anon_fapo said in #5436 15h ago:
The term “fedposting,” arose on 4chan’s /pol/ in the late 2010’s. Used to describe anonymous figures advocating violent illegal action, fedposting was an accusation that the original poster was a federal law enforcement agent or “Fed.” The deeper history of fedposting requires looking back at the numerous intelligence operations beginning in the 1950s with COINTELPRO and finishing with the rise and fall and rise again of the American far right.
Observing the rise of radical elements on the far left and right, COINTELPRO not only surveilled and infiltrated radical groups but also used agent provocateurs to directly agitate for criminal action with the intent of discrediting and entrapping activists. While the program formally ended in 1971 after it was exposed, federal agencies never stopped the use of infiltrators.
In the early 2000’s, a disaffected anonymous rightist published A Brief History of the White Nationalist Movement. The now deleted essay dives into the history of the American far right, focusing especially on the time period following the 1967 assassination of George Lincoln Rockwell, the founder of the American Nazi Party. After his death, the American far right splintered into fractious, dysfunctional militant groups such as the National Socialist Liberation Front, Aryan Nations, National Alliance, New Order, White Aryan Resistance, and Hammerskins. Publications such as The Turner Diaries, Siege, and Hunter published during this era openly advocated for political terrorism to overthrow the government. Meanwhile, however, infiltration by agents and informants was endemic within these groups.
In 1986, at the World Aryan Congress, an ATF informant befriended a white separatist named Randy Weaver. Three years later, the informant asked Randy Weaver to shorten two shotgun barrels. This action provided the ATF informant’s handler the impetus to threaten Randy with felonies unless he became an informant to infiltrate the Aryan Nations. Randy refused, setting into motion the 1992 firefight and standoff that led to the death of a federal agent, Randy’s wife, and son. Three years later, in 1995, a truck bomb devastated the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 167 people. Following this incident, the FBI accelerated its campaign against “Domestic Violent Extremists” (DVE). At the same time, groups like the SPLC used lawfare to effectively wipe out groups like the United Klans of America and the Aryan Nations.
By the time A Brief History was published, young radical men had largely internalized the belief that anyone in their group, club, or movement advocating illegal action was either too stupid to be trusted, a federal agent (“glowie”), or an informant. More recent events like Unite the Right, the Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping case, and Jan 6 validated this belief. In each case, it was proven after the fact that the key instigators were informants or agents.
Incident after incident has turned disavowal of fedposting into a core belief of nearly every right-wing man, that is, other than MAGA boomers on Facebook. The downside of the concept of fedposting is that it has become a kind of crimestop. Right-wing men “know” that even among their friends and allies, they need to self-police their thoughts and words, lest they be suspected of being a bad actor.
While America still has a First Amendment, Second Amendment, and somewhat “fair elections,” public fedposting is still a strong negative signal. That said, were those three characteristics of American society entirely abrogated, intelligently “fedposting,” and more importantly, “fedactioning” might be entirely justified.
If you associate with right-wingers with whom you are only casually acquainted, you should be smart and probably suspicious of “loose cannons.” If you associate with brothers, to whom you would entrust your life, it's time to retire the concept of fedposting. Inside that circle of trust, you should absolutely map out the red lines that, if crossed, would warrant ‘extremism.’
Observing the rise of radical elements on the far left and right, COINTELPRO not only surveilled and infiltrated radical groups but also used agent provocateurs to directly agitate for criminal action with the intent of discrediting and entrapping activists. While the program formally ended in 1971 after it was exposed, federal agencies never stopped the use of infiltrators.
In the early 2000’s, a disaffected anonymous rightist published A Brief History of the White Nationalist Movement. The now deleted essay dives into the history of the American far right, focusing especially on the time period following the 1967 assassination of George Lincoln Rockwell, the founder of the American Nazi Party. After his death, the American far right splintered into fractious, dysfunctional militant groups such as the National Socialist Liberation Front, Aryan Nations, National Alliance, New Order, White Aryan Resistance, and Hammerskins. Publications such as The Turner Diaries, Siege, and Hunter published during this era openly advocated for political terrorism to overthrow the government. Meanwhile, however, infiltration by agents and informants was endemic within these groups.
In 1986, at the World Aryan Congress, an ATF informant befriended a white separatist named Randy Weaver. Three years later, the informant asked Randy Weaver to shorten two shotgun barrels. This action provided the ATF informant’s handler the impetus to threaten Randy with felonies unless he became an informant to infiltrate the Aryan Nations. Randy refused, setting into motion the 1992 firefight and standoff that led to the death of a federal agent, Randy’s wife, and son. Three years later, in 1995, a truck bomb devastated the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 167 people. Following this incident, the FBI accelerated its campaign against “Domestic Violent Extremists” (DVE). At the same time, groups like the SPLC used lawfare to effectively wipe out groups like the United Klans of America and the Aryan Nations.
By the time A Brief History was published, young radical men had largely internalized the belief that anyone in their group, club, or movement advocating illegal action was either too stupid to be trusted, a federal agent (“glowie”), or an informant. More recent events like Unite the Right, the Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping case, and Jan 6 validated this belief. In each case, it was proven after the fact that the key instigators were informants or agents.
Incident after incident has turned disavowal of fedposting into a core belief of nearly every right-wing man, that is, other than MAGA boomers on Facebook. The downside of the concept of fedposting is that it has become a kind of crimestop. Right-wing men “know” that even among their friends and allies, they need to self-police their thoughts and words, lest they be suspected of being a bad actor.
While America still has a First Amendment, Second Amendment, and somewhat “fair elections,” public fedposting is still a strong negative signal. That said, were those three characteristics of American society entirely abrogated, intelligently “fedposting,” and more importantly, “fedactioning” might be entirely justified.
If you associate with right-wingers with whom you are only casually acquainted, you should be smart and probably suspicious of “loose cannons.” If you associate with brothers, to whom you would entrust your life, it's time to retire the concept of fedposting. Inside that circle of trust, you should absolutely map out the red lines that, if crossed, would warrant ‘extremism.’
The term “fedposting