New Democrat Bill Targets Right-Wing Private Paramilitary Groups in Wake of Jan 6 Anniversary: 'Domestic Extremists'
Raskin's legislation spotlights "far-right militias," despite evidence of left-wing violence and video footage dispelling the mainstream narrative regarding Jan 6.
In response to the anniversary of the January 6th unrest at the U.S. Capitol, Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) have proposed legislation targeting right-wing paramilitary activity.
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Paramilitary activity entails the operations of non-official armed groups whose structure, training, and tactics mimic professional military units but operate independently of a nation’s armed forces.
These groups often undertake tasks overlooked by traditional military or law enforcement, potentially engaging in public patrols, training in paramilitary techniques, and infringing on governmental processes or individual rights.
The Democrats’ new initiative, known as the ‘Preventing Private Paramilitary Activity Act,’ seeks to address the absence of federal laws targeting paramilitary groups and their activities.
The proposed law aims to curb the presence of private paramilitary organizations through both civil and criminal enforcement measures.
Paramilitary groups, such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, have drawn increasing attention from Democrats due to their political involvement and generally right-leaning views on government.
Rep. Raskin believes there is a need to counter these groups: “Our legislation makes the obvious but essential clarification that these domestic extremists’ paramilitary operations are in no way protected by our Constitution,” he says in a recent press release.
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The term ‘domestic extremist’ is usually used against right-wing groups by the left, despite there being left-wing groups who practice violence, like BLM (Black Lives Matter), Antifa, and the Black Panthers.
In 2021, armed demonstrators representing the New Black Panther Party shut down Oklahoma streets while shouting “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! How we gonna get it? By any means necessary!”
Neither BLM, Antifa, nor the Panthers are mentioned by Raskin.
The press release indicates Raskin “held a hearing examining the role that far-right militias have played in the recent surge in domestic violent extremism, including their role in organizing the insurrection on January 6, 2021.”
The Maryland representative targets right-leaning paramilitary organizations, even though BLM activists were deeply involved with the Jan 6 unrest at the Capitol, as were Antifa members.
Sen. Markey echoed Raskin’s sentiments: “Private paramilitary actors...pose a serious threat to democracy and the rule of law, and we must create new prohibitions on their unauthorized activities that interfere with the exercise of people’s constitutional rights.”
The legislation would prohibit:
“publicly patrolling, drilling, or engaging in harmful or deadly paramilitary techniques”
“interfering with or interrupting government proceedings”
“interfering with the exercise of someone else’s constitutional rights”
“falsely assuming the functions of law enforcement and asserting authority over others”
“training to engage in such behavior”
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Notably, exceptions are outlined for permissible activities, such as historic reenactments and veterans’ parades.
Endorsements for the Preventing Private Paramilitary Activity Act come from leftist organizations like Protect Democracy, the Center for American Progress, and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center.
While the legislation’s proponents emphasize the severity of the January 6th attack and the ongoing threat posed by paramilitary groups, some observers question the extent of these claims.
For example, when conservative figurehead Tucker Carlson was with Fox News, he criticized the mainstream narrative regarding the events that took place on Jan 6, citing video evidence.
Per Fox News:
Tucker Carlson released never-before-seen footage from the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at Capitol Hill that appear to dispel several narratives pushed by the Democrat-controlled House Select Committee and the legacy media.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy granted “Tucker Carlson Tonight” an exclusive first look to over 40,000 hours of security camera footage from the Capitol Building that were hidden from the public for over two years. On Monday, Carlson offered the first glimpses of footage involving key figures from that day.
Carlson concluded the footage proves that lawmakers and the media were “lying” about the events that took place on Jan. 6.
Carlson showed footage indicating that Trump supporters on Jan 6 were peacefully touring the building, despite many in D.C. comparing the event to 9/11 and the attack on Pearl Harbor.
He showed more footage addressing the “widely promoted narrative by Democrats and the media that the events of Jan. 6 amounted to a ‘deadly insurrection.’”
For example, the mainstream narrative often cites the death of police officers, even though most of them died by suicide after the riot or of natural causes.
Carlson pointed out there was only one person, an Air Force veteran and Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed by a Capitol police officer, Lieutenant Michael Byrd.
Carlson revealed a third batch of footage showing Ray Epps, “the man caught urging Trump supporters to go into the Capitol the night before the Jan. 6 riot, seen on the grounds at least 30 minutes after the time he told House Select Committee regarding a text he sent to his nephew, claiming he was already heading back in his hotel. As Carlson noted, that false claim to congressional investigators is itself a crime.”
At the time, the “lack of any criminal charges against Epps [had] fueled suspicion from critics that he had coordinated with the FBI leading up to the riot.”
You can read Raskin’s full bill here:
You can read a one-page summary of the legislation here:
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