TBR News April 26, 2020

Apr 26 2020

The Voice of the White House Washington, D.C. April 26, 2020: Working in the White House as a junior staffer is an interesting experience.
When I was younger, I worked as a summer-time job in a clinic for people who had moderate to severe mental problems and the current work closely, at times, echos the earlier one.
I am not an intimate of the President but I have encountered him from time to time and I daily see manifestations of his growing psychological problems.
He insults people, uses foul language, is frantic to see his name mentioned on main-line television and pays absolutely no attention to any advice from his staff that runs counter to his strange ideas.
He lies like a rug to everyone, eats like a hog, makes lewd remarks to female staffers and flies into rages if anyone dares to contradict him.
It is becoming more and more evident to even the least intelligent American voter that Trump is vicious, corrupt and amoral. He has stated often that even if he loses the
election in 2020, he will not leave the White House. I have news for Donald but this is not the place to discuss it. “
Comment for April 26, 2020:”Because his daily tv press conferences were farcical and revealing his mental problems to a wide public audience, Trump has stopped his daily struttings. It took weeks to convince him he was making a fool of himself (quite impossible because God had beaten him to it) and now he is back squalling on Twitter. What is his next bit of weird and dangerous advice? Drinking hair remover to cure corona virus? Sticking your finger into a light socket to kill germs? Watching Fat Donald’s circus was almost as entertaining watching South Park.”

Trump aches from his head to his toes
His sphincters have gone where who knows
And his love life has ended
By a paunch so distended
That all he can use is his nose.

The Table of Contents

RED SWAN: The Story of a Secret Cable and the Crisis We Could Have Seen Coming
• Chinese Intelligence Operations
• Cable television spying
• The frantic rescue mission for Donald Trump’s indiscretions
• Deutsche Bank refuses to give U.S. senators information on recent Trump dealings
• Donald Trump set to fall back on xenophobia with re-election plan in tatters
• Revealed: How the US gun lobby exploits the coronavirus pandemic to further its aims
• Antigovernment groups current in the United States

RED SWAN: The Story of a Secret Cable and the Crisis We Could Have Seen Coming
April 24, 2020
by Daniel McGroarty, TES GeoPolicy Editor
GeoPolicy
COVID-19: It’s all we talk about, on the cable news, and in our 6-foot socially-distanced prison walks around our silent neighborhoods. And in nearly every conversation comes the intellectual shrug, “who could have seen this coming?” A single phrase that neatly absolves governments and experts alike of any responsibility of predicting the pandemic and, if not being able to stop it, at least cushioning its blow. We even have a name for it (credit Nassim Nicholas Taleb): A Black Swan – the quintessential case of something never seen before.
Except for the fact that some of us did see this coming, whether it’s Bill Gates in his 2015 TED talk, or the unnamed author of the 2008 U.S. Government Intelligence Report envisioning the World of 2025, which includes a section called “Potential Emergence of a Global Pandemic”: “If a pandemic disease emerges, it probably will first occur in an area marked by high population density and close association between humans and animals, such as many areas of China and Southeast Asia, where human populations live in close proximity to livestock.”
So if Black Swan is a misnomer, what is it that’s got us locked in our homes, wearing gloves and masks? Call it a Red Swan, given COVID’s point of origin, whether it seeped out on the sleeve of a lab tech at the Wuhan Virology Lab or jumped to a human host off a butcher’s hook at the Wuhan wet market.
But is it unfair to engage in so much 20-20 hindsight? After all, who could see COVID coming?
Well, we did. We — as in nodes within the U.S. Government tasked with tracking critical infrastructure on a global scale, literally maintaining a list of critical materials and capabilities, wherever they may be around the globe.
How do we know? It’s an interesting story, with a classified document and a cloak-and-dagger tale of how it came to light. It starts with Julian Assange, the famed Wikileaker. In early 2010, his motives nefarious and his means indiscriminate, he spilled out a torrent of U.S. Government diplomatic cables – ultimately 251,000 in all.
Among the documents, a cable sent by the U.S. State Department, providing a fleeting inside-look at something called the “Critical Foreign Dependencies Initiative.”
While the document’s State Department senders designated the cable “SECRET/NOFORN” (no foreign nationals) and marked it for de-classification in 2019. Wikileaks made it public a decade ahead of schedule, revealing an intriguing list of “Critical Infrastructure/Key Resources” outside of the U.S. “whose loss could critically impact the public health, economic security, and/or national and homeland security of the United States.”
What’s on the no-longer-Secret U.S. Government list?
Under the heading for China: “Polypropylene Filter Material for N-95 Masks”
…Precisely the ones the federal government and states are scrambling to source right now. That’s right: The U.S. Government knew in 2009 that N-95 masks were critical, came from China… And did nothing about it.
But there’s more – and it goes to the broader supply-chain dependence on China that has only deepened in the past decade. The classified list includes a series of Chinese mines deemed critical:
“Fluorspar Mine
Germanium Mine
Graphite Mine
Rare Earth Minerals/Elements
Tin Mine and Plant
Tungsten – Mine and Plant”
Six Chinese mines, understood in 2009 to be critical to U.S. national security, producing essential materials needed for technology applications ranging from aluminum and steel production, uranium processing, EV batteries and flat-panel displays to aerospace and missile guidance systems, infrared imaging, fiber optics, lasers, advanced airframes, body armor and armor plate. In short, just about every major U.S. advanced manufacturing sector as well as 21stCentury weapons platforms.
Why would Chinese production of these six materials be a matter of U.S. national security?
Because at the time, for these six materials the U.S. was 100% import-dependent – producing precisely zero – for fluorspar, graphite and rare earths, 90% dependent for germanium, 80% for tin and 63% for tungsten. In the cases of fluorspar, graphite, rare earths and tungsten, China was the world’s leading producer, and was a Top 3 producer for germanium and tin.
And today, 10 years after that highly-classified warning?
The U.S. remains 100% dependent for fluorspar, graphite and rare earths. China remains the world’s top supplier. And while the dependency has eased a bit for germanium, tin and tungsten, the U.S. remains more than 50% import dependent for each, while China’s role as global provider stands unchanged.
And this, despite the fact that the U.S. hosts known resources for all six, but simply fails to make mining, refining and recovering them a policy priority.
As a warning unheeded, the cable makes for interesting reading in light of today’s COVID pandemic – and as U.S. policymakers embark on a rolling series of multi-trillion dollar spending bills, the next of which will include infrastructure projects.
At issue is not just one but three layers of risk: Maybe the metals and minerals produced by the Chinese mines will be withheld in time of conflict, as Beijing seeks to leverage access for American concessions. Maybe the metals and minerals will soon be prioritized for internal Chinese consumption, under its Made in China 2025 program to drive Chinese technology dominance, with little left for export to the U.S. or elsewhere.
Or maybe – as the leaked cable presciently notes – the Chinese mines will be disrupted by a pandemic, slamming on the supply chain brakes for a U.S. economy dependent on critical materials that go from arriving “just in time” to “not at all.”
In any case, the warning could hardly be more clear. The U.S. has a choice: It can take immediate steps to reduce its dangerous dependency on a Chinese supply chain for critical technology metals. Or we can hope COVID 2.0 will not disrupt supply in a second global shut-down – or that Beijing won’t one day decide to curtail access to these critical materials in time of crisis.
But here’s one thing we can no longer do: If an act of nature or of man cuts off U.S. access to vital technology materials, we can’t claim to be surprised by the appearance of a Red Swan. We’ve seen it coming.
Daniel McGroarty, TES GeoPolicy editor, served in senior positions in the White House and Department of Defense, and has testified in the U.S. Senate and House on critical minerals issues. McGroarty is principal of Washington, D.C.-based Carmot Strategic Group, and president of the American Resources Policy Network, a non-partisan virtual think tank dedicated to informing the public on the importance of developing U.S. metal and mineral resources.

