Rise Above Movement

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Rise Above Movement
AbbreviationRAM
Formation2017
FounderRobert Rundo
Founded at
Alt-Right
Fight Club
Purpose
  • White Nationalism
  • Neo-Nazism
  • Straight Edge
  • Political Violence
  • Fitness Training
  • Hand-to-Hand Combat Training
Key people
  • Robert Rundo
  • Benjamin D. Daley
  • Thomas W. Gillen
Affiliations
Formerly called
DIY Division

The Rise Above Movement (RAM) is a militant

Northern California Anti-Racist Action (NoCARA).[8]

History

The group was started by Robert Rundo

anti-Semitic group"[9] and sees itself as defending Western civilization, which they claim is being undermined by "Muslims, immigrants and Jews",[5] as well as liberals.[2] Heidi Beirich, Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, said that members of the Rise Above Movement "think they're holding onto the old California, which was white, which was conservative, which was male-run, which was connected to the military ... and now that culture is being lost and they're fighting to bring it back. In other words, it's reactive."[4]

Purpose

According to ProPublica, RAM has "...a singular purpose: physically attacking its ideological foes. RAM's members spend weekends training in boxing and other martial arts, and they have publicly boasted about the acts of violence which they have committed during protests in Huntington Beach,[7] San Bernardino and Berkeley. Many of the altercations have been captured on video ..."[6] Because of its focus on street fighting, it has been described as "less like the Klan and more like a fight club".[5] According to NoCARA:

[It is] a loose collective of violent neo-Nazis and fascists from Southern California that's organized and trains primarily to engage in fighting and violence at political rallies. They have been a central participant in the wave of far-Right protest movements in California during the first half of 2017 which have attempted to mobilize a broad range of right-wing constituents under the banners of protecting so-called "free speech,: unyielding support for Donald Trump, and antipathy towards Muslims, immigrants, and other oppressed groups.[8]

Organization, funding

The group uses

Alt-Right."[2] According to the Anti-Defamation League, "While they consider themselves a part of the alt right, R.A.M.'s membership has deep roots in California's racist skinhead movement,[7] and it includes individuals who have faced serious criminal charges, including assault, robbery and weapons offenses."[2]

By January 2021, an Active Club Network largely inspired by RAM had been formed, later developing an active presence in at least 25 states with multiple international chapters.[10]

One way in which the group funds its activities is through the sale of online merchandise.[11]

Arrests

On August 27, 2018, charges were filed by the

Heather Heyer.[9][12]

On May 3, 2019, Daley and Miselis pled guilty to conspiring to riot, joining the other Rise Above members who had done so earlier.

severable.[17][18]

When Miselis was arrested, a search of his house found

Heil Hitler" — "H" being the eighth letter of the alphabet. Miselis had recently met members of violent white supremacist groups in Europe, according to prosecutors.[4]

In October 2018, four other members of the group — Robert Rundo, Robert Boman, Tyler Laube and Aaron Eason — were charged with conspiracy to incite

UC Berkeley in April 2017.[3] While Laube pled guilty in November 2018, the others were indicted by a grand jury of one count each of violating the Anti-Riot Act of the Civil Rights Act of 1968
.

In June 2019, U.S. District Judge

Cormac Carney dismissed the indictment because, he held, the Anti-Riot Act is "unconstitutionally overbred in violation of the First Amendment".[22][23] In March 2021, that judgment was reversed by a divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the indictments were reinstated.[24][25]

Robert Rundo, Robert Boman, and Tyler Laube were re-indicted in January 2023.[26][27]

