Extremism

‘Mere Membership’ in Extremist Groups Doesn’t Spark Military Investigations, Congress Hears

Members of the military who claim membership in white supremacist or other domestic extremist groups have to be active in a group in order to warrant investigation, and even then may face an administrative reprimand but not expulsion, Congress heard this past week.

The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel held two panels — one with experts on extremism, and the other with representatives of the armed forces — to discuss the latest Military Times poll of active-duty readers regarding extremism within the ranks. Thirty-six percent of troops who responded said they personally witnessed evidence of white supremacist and racist ideologies in the military in 2019, up from 22 percent in the 2018 poll.

In November, Tech. Sgt. Cory Reeves at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs was reduced in rank from master sergeant due to his involvement with Identity Evropa, a white supremacist group that actively distributes propaganda and participated in the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally as well as the tiki torch march the night before. The group rebranded last year as the American Identitarian Movement.