Chinese Intelligence Operations
HUMINT
The MSS is the primary Chinese HUMINT collection organization, although the MID is also involved in HUMINT collection. The MID is primarily involved in the overt collection of technical information through visits to trade shows, military exchange programs, and through the military attache program. The MSS is responsible for both overt and clandestine collection. It uses students, diplomats, businessmen, and scientists in its attempts to gain information. China has been extremely aggressive in its HUMINT collection activities in the United States. The PRC has more than 2,600 diplomatic and commercial officials in the United States. A substantial percentage of these personnel are actively involved in collecting intelligence. More than 40,000 students from the PRC also attend schools in the United States, and many of these students have been tasked to collect information by the Chinese government. In addition to these personnel, over 25,000 Chinese visit the United States each year as members of official delegations, and an additional 20,000 Chinese emigrate to the United States annually
The MSS has been able to obtain high- and mid-level technologies not cleared for export to the PRC through its activities. It has used three principal means to obtain such technology: first, recruiting agents in China and sending them abroad to acquire technology; second, acquiring American firms that produce a desired technology; and third, the use of MSS operated front companies in Hong Kong. The Chinese have used a number of different methods to gather HUMINT. They have used pressure to gain information from the Chinese immigrant community, especially on those Chinese that have access to high technology or military data. The MSS has also encouraged Chinese students to remain in the United States as long-term penetration agents. MSS personnel have acted as intelligence collectors using cover as NCNA reporters, trade office representatives, and accredited diplomats.
Scientific exchange programs have proven to be extremely useful means for the Chinese to gather information. The FBI has stated that virtually all Chinese allowed to leave the PRC for the United States are given some type of collection requirement to fulfill. Although the bulk of Chinese operations are not sophisticated operations, the large number of ongoing Chinese operations greatly increases the difficulty of countering their espionage activities. In recent years, the Chinese have been the subject of approximately half of all cases initiated by U.S. law enforcement agencies concerning the illegal diversion of technology from the United States.
SIGINT
The Technical Department provides the PRC with a wide range of SIGINT capabilities. The Chinese maintain, by far, the most extensive SIGINT capability of any nation in the Asia/Pacific region. The Chinese operate several dozen SIGINT ground stations deployed throughout China. They monitor signals from Russia, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, India, and Southeast Asia. Signals from U.S. military units located in the region are of significant interest to these monitoring stations. A large SIGINT facility at Hainan Island is principally concerned with monitoring U.S. naval activities in the South China Sea. The Chinese appear to be developing a spaceborne ELINT system that is mounted on their photoreconnaissance and communications satellites. There is no indication at this point that this capability presents a significant threat to U.S. forces in the region. The Chinese actively monitor international communications satellites from SATCOM intercept facilities on Hainan Island, and outside Beijing. Additionally, the Chinese have developed a series of SIGINT collection vessels that monitor U.S. military operations and exercises in the Asia/Pacific region.
IMINT
The Chinese currently have a limited spaceborne photoreconnaissance capability that focuses on collecting imagery over the Russian border. The Chinese also use a variety of fixed wing aircraft to collect photographic imagery. None of these systems present a substantial intelligence collection threat to U.S. forces in the region. U.S. intelligence agencies believe that China will likely develop a mid-resolution electro-optic imaging system in the future that will provide the Chinese with improved capabilities.
Chinese Intelligence Collection Trends
The PRC will continue to use its intelligence services to gather information about the United States, and to obtain access to advanced technologies. An integral part of this effort will be the use of open source information gathered by students, scientific researchers, and the NCNA. China will likely improve both its SIGINT and IMINT capabilities, increasing the collection threat to the United States. The Chinese will continue to use intelligence collection to improve their economic position in the global economy.

