Equal Opportunity Hate: The Angry White women of the Capitol Far Right
THE CONVERSATION
01/25/2021
By Jakana Thomas | -
The terror inflicted on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 laid bare America's
problem with violent extremism.
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies have begun to piece together the
events of that day, while attempting to thwart any impending attacks. Scores
of people have been arrested and charged over the attack - the vast majority
being men.
In the wake of these events, there were stories attributing the violence and
destruction to "white male rage" "violent male rage" and "angry white men."
But what about the women?
To distill the violent insurrection into a tale of angry male rage is to
overlook the threat that women in the mob posed to congressional officials,
law enforcement and U.S. democracy that day.
Long history of women's involvement
Several women have been identified as alleged participants in the events of
Jan. 6. Among those women are a former school occupational therapist, an
employee of a county sheriff's office, a real estate broker and a former
mayoral candidate.
At least one woman is being investigated for her role in organizing the
attack with fellow members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia
movement. And Ashli Babbit, a female veteran, was shot dead by police while
attempting to breach the Senate floor.
The women who took part in the siege of the Capitol are part of a long
history of women's participation in extremist violence, both in the United
States and abroad.
Women have buoyed American far-right organizations and causes for centuries.
In her recent book on women at the forefront of contemporary white
nationalism, author Seyward Darby writes that women are not "incidental to
white nationalism, they are a sustaining feature."
Since the late 1800s, women have supported and enabled the terrorist white
supremacist organization the Ku Klux Klan, while hundreds of thousands
joined its female affiliate, Women of the Ku Klux Klan, and its
predecessors.
Women helped establish the Klan's culture, bolstered its recruitment efforts
and manufactured its propaganda. Despite its hyper-masculine ideology, which
identifies white men as the primary arbiters of political power, women have
also held leadership positions within the modern-day Klan.
More recently, women have joined the far-right Proud Boys movement, which
has openly recruited female foot soldiers. In December, a growing rift
between male and female Proud Boys was reported. After experiencing intense
sexist backlash from men in the organization, women led by MMA fighter Tara
LaRosa began their own group, the Proud Girls USA.
To leave one extremist organization in order to form another suggests a deep
commitment to the far-right cause.
Discounting is dangerous
A 2005 study noted a disconnect between the rise in women within American
right-wing terrorist organizations and the attention it received from law
enforcement.
Despite a marked increase in women's engagement in acts of terror against
the state and racial minorities, security officials have largely failed to
publicize, search and interrogate women operatives in these organizations,
even after they become known to law enforcement.
There is also evidence that American far-right women have drawn inspiration
and tactical knowledge from women engaged in extremist violence abroad.
Evidence from the global war on terror points to the potential dangers of
ignoring the growth of violent extremism among women. In Iraq, for example,
female terrorists carried out large numbers of deadly suicide attacks
against American assets during the U.S. occupation.
The rest of the world has since been forced to grapple with the reality of
violent women after female terrorists staged lethal attacks in Nigeria,
Somalia, Tunisia, the Philippines, Indonesia and France.
Recent terror attacks in American cities such as San Bernardino, California,
and Las Vegas that featured women among the perpetrators confirm violent
women have already inflicted damage on U.S. soil.
Gender bias can be deadly
In fact, my research suggests that attacks by female terrorists are often
more destructive than those executed by their male counterparts.
In an analysis of over 2,500 global suicide attacks, I show disparities in
the severity of male and female attacks are greatest where gender
stereotypes suggest that women are neither violent nor political. Such
tropes can blind security officials and civilians to the threat posed by
women terrorists, causing them to overlook the potential for female
complicity.
Female terrorists, including in Iraq, Israel and Nigeria, have been able to
deflect suspicion because they were women. My research shows that gender
bias can become deadly when it stops effective counterterrorism policies,
such as surveillance, searches and interrogations, from being implemented.
Additionally, since ordinary citizens played an unusual role in exposing the
identities of the Capitol attackers, gender biases among civilians are also
relevant. Failure to accept women's complicity in the Capitol siege and the
broader movement may prevent the identification of female offenders and
impedes efforts to punish and deter future attacks.
American women have been key pillars of support for violent right-wing
extremists for centuries. They have been right-wing extremists themselves -
racist skinheads, neo-Nazis and Klanswomen. Women are also Oath Keepers,
Three Percenters and Proud Boys. They were capitol rioters.
To construct an accurate account of the Capitol attack, it's necessary to
ask "Where are the women?" And the answer is, "Right there."
