Vanessa Cárdenas: “We cannot be desensitized and normalize calls to arms or rebellion against federal authorities and then act surprised if and when unhinged followers again take very seriously what these elected officials and media figures are calling for”
Washington, DC — Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling related to the standoff between the State of Texas and the U.S. government over access to the international border, right wing figures are escalating their dangerous incitement, including calls for followers to take up arms and resist federal law enforcement and even to engage in deadly violence.
Former Fox host Tucker Carlson has used his considerable presence on Elon Musk’s platform X to call on “the men of Texas” to defend the country against the Supreme Court, federal government and “hedge fund managers” who are allowing the country to be “invaded” by non-white immigrants. True to form, the latest escalations from Carlson, right-wing paramilitaries and Republican Members of Congress includes continued reliance on white nationalist “invasion” and “replacement” conspiracies that are tied to multiple acts of deadly violence.
According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:
“Tragically, we know exactly where this rhetoric leads. When politicians and pundits make calls to arms and point their supporters at a target, real-life violence follows. The right wing’s immigration and border rhetoric is growing more explicit in its calls for violence and reliance on white nationalist conspiracies tied to multiple acts of domestic terrorism. The normalization of this rhetoric accelerates the threat to public safety and the erosion of democracy. We cannot be desensitized and normalize calls to arms or rebellion against federal authorities and then act surprised if and when unhinged followers again take very seriously what these elected officials and media figures are calling for.”
In Vice, Tess Owens writes, “Extremists Call for ‘Civil War’ and ‘Secession’ Over Texas Border Ruling,” noting in part:
“…Hardline anti-immigration rhetoric, including explicit references to the racist Great Replacement conspiracy theory, has loomed large over the GOP 2024 campaign trail amid the escalating standoff between Texas and the federal government over the border. Migrants coming over the southern border have been cast as ‘invaders’ and falsely characterized as predominantly ‘military-aged males.’ Now, the Supreme Court’s decision is acting as kerosene in an already inflamed political environment.
…‘To the Republic of Texas & my brothers in the trenches holding off an invasion, we see you kings,’ one Proud Boy chapter wrote on Telegram. ‘We’ve all been betrayed and sold out by an illegal government that’s sole mission is [to] destroy our traditions, freedoms and way of life. We refuse to concede our nation to the communists. America is counting on you to hold the line.’”
Among the dangerous examples highlighted in the Vice article and/or America’s Voice’s ongoing tracking work include:
- Tucker Carlson: “So it’s unanimous: everyone in power, from the White House, to the hedge fund managers, to the Supreme Court of the United States has decided to destroy the country by allowing it to be invaded. That leaves the population to defend itself. Where are the men of Texas? Why aren’t they protecting their state and the nation?”
- Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA): “The feds are staging a civil war, and Texas should stand their ground.”
- America’s Voice has identified at least 17 Members of Congress who have employed the white nationalist replacement and invasion conspiracy in reaction to the Supreme Court decision including: Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK) who wrote on X, “The Biden Admin has refused to enforce existing immigration law, giving states like Texas no choice but to defend themselves. Instead of helping Texas, the Biden administration sued Texas to ensure they continue to be invaded.”
Resources and Background
- America’s Voice Blog: “Tucker Carlson Uses Social Media to Call for Vigilante Political Violence”
- America’s Voice Blog: “Gov. Abbott Courts Border Militia Vigilantism Rooted in White Supremacy and Violence”