Cable television spying
When people download a film from Netflix to a flatscreen, or turn on web radio, they could be alerting unwanted watchers to exactly what they are doing and where they are.
Spies will no longer have to plant bugs in your home – the rise of ‘connected’ gadgets controlled by apps will mean that people ‘bug’ their own homes.
The CIA claims it will be able to ‘read’ these devices via the internet – and perhaps even via radio waves from outside the home.
Everything from remote controls to clock radios can now be controlled via apps – and chip company ARM recently unveiled low-powered, cheaper chips which will be used in everything from fridges and ovens to doorbells.
These web-connected gadgets will ‘transform’ the art of spying – allowing spies to monitor people automatically without planting bugs, breaking and entering or even donning a tuxedo to infiltrate a dinner party.
‘Particularly to their effect on clandestine tradecraft. Items of interest will be located, identified, monitored, and remotely controlled through technologies such as radio-frequency identification, sensor networks, tiny embedded servers, and energy harvesters – all connected to the next-generation internet using abundant, low-cost, and high-power computing.’
One of the world’s biggest chip companies, ARM, has unveiled a new processor built to work inside ‘connected’ white goods.
The ARM chips are smaller, lower-powered and far cheaper than previous processors – and designed to add the internet to almost every kind of electrical appliance.
It’s a concept described as the ‘internet of things’.
Futurists think that one day ‘connected’ devices will tell the internet where they are and what they are doing at all times – and will be mapped by computers as precisely as Google Maps charts the physical landscape now.
The forced conversion to High Definition TV means we will only be able to receive a digital TV signal instead of an analog TV signal. This began in 2009. The surveillance specialists will then have the ability to manipulate that digital signal in any direction desired, for any purpose desired.
In addition, all of the newer wide-screen High Definition TVs found in retail outlets today have both tiny cameras and audio detection devices covertly installed within them so the NSA can both observe and listen to everything within it operatinal radius. The conversion boxes that have been offered with those free government coupons will have the same detection and surveillance devices.
And covert monitoring/tracking chips have been installed in all automobiles manufactured since 1990
1. Don’t buy the newer HD TVs and don’t get their conversion box. Forget getting TV from broadcast or cable or satellite directly. One idea is to watch TV shows from your older computer with currently availabe TV reception hardware/software (newer computers probably have the surveillance devices installed) or send the video and audio from the computer into the AV jacks on your TV or VCR.
2. Watch TV shows from programs previously recorded on VHS tapes or from DVDs using your older TV and VCR equipment. This could become a cottage industry overnight if enough people become aware of the covert surveillance agenda riding along on the coattails of the forced conversion to High Definition digital television.
3. You can listen to only television audio from many inexpensive radios that include the TV audio bands from channel 2-13
In most cases, audio is good enough for me. I’m mainly looking for those few comedy offerings here and there that will provide a laugh. Most sitcoms are just awful: ‘boring’ or ‘banal’ would be complimentary descriptions.
There are also many “black box technologies” being developed out there that the public does not even know about yet.
Then there are the nation’s public schools, where young people are being conditioned to mindlessly march in lockstep to the pervasive authoritarian dictates of the surveillance state. It was here that surveillance cameras and metal detectors became the norm. It was here, too, that schools began reviewing social media websites in order to police student activity. With the advent of biometrics, school officials have gone to ever more creative lengths to monitor and track students’ activities and whereabouts, even for the most mundane things. For example, students in Pinellas County, Fla., are actually subjected to vein recognition scans when purchasing lunch at school.
Of course, the government is not the only looming threat to our privacy and bodily integrity. As with most invasive technologies, the groundwork to accustom the American people to the so-called benefits or conveniences of facial recognition is being laid quite effectively by corporations. For example, a new Facebook application, Facedeals, is being tested in Nashville, Tenn., which enables businesses to target potential customers with specialized offers. Yet another page borrowed from Stephen Spielberg’s 2002 Minority Report, the app works like this: businesses install cameras at their front doors which, using facial recognition technology, identify the faces of Facebook users and then send coupons to their smartphones based upon things they’ve “liked” in the past.
Making this noxious mix even more troubling is the significant margin for error and abuse that goes hand in hand with just about every government-instigated program, only more so when it comes to biometrics and identification databases. Take, for example, the Secure Communities initiative. Touted by the Department of Homeland Security as a way to crack down on illegal immigration, the program attempted to match the inmates in local jails against the federal immigration database. Unfortunately, it resulted in Americans being arrested for reporting domestic abuse and occasionally flagged US citizens for deportation. More recently, in July 2012, security researcher Javier Galbally demonstrated that iris scans can be spoofed, allowing a hacker to use synthetic images of an iris to trick an iris-scanning device into thinking it had received a positive match for a real iris over 50 percent of the time.
The writing is on the wall. With technology moving so fast and assaults on our freedoms, privacy and otherwise, occurring with increasing frequency, there is little hope of turning back this technological, corporate and governmental juggernaut. Even trying to avoid inclusion in the government’s massive identification database will be difficult. The hacktivist group Anonymous suggests wearing a transparent plastic mask, tilting one’s head at a 15 degree angle, wearing obscuring makeup, and wearing a hat outfitted with Infra-red LED lights as methods for confounding the cameras’ facial recognition technology.
Consider this, however: while the general public, largely law-abiding, continues to be pried on, spied on and treated like suspects by a government that spends an exorbitant amount of money on the security-intelligence complex (which takes in a sizeable chunk of the $80 billion yearly intelligence budget), the government’s attention and resources are effectively being diverted from the true threats that remain at large – namely, those terrorists abroad who seek, through overt action and implied threat, to continue the reign of terror in America begun in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