In early August 2023, Robert Rundo was

extradited to the United States from Romania. Rundo had left the U.S. in the time between the dismissal of the charges against him in June 2019, and their reinstatement in January 2023. Rundo pleaded not guilty to the charges of conspiracy and rioting.[28][29][30]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Rise Above Movement". splcenter.org. Southern Poverty Law Center.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Rise Above Movement (R.A.M.)". adl.org. Anti-Defamation League. January 22, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e Fearnow, Benjamin (October 24, 2018) "What Is the Rise Above Movement? FBI Arrests White Supremacists Tied to Violent Riots", Newsweek.
  4. ^ a b c d Jarvie, Jenny; Mejia, Brittny; Cosgrove, Jacklyn; and Tchekmedyian, Alene (October 3, 2018) "Trained in California, a white supremacist fight club is accused of bringing violence to Charlottesville" Los Angeles Times.
  5. ^ a b c McLaughlin, Eliot C. (October 9, 2018). "The Rise Above Movement is less like the Klan and more like a fight club". CNN.com.
  6. ^ a b Coaston, Joan (October 2, 2018) "4 members of an alt-right "fight club" charged with inciting a riot in Charlottesville" Vox.
  7. ^ a b c Vega, Priscella; Sclafani, Julia (October 26, 2018). "Arrests of white power leaders are a reminder of Huntington Beach's painful past". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  8. ^ a b Staff (July 6, 2017). "DIY Division: The Violent neo-Nazi Group Central to the California Alt-Right and Alt-Light". nocara.blackblogs.org. Northern California Anti-Racist Action.
  9. ^ a b Duggan, Paul (October 2, 2018) "Four members of militant group charged in 2017 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville", The Washington Post.
  10. ^ "Active Club Network". Anti-Defamation League.
  11. ^ "Funding Hate: How White Supremacists Raise Their Money". adl.org. Anti-Defamation League. December 1, 2017.
  12. Huffington Post
    .
  13. ^ Tchekmedyian, Alene (May 3, 2019) "Founder of California white power group, another member plead guilty in Charlottesville riot", Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ Thompson, A. C. (May 6, 2019) "Once Defiant, All Four White Supremacists Charged in Charlottesville Violence Plead Guilty", ProPublica.
  15. ^ Helsel, Phil (July 20, 2019) "3 members of white supremacist group sentenced for violence at rallies", NBC News.
  16. ^ United States v. Daley, 378 F. Supp. 3d 539 (W.D. Va. 2019).
  17. ^ Note, Recent Case: Fourth Circuit Finds the Anti-Riot Act Partially Unconstitutional, 134 Harv. L. Rev. 2614 (2021).
  18. ^ United States v. Miselis, 972 F.3d 518 (4th Cir. 2020).
  19. Daily Beast
    .
  20. ^ Goldman, Adam and Winston, Ali (October 24, 2018) "The FBI arrests a white-supremacist leader who fled the country for Central America", The New York Times. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  21. ^ Weber, Christopher (October 29, 2018) "Aaron Eason Arrested For Allegedly Inciting Violence In California, Charlottesville", Huffington Post. Retrieved November 21, 2018
  22. ^ Sclafani, Julia (June 4, 2019). "Judge dismisses federal charges against 3 members of H.B.-based white power group". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  23. ^ United States v. Rundo, 497 F. Supp. 3d 872 (C.D. Cal. 2019).
  24. ^ Associated Press (March 5, 2021). "Riot charges reinstated against leader of Huntington Beach white supremacist group". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  25. ^ United States v. Rundo, 990 F.3d 709 (9th Cir. 2021).
  26. ^ "A Neo-Nazi Street Fighting Gang Leader Was Just Indicted in LA". Vice Magazine. January 6, 2023.
  27. ^ "Founder of violent white supremacist group RAM re-indicted on rioting charges". Raw Story. January 5, 2023.
  28. ^ Associated Press (August 2, 2023) "US man alleged to be white supremacist leader extradited from Romania on riot, conspiracy charges" Associated Press News
  29. ^ Winston, Ali (August 2, 2023). "White supremacist Robert Rundo extradited from Romania to US to face charges". The Guardian.
  30. ^ "Co-founder of U.S. white supremacist group arrested in Romania". WCAV. April 4, 2023.
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