Or to parade through the Michigan Capitol building with assault rifle strapped in their chests to intimidate the governor into relaxing covid policies.

The right, and not just the fringe right, in the United States is increasingly arming itself with military-style weapons, a phenomenon I focused on yesterday as I wrote about the Rittenhouse case. In many ways, this is a new phenomenon. I grew up very conservative, and no part of my world ever included white people running around with AR-15s at protests. The law and order Republican world of my youth would have abhorred that.

As our population shifts from majority white, a conservative element that deplores the shift is taking every measure it can to ensure minority power. We see it with radical political gerrymandering, with political violence like January 6th, and a very realistic plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan. When the FBI foiled the plot, the conspirators already possessed military-style weapons and explosives.

I guess my question is, is this a last gasp of a losing minority or the beginning of something much more violent?