The frantic rescue mission for Donald Trump’s indiscretions

On 4 March 2018, it is alleged that Sergei Viktorovich Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer who secretly worked for, and was well paid by, British intelligence, and his daughter Yulia, were poisoned in Salisbury, England, allegedly with a “Novichok nerve agent.”
It was reported that the pair were observed on a public park bench, acting very ill and were taken to the Salisbury District Hospital and put into an intensive care unit.
No one was allowed to visit them but a British official claimed they had done so and assured the media they had been seen.
There have no medical bulletins concerning the Skripals since then.
Immediately, it was officially claimed that somehow the Russians were responsible and the British Prime Minister and their buffoon of a Foreign Minister made endless accusative public comments about Russian guilt.
The British Prime Minister May’s claim that the “novichok” formula allegedly used was a deep secret, known only to the Russians is, like the rest of the drama, entirely false.
There are currently a number of countries who have been carrying out intense research on the substances from the so-called ‘Novichok’ program since the end of the 1990s to the present: the UK, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, the United States and Sweden.
Russia is not one of them.
The near universal belief among chemical weapons experts, and the official position of the OPCW, was that “Novichoks” were at most a theoretical research program which the Russians had never succeeded in actually synthesizing and manufacturing. That is why they are not on the OPCW list of banned chemical weapons.
It should be noted that in England, where the alleged attack occurred, is home to the Porton Down facility
Porton Down, a secret British facility that works with, among other products, nerve gasses, is located northeast of the village of Porton near Salisbury, in Wiltshire, England.
It is home to UK Government facilities: a site of the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl)
Work carried out at Porton Down on usable nerve gasses has, to date, remained secret
Between 1963 and 1975 the MRE carried out trials in Lyme Bay in which live bacteria were sprayed from a ship to be carried ashore by the wind to simulate an anthrax attack.
That to one side, there exists a secret CIA report that gives the lie to the allegations of Russian poisoning.
Origins of the purported nerve gas attack
Michael Richard Pompeo is an American politician and businessman who has been serving as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency since January 23, 2017, following his nomination by President Donald Trump.
Previously, he was the member of the United States House of Representatives for Kansas’s 4th congressional district (2011–2017).
He is a member of the radical right wing Tea Party movement within the Republican Party. He was a Kansas representative on the Republican National Committee and member of the Italian American Congressional Delegation.
Pompeo is also an Evangelical Christian.
In August of 2017, Pompeo took direct command of the Counterintelligence Mission Center, the department which helped to launch an investigation into possible links between Trump associates and Russian officials.
Former CIA directors expressed concern since Pompeo is known to be an ally of Donald Trump
William Evanina is currently the head of NCIX, which is the executive officer of the United States Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive (ONCIX), and who is also the director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.
The London branch of this secret organization is located at 33 Nine Elms Ln. London SW11 7.
Formerly, it was headquartered at Caversham Park.
A supposedly secret communication from Evanina’s office in question is marked USA/GBR/ EYES ONLY and addressed to M. Aubineau in the UK office of ONCIX (detailed information from Booth)
Part of the document reads:
“Necessary to remove Skripal from any possibility of allowing him to be interviewed via Judicial Assistance Request, by on-going U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump/Russian working agreements. If possible try to make this look like some kind of a negative Russian intelligence operation, thus killing two birds with one stone. Note that Skripal is of considerable value to UK intel so termination with extreme prejudice not suggested.”
And further in the same document:
“President Trump does not tolerate anything that he views as opposed to his will. For that reason, he has developed a very strong dislike for the Justice Department’s FBI because of their ongoing investigation of his extensive contact with Russian entities. He has been contemplating abolishing the FBI and turning its domestic intelligence programs over to the CIA, creating one massive surveillance entity that he can easily control.”
The British agency involved in the purported “nerve gas attack” scenario is the National Domestic Extremism and Disorder Intelligence Unit (NDEDIU)
In May 2013, the NDEDIU was split into two units:
a )Protest and Disorder Intelligence Unit. This unit collates and provides strategic analysis relating to protest and disorder across the UK; and b) Domestic Extremism Intelligence Unit. This unit provides strategic analysis of domestic extremism intelligence within the UK and overseas.
The NDEU had been created in 2011 following a merger of the three domestic extremism units under the National Coordinator for Domestic Extremism – the National Domestic Extremism Team, National Extremism Tactical Coordination Unit and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU).
The quid pro quo for Pompeo’s cooperation in keeping devastating information about Trump’s clandestine political deals with Russia away from hostile investigators is evident.
On March 13, 2018, Trump announced his intention to nominate Pompeo as the new United States Secretary of State, on March 31, 2018, succeeding Rex Tillerson who had the audacity to disagree with Trump.
There is absolutely no question whatsoever that Russian intelligence was able, by the offering of large amounts of money for rigged hotel business deals as well as securing his interest through the activities of very attractive women, to get Trump to work with them closely in the event he was able to secure election to the American presidency.
U.S. Congressional committees also have been investigating Russia and the 2016 election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.
It is now known that the Trump people hired the Facebook people to influence the election and it is also known, but only in top intelligence circles, that the WikiLeaks organization that released damning emails about the Clinton organization is entirely owned by Russian intelligence.
Trump, therefore, bought support with cash from Facebook and promises of cooperation from Russian top level sources.

Persona involved
• Sergei Viktorovich Skripal is a former Russian military intelligence officer who acted as a double agent for the UK’s intelligence services during the 1990s and early 2000s. In December 2004, he was arrested by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and later tried, convicted of high treason, and sentenced to 13 years in prison. He settled in the UK in 2010 following the Illegals Program spy swap and became a British subject.
• Christopher David Steele is a former British intelligence officer with the Secret Intelligence Service MI6 from 1987 until his retirement in 2009. He is also the founding director of Orbis Business Intelligence, a London-based private intelligence firm
Steele later went to for work for Fusion GPS a commercial research and strategic intelligence firm based in Washington, D.C.
The firm was subsequently hired by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee through their shared attorney at Perkins Coie, Marc Elias. The purpose was to create a document that could be used to accuse Trump of having improper contact with the Russians.
Fusion GPS then hired Steele to investigate Trump’s Russia-related activities. According to CNN, Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee took over the financing of the inquiry into Donald Trump and produced what became known as the Trump dossier.
According to an official British analysis, Steele was in contact with Skripal and claimed he used much of Skripal’s information for his Trump report.
U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Russian influencing the 2016 U.S. election, and potential collusion in this by Trump aides. Russia has denied U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusion that it meddled in the election and Trump has said there was no collusion between his campaign and Moscow officials.
Mueller has indicted several Trump associates and more than a dozen Russians.
When it was learned in Washington that Steele was on Mr. Mueller’s prime list to interrogate, fears that Skripal, an associate, who was known to give information to anyone willing to pay for it, was also considered a subject for interrogation under oath, a form of panic arose in the White House and the CIA spoke with their opposite numbers in England.
The thrust of this intended contact was that American intelligence and political entities did not want Skripal to be deposed.
Steele has been privately warned about speaking out of turn but Skripal was considered to be a “loose cannon.”
The concocted story about “nerve gas attacks” served to hide Skripal and his daughter in a safe house and prevent him from further revelations that could well spell the end of Trump’s presidency.

