said. “They could learn a lot being here and talking to these constitutional lawyers.”⁽⁵¹⁾Sam Levin, “Black Oregon militiaman: Black Lives Matter can learn from occupiers,” Guardian, January 17, 2016, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/17/oregon-militia-black-lives-matters-activist-us-constitution. One speaker at a Portland rally for the Malheur arrestees called on Black Lives Matters protestors to join them.⁽⁵²⁾Amelia Templeton, “Occupation Supporters Try To Sway Broader Audience In Portland,” Oregon Public Broadcasting, March 5, 2016, www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/portland-oregon-standoff-protest-rally-lavoy-finicum. And at the Cave Junction community watch meeting Sovereign Citizen-style fake courts were promoted as, “A people’s answer to Ferguson.”⁽⁵³⁾“Community Meeting,” Facebook event for December 15, 2014, www.facebook.com/events/332140650303625. (See Josephine County section.) The person heading up the fake courts seems to be quite socially liberal in his views—as are a number of Sovereign Citizens.

And despite its origins in open White supremacy, today the Sovereign Citizen movement has a large number of Black members, as well as an increasing number of Latinos and even Native Americans. Gavin Long, the veteran who shot six Baton Rouge police officers in July 2016, killing three of them, embraced membership in the group Empire Washita de Dugdahmoundyah, which is influenced by Sovereign Citizen ideas. According to JJ MacNab, an expert on Sovereign Citizens, this ideology is most common among African-Americans in east coast cities such as Philadelphia and Washington, DC, and in the South—particularly Florida, Tennessee, and around New Orleans.

Lastly, one Marxist group rallied to the Malheur occupiers’ side during the Malheur occupation. The Socialist Workers Party, a Trotskyist sect, has called to: “Free Dwight and Steven Hammond! No to another Waco! Drop the charges against Ammon Bundy and others who occupied the Malheur reserve!”⁽⁵⁴⁾Brandon Ellington Patterson, “Baton Rouge Cop Killer Was a ‘Sovereign Citizen.’ What the Heck Is That?,” Mother Jones, July 20, 2016, www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/07/gavin-long-sovereign-citizen-posse-comitatus-patriot-militias; “Oppose FBI raid, killing in Oregon!,” Militant 80, no. 5 (February 8, 2016), http://themilitant.com/2016/8005/800520.html.