Ricin plot, Trump boosts QAnon and Telegram arrest fallout: The week in extremism
A former federal employee, ex-Marine and militia member from Virginia pleaded guilty last week to possessing ricin, a deadly toxin, which he had manufactured himself. Meanwhile, the arrest of the CEO and founder of the communications app Telegram has the U.S. far-right fretting about losing their favorite platform. And former president Donald Trump shares QAnon memes and amplifies a follower who has called for the death of his political opponents.
It’s the week in extremism, from USA TODAY.
Ex-federal employee pleads guilty to ricin possession
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Russell Richardson Vane IV, a 42-year-old from Vienna, VA. pleaded guilty last week to possession of the toxin ricin, a test tube of which he had manufactured himself from castor beans. Ricin has been used in several plots to poison political opponents over the last few decades.
- Vane had previously been kicked out of the Virginia Kekoas, a self-described “prepper militia.” Leaders of the group insisted he leave after he made increasingly alarming comments about home-made explosives and political violence.
- According to court documents, Vane was “an employee of a United States government agency” prior to his arrest. Members of the militia told an independent journalist that Vane had worked for a defense contractor.
- Vane was placed on leave from his job after independent journalist Ford Fischer reported on his removal from the Kekoas group. Agents from the FBI searched his home in April and he was arrested after a “makeshift ricin lab” was found in his laundry, according to court documents.
Arrest of Telegram founder riles U.S. far-right
The arrest of Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, sent waves of concern through the ecosystem of American extremists that has flocked to the platform in recent years, as USA TODAY reported Thursday.
- Durov, a billionaire who previously founded the Russian social media side VKontakte, was arrested on Aug. 24 when he exited his private jet at an airport outside Paris, France. He has been charged in a wide range of crimes related to Telegram’s alleged complicity in allowing users to trade in child pornography, drugs and money laundering.
- Extremist groups from followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory, to white supremacists, to far-right street gangs flocked to Telegram after mainstream social media platforms tightened moderation efforts in the wake of the 2020 election.
- Durov and his leadership team have had a “hands-off” approach to moderation on Telegram, making the app attractive to extremists looking to spread conspiracy theories, recruit new followers and spread propaganda.
- “In the past few days, we’ve been tracking fear and paranoia that, now they’ve arrested the CEO, they’ll give up all the private information, and Telegram itself will be compromised,” Joan Donovan, founder of the nonprofit The Critical Internet Studies Institute, told USA TODAY.
As yet, there’s no indication Telegram will be compromised by the arrest of its CEO. “Telegram almost certainly will stay up,” Adam Hadley, founder and executive director of the London-based nonprofit Tech Against Terrorism, told USA TODAY.
Trump (again) touts QAnon, boosts extremist account
Former President Donald Trump, who has long courted supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory, posted QAnon slogans to his Truth Social account at least three times this week. The former president, who has been posting non-stop on the platform he launched after he was kicked off Twitter, also re-posted content from a profile that has called for Trump’s opponents to be killed, according to an analysis from liberal watchdog group Media Matters.
- As USA TODAY reported in May, Trump has increasingly embraced QAnon rhetoric, imagery and phraseology on the campaign trail.
- Trump shared three posts this week with the slogan “Nothing can stop what is coming,” a catchphrase of the QAnon movement. One of the posts also included “WWG1WGA,” which stands for Where We Go One, We Go All, another QAnon slogan.
- Media Matters reported this week that Trump also re-posted items from a Truth Social account that has previously called for his political opponents to be killed. The account has posted numerous images of Democratic politicians next to images of gallows.
Statistic of the week: 74%
That’s how many North Carolinans polled by Elon University believe that violence will break out after the November Presidential election. Both Republicans and Democrats are pessimistic about political violence, the poll shows.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ricin plot, Trump boosts QAnon and Telegram arrest fallout: The week in extremism