Deutsche Bank refuses to give U.S. senators information on recent Trump dealings
April 25, 2020
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) has declined a request by prominent U.S. senators to provide information about the German lender’s recent business dealings with U.S. President Donald Trump and his family, according to a letter this week seen by Reuters.
our Democratic senators, led by Elizabeth Warren, earlier this month demanded details from Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Christian Sewing about the bank’s interaction this year with Trump and his family’s companies. (here)
The bank is one of the largest creditors for Trump’s hotels, golf courses and other properties, according to filings. The senators are concerned the bank may be giving the family preferential treatment on loan repayments in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak as Deutsche Bank itself remains under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Deutsche’s counsel rejected the senators’ request on privacy grounds, according to the letter dated April 21 seen by Reuters.
“We hope that you will understand Deutsche Bank’s need to respect the legal, as well as contractual, boundaries that exist with respect to such confidential information,” the bank’s law firm, Akin Gump, wrote.
Deutsche “must answer our questions”, Warren said in an emailed statement to Reuters on Saturday.
“It’s outrageous we don’t know what secret favors the President and his family might be getting from the bank, or what favors the bank may be getting in return,” she said.
Senator Chris Van Hollen, who worked with Warren on the request for information from Deutsche, said on Saturday that Deutsche’s response was “inadequate and unresponsive”.
“The American people deserve answers and anything less is unacceptable,” Van Hollen said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
Deutsche Bank declined to comment.
The White House, the Trump Organization, Kushner Companies, and Akin Gump didn’t respond to requests for comment outside of business hours.
Next month, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in a case over whether Deutsche must turn over Trump’s financial records subpoenaed by two congressional committees.
Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Louise Heavens and Diane Craft

Donald Trump set to fall back on xenophobia with re-election plan in tatters
The president had been intending to campaign on a strong economy and facing a socialist opponent but scapegoating foreigners has worked for him before
April 26, 2020
by David Smith in Washington
The Guardian
Donald Trump had been intending to run a re-election campaign based on a strong economy and a socialist opponent. Both have vanished in the past month. But the US president still has his ultimate weapon: xenophobia.
Trump this week announced in a late-night tweet that he would “temporarily suspend immigration” into America. Two days later, when he signed an executive order, it only applied to people seeking green cards to move to the country permanently, not to temporary workers, and there were plenty of loopholes.
But by then the headlines had been written, the outrage expressed and the objective achieved: Trump was cracking down on immigration again because, he claimed, he was putting America and its workers first. The exercise was arguably less about policy than politics.
A nativist, populist message helped him win the presidency in 2016. He tried it again in the 2018 midterm elections for Congress with mixed results. Now, with his handling of a deadly pandemic under scrutiny and the economy in freefall, critics say he is ready to bet the White House on his ability to stir nationalist and racist sentiment with little subtlety.
“This is a president who doesn’t use the dog whistle of Republicans in the past, and even Democrats in the past who used dog whistle politics to talk about race in code,” said Juan Cartagena, president and general counsel of Latino Justice, a civil rights organisation. “This guy talks about it openly. Under normal circumstances he would have been a one-term president, but his base is pretty loyal and we’re still talking about a country that barely comes out in large turnout numbers.”
Apart from antipathy towards globalised trade, Trump is said to be a man of few core political beliefs and little ideology. But when he descended an escalator at Trump Tower in New York in June 2015 to declare his long-shot candidacy for president, he started as he meant to go on. Mexico, he complained, was not sending its best people across the border. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”
Trump also announced his signature issue: “I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall.”
There followed an incendiary, taboo-busting election campaign in which “Build that wall!” became a familiar chant at Trump rallies, where he railed against the presidency of Barack Obama and threw red meat to his base. He lashed out at a judge of Mexican ancestry and a Muslim whose son died fighting for the US in Iraq. He threatened to ban Muslims from the country. He promised “America first”. And he won.
Two years later, campaigning on behalf of senators and representatives, Trump used rallies to stoke fears that “caravans” of undocumented immigrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were set to pour into the US from Mexico. To the frustration of Republicans who wanted him to focus on economic achievements, he used vivid language to demonise criminal gangs and human traffickers and put victims’ families on public display.
This time, the strategy was only partially successful: Republicans expanded their majority in the Senate but lost 40 seats in the House of Representatives, where the new Democratic majority went on to impeach Trump.
Early in 2020, the Trump re-election campaign appeared to be built on firm foundations. There were economic talking points – unemployment at its lowest for half a century, the stock market at record highs – even if it did not always feel that way on the ground. Meanwhile, Senator Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist, was leading the Democratic presidential primary race, prompting Trump and allies to warn darkly of the radical left.
These scripts have been torn up. The coronavirus pandemic has killed about 50,000 Americans and is likely to surpass US losses in the entire Vietnam war. Since the outbreak also put the economy into a coma: at least 26 million people have requested unemployment benefits, wiping out all the job gains since the great recession of 2008.
Rick Wilson, a political strategist and author of Running Against the Devil, an analysis of how the 2020 election could play out, said: “The predicates of Donald Trump’s campaign were fundamentally: ‘The economy is great and I made the economy great and also, by the way, this is my great economy. Have you noticed my great economy?’ That’s gone. If you claim you have sole control and credit for something, then when it goes wrong, the shoe gets placed on the other foot rather quickly, and it has.”
In the Democratic primary, meanwhile, Sanders quickly fell away against former vice-president Joe Biden, a moderate who served under Obama and will be much harder to caricature as a socialist menace.
Short of ammunition, his record in tatters, Trump can still fall back on the politics of division and made-for-TV partisan outrage. His daily White House coronavirus taskforce briefings have become a substitute for campaign rallies and regularly include progress reports on the border wall. The executive order on immigration, probably bearing the fingerprints of senior adviser Stephen Miller, was billed as a way to ensure that American workers take priority over foreigners in any economic recovery.
It has struck a chord with some of Trump’s supporters. Douglas Collins, 86, a neurologist from Pensacola, Florida, said: “We’ve got to get the economy up and running, and people who live pay cheque to pay cheque and are American have to be the first consideration. Is prejudice a major factor? I don’t think so.”
Doug Peltier, 69, from Forest Lake, Minnesota, said: “It’s a valid position to be concerned about the economy and immigrants coming and taking jobs from Americans. I’m not a bigot, I’m not against immigrants, I have a great deal of respect for Mexicans and blacks. I do believe Americans should come first. I guess you could call me a nationalist.”
Peltier, a retired school administrator who attended a Trump rally in Minneapolis last year, added: “I think Trump has more support than a lot of people believe. We don’t boast; we tend to be more silent. I would never put a Donald Trump sticker on my car because I know it would get keyed.”
But opponents see something else: a president whose world collapsed around him, suddenly flailing in strange surroundings and grabbing on to a familiar lifeline. Wilson, the political strategist, argues that bigotry, hatred and prejudice “aren’t a bug of the Trump program – those are a feature.
“He will pursue what he looks at as something that was highly effective for him in the last campaign and that is a racially and ethnically inflected campaign that tries to tell Republican voters in particular that all of their problems and concerns and issues come from the brown people.”
Already Trump and Republican allies have hardened their line on China, fuelling a theory that the coronavirus might have accidentally escaped a laboratory in Wuhan and condemning the country for not raising the alarm earlier. They hope to couple this with an attack on Biden, dubbing him “Beijing Biden” and claiming he had a cosy relationship with China in the past.
Wilson, who is co-founder of the Lincoln Project, a political action committee aiming to prevent Trump’s re-election, added: “What you will absolutely see this fall is that Donald Trump will come out and he will make up a story and it will be something like, ‘There’s boats full of diseased Chinamen coming our way, bar the door’.”
Democrats are braced for another bitter fight with a president who looks certain to lose the popular vote again but hopes to squeeze by in a few battleground states that decide the electoral college.
Neil Sroka, communications director for the progressive group Democracy for America, added: “What we should expect in 2020 is, because of the economic implosion, because of his massive mishandling of this crisis, he will pursue a xenophobic campaign that makes the 2016 effort look like patty cake.”

Revealed: How the US gun lobby exploits the coronavirus pandemic to further its aims
An investigation into protests against coronavirus restrictions in the US revealed a tale of coordinated political action by gun lobbies, and one Florida man who was trying to get ahead of the curve.
April 24, 2020
by Jordan Wildon
DW
A DW investigation has found that protest groups in various US states against recent coronavirus lockdown measures were set up by conservative gun lobbyists. The coordinated effort seems to be driven by the apparent long-term aim of building a larger base of support for gun law relaxation.
This comes after thousands of people across the US organized online and started to demand an end to stay-at-home orders. Protest organizers claim on their Facebook pages that the lockdown restrictions are a result of “politicians on a power trip,” who they allege are “destroying our businesses, passing laws behind the cover of darkness, and forcing us to hand over our freedoms and livelihood.”
“Reopen America” has become the common name for these protests. Between April 8 and 16, at least 34 website addresses, such as www.reopeniowa.com or www.reopenpa.com for the state of Pennsylvania, were purchased.
These web addresses automatically redirect to pages on pro-gun sites. The gun lobby pages incorrectly claim that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and its resulting disease, COVID-19, are “far less deadly than the flu” and say, in text littered with typos, “President [Donald] Trump has been very clear that we must get America back to work very quickly or the ‘cure’ to this terrible disease may be worse that the disease itself!”
The registration of so many reopen website addresses in a short period of time led social media users to conclude that the campaign was “astroturfing” — the practice of making a campaign appear grassroots while withholding that it was organized by a single entity.
Of the 34 website addresses registered, only 16 are linked to active pages, with five tracing back to one family in the American Midwest, the Dorrs. These reopen websites were for Iowa, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ohio, each of which has laws allowing open carry of firearms with a permit.
These laws are not loose enough for the Dorrs, who are ultra-conservative pro-gun political campaigners active in a number of US states. Three Dorr brothers — Ben, Aaron and Chris — are especially involved in political campaigns criticizing the Republican Party for not being conservative enough on gun laws and on abortion laws. However, they are strong supporters of Trump.
Earlier this year, the Republican Party of Minnesota described them as “scam artists” who are “actually just building their own brand and raising money.”
One of the brothers, Ben Dorr, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that these claims are “fake news,” adding that his group, the Pennsylvania Firearms Association, would ramp up efforts in 2021. He said he set up the websites for the anti-lockdown protests from a “constitutional approach.” This originalist approach strictly interprets the US constitution as it was understood in its 18th-century context, and remains a theme in the Dorrs’ politics, with the anti-lockdown protests adding to their ultra-conservative messaging.
By flouting state lockdown rules and gathering in crowds, health experts worry that these protests could contribute to the skyrocketing cases of infection across the US.
There were nearly 870,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the US and just short of 50,000 deaths as of early April 24, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Trump demonstrated support for the “Reopen America” campaign in three separate tweets on April 17, which read: “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!,” “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!,” and “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!”
The Second Amendment — the constitutional right allowing private individuals to bear arms — is strongly supported by Trump. His administration allowed gun stores to remain open as “essential” businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a White House coronavirus task force briefing on the same day as the tweets, Trump offered further support for the anti-lockdown protesters: “These are people expressing their views,” he said. “I see where they are and I see the way they’re working. They seem to be very responsible people to me, but they’ve been treated a little bit rough,” suggesting that Stay At Home orders in some states were too restrictive.
When asked about why he singled out Virginia later in the press conference, Trump said, “In Virginia, I’m going above and beyond what we’re talking about with this horrible plague. They want to take their guns away.”
Anti-lockdown, gun activist takes partial credit for Trump election
One of the Dorr family members, Aaron, is a pro-gun activist, who has been politically active for over 10 years across a broad range of political campaigns.
His firearms website, Second Amendment Politics, describes his work as “fighting for the Second Amendment in state legislatures including Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Wyoming, Wisconsin and more.”
In an open letter to Trump in February 2018, his and eight other gun rights organizations took partial credit for Trump’s election, writing “President Trump was elected, thanks in no small measure to the tireless efforts of grassroots gun owners.” This letter was also signed by Ben and Chris Dorr.
Aaron Dorr is also linked to two websites targeting Republican Iowa State Senators Amy Sinclair and Dan Dawson. These websites use Trump-style name-calling, claiming that “Ragin’ Amy Sinclair” and “Lyin’ Dan Dawson” did not keep their campaign promises of supporting the state’s controversial legislation on unrestricted carry for firearms, for which the Dorrs demonstrate strong support. A video on one of these websites states that the current legal situation means prospective gun owners have to “beg” the state for a license.
This legislation allows the legal carrying of a handgun, either openly or concealed, without any license or permit.
Trump declared his support for new concealed carry legislation in January 2018. The bill would make concealed carry of handguns available nationwide in every state, and each state would have to recognize the others’ permits. Currently, this is regulated at state and local levels, rather than at the national level.
Unrestricted carry (sometimes referred to as permitless carry or constitutional carry) is already law in a number of US states, but not in any of the states for which the Dorrs have bought “Reopen America” domains. Based on the locations of these political campaigns and their previous political activity, it would appear that the Dorrs have a long-term goal of building a bigger supporter base for the gun lobby, using the coronavirus pandemic unrest as a vehicle.
The Dorrs did not respond to DW’s request for comment.
Links to Facebook groups
Over 200,000 people are now part of Facebook groups supporting anti-lockdown protests run by the Dorrs across a number of US states.
Two groups in particular, “Reopen Minnesota” (previously named “Minnesotans Against Excessive Quarantine”) and “Pennsylvanians Against Excessive Quarantine” shared near-identical descriptions on Facebook.
Their web addresses were registered two minutes apart on April 8.
The Dorrs remain active in both groups, where two of them — Ben and Matt, who keeps his online life relatively private — are listed as administrators. They, alongside Chris Dorr, also are administrators of other related groups.
Chris Dorr, one of the most active members in the groups, shared links to articles about the protests, posts asking users how the lockdown was affecting them and Facebook Live videos from the protests. His personal Facebook page bills him as “Political Director at Pennsylvania Firearms Association.”
On his personal page, he shared memes and updates calling the coronavirus pandemic “a hoax.” He also posted conspiracy theories alleging the US government is trying to take away people’s freedom and claims that if “abortion mills” were closed for two weeks, the virus would have “saved more lives than it has taken.” A picture post about him attending a Trump rally in 2018 was captioned with “[I] went on a Pilgrimage.”
Commenters on his posts respond with sentiments such as “I just want to warm my SKS up,” referring to a semi-automatic rifle. Another comment from April 21 read “I own a gunshop and business is better than ever!”
Other Facebook comments on his profile incite violence against politicians and use language associated with the racist hate group the Ku Klux Klan, including the term “ride on knight [Eds. note: a colloquial name for a Klan member].” One comment specifically mentioned “tarring and feathering” politicians, a reference associated with the US Revolutionary War.
Facebook declined to comment on these specific points but said it continues to review content related to the lockdown protests.
“Unless government prohibits the event during this time, we allow it to be organized on Facebook. For this same reason, events that defy government’s guidance on social distancing aren’t allowed on Facebook,” a company spokesperson told DW.
The Dorrs’ digital empire
Links on these Facebook pages, and in the groups the Dorrs administer, left an entry point into investigating the sheer volume of websites they operate.
The connection between many of the Dorrs’ websites is evidenced through information in public registration files, which includes the date and time they were purchased.
These files act as a digital equivalent of land registry paperwork for house ownership, ensuring a person or company with ownership of a web address are the only ones allowed to use it for a period of time before renewing, usually a minimum of one year.
For example, the “reopen” websites for Ohio, Pennsylvania and Minnesota were registered in quick succession, indicating that they were bought in the same transaction. They also all share the same Google Analytics tracking ID, which is a unique code used to track webpage visits.
Websites for Iowa and Wisconsin also use this code, in addition to having been set up on the same day.
The active “reopen” websites owned by the Dorrs redirect to anti-lockdown protest pages, mostly on the Dorrs’ pro-gun websites. On top of this, they look the same and contain similar, often identical text. Analyzing the inner workings of the website, namely the HTML code files, helps identify more connections to other pages and groups the Dorrs manage or people they collaborate with.
As such, the true scale of the Dorrs’ political influence is difficult to measure. DW has found links to more pro-gun websites, anti-abortion websites and campaigns against state senators who do not loosen gun control measures.
This widespread online activity has contributed toward the impression that there is large-scale opposition to the lockdown measures. In contrast, nearly 70% of Republican voters and 95 percent of Democratic voters supported a national stay-at-home order, according to recent research by Quinnipiac, a nationwide independent public opinion poll.
Florida man buys website registrations to slow protests
After reading an article about the anti-quarantine protests on April 17, a man in Florida decided to take action.
Michael Murphy, a small business owner, made the snap decision to purchase over 200 website addresses, including other available “reopen” domains, as well as ones beginning with related terms, such as “liberate.”
When Murphy realized they were being used to organize the anti-lockdown protests, he wanted to prevent more from being set up. “I ran into my study, and I bought all of the iterations of them,” he told DW.
Murphy spent $4,000 (€3,678) of his own money to buy the web addresses. “I found out later that they were linked to all of these gun sites,” he said.
While purchasing them, he messaged a friend who suggested offering the website addresses to progressive political groups. One message, shown to DW, read “I know they are going to be used for evil if you don’t sell them to someone besides gun-toting idiots.” Murphy also provided DW with a list of all of the website addresses he bought.
Discovery of the purchases sparked viral social media posts incorrectly accusing Murphy of astroturfing. Progressives started contacting him, blaming him for setting the protests up and accusing him of being a Russian spy.
“My phone started ringing. First it was a trickle, and then it was a torrent. As soon as I hung up, it started ringing again.”
“I was accused of all kinds of different things, having a Nazi son, having a father who was a Republican lobbyist — my father’s been dead for 20 years. I got a lot of really, really threatening phone calls, so I basically just unplugged the phone.”
The domains registered under Michael Murphy’s name remain inactive. “I have no desire to own them. My whole point of this was trying to do something good,” he said.
“These are really powerful [website] names. This is a really powerful tool we’ve got here. When you’ve got every permutation in every state, you’ve basically got the keys to the kingdom.”
Speaking of the protests, he told DW. “This is pure insanity. These people in the hospitals are in really bad shape, and the hospitals, they don’t know what to do. The last thing we need is to reopen the country.”
Hundreds of New Hampshire residents rally at the State House, calling on the government to re-open the state for business as the coronavirus shutdown continues
A tense mood in the US
The coronavirus crisis continues to ravage the US, with the country’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, predicting more than 200,000 deaths and over 1 million infections over the course of the pandemic.
In a country where a majority of voters agree that stay-at-home measures should be in place, a small number of loud pro-gun activists give the impression that the country is even further divided.
As the US 2020 election season begins to ramp up, political actions like this could see a huge impact on the political landscape and outcome of the vote. With pressure from the vocal far-right political minorities for which Trump continues to show support, the question is whether this fringe support is enough to keep him in office.
With a president so connected to pro-gun activism and the increasing influence of far-right lobbies on White House policy, the Dorrs could achieve exactly the kind of loosened gun laws for which they have long campaigned – and for which they are now trying to exploit the coronavirus pandemic.
DW’s Sandra Petersmann and Kyra Levine contributed to this report, as well as WJCT News reporter Brendan Rivers.

Antigovernment groups current in the United State
*Asterisk denotes militias.

Alabama (15)
III% Security Force*
Statewide
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
Alabama Constitutional Militia*
Clanton
Constitution Party
Montgomery
Free Patriot Press
Birmingham
Freedom Yell
Ozark
John Birch Society
Birmingham
Mobile
LewRockwell.com
Auburn
Medical Kidnap
Huntsville
Oath Keepers
Bay Minette
Republic for the united States of America
Dothan
South Alabama Militia*
Dothan
Three Percenters-III%ers
Shelby County
United States of America Republic Government
Statewide

Alaska (7)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
Alaska Citizens Militia*
Nikiski
Oath Keepers
Anchorage
Delta Junction
South Central Patriots*
Wasilla
Superior Court for the Continental uNited States of America
Bethel Census Area
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Statewide

Arizona (19)
III% Defense Militia
Phoenix
III% Security Force*
Statewide
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%*
Statewide
Arizona Freedom Militia
Mohave County
Arizona Liberty Guard*
Statewide
Hour of the Time
Eagar
John Birch Society
Mesa
Molon Labe
Peoria
National Assembly
Flagstaff
Norhtern Arizona Militia*
Golden Valley
Oath Keepers
Chino Valley*
Green Valley & Sahuarita
Kingman*
Verde Valley*
Reign of Heaven Society
Statewide
Riders United for a Sovereign America, Corp.
Tempe
Southern Arizona Militia*
Statewide
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Statewide

Arkansas (6)
American Patriots III%
Statewide
Arkansas Defense Force*
Statewide
Arkansas State Militia Corps*
Mansfield
John Birch Society
Little Rock
National Assembly
Statewide
Secure Arkansas
Little Rock

California (42)
III% United Patriots*
Sacramento Valley
California State Militia*
Bay Area
Northern Region
Sacramento County
Southern Region
The Constitution Club
Hemet
DEMOCRATS AGAINST U.N. AGENDA 21
Santa Rosa
Educate Yourself
Costa Mesa
HISAdvocates.org
Costa Mesa
Jefferson III%*
Northern
Jeremiah Films
Los Angeles
John Birch Society
Stockton
Liberty Under Fire
Taft
Oath Keepers
Calimesa
Central California
San Bernadino
Victorville
Outpost of Freedom
Los Molinos
Overpasses for America
Statewide
Reign of Heaven Society
Statewide
State of Jefferson Formation
Amador County
Butte County
Calaveras County
El Dorado County
Lassen County
Mariposa
Nevada County
Placer County
Plumas County
Shasta County
Siskiyou County
Stanislaus County
Sutter County
Tehama County
Trinity County
Tuolumne County
Yuba County
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Statewide
United States Justice Foundation
Ramona
We Are Change
Fresno
Los Angeles
West Coast Patriots
Los Angeles

Colorado (12)
III% Security Force
Statewide
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Freedom Network
Johnstown
American Patriots III%
Statewide
Freedom First Society
Colorado Springs
John Birch Society
Colorado Springs
Denver
National Assembly
Statewide
Superior Court for the Continental United States of America
Statewid
Team Law
Grand Junction
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Statewide

We Are Change
Statewide

Connecticut (9)
Connecticut Militia III%*
Statewide
John Birch Society
Danielson
Norwich
Southington
Griswold
Windham
Oath Keepers
Hartford
The Post & Email
Stafford
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Hartford County

Delaware (3)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
First State Pathfinders*
Statewide
Oath Keepers
Statewide

District of Columbia (2)
Renew America
Washington
WorldNetDaily
Washington

Florida (31)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
Agenda21Today
Shady Grove
American Coalition 4 Property Rights
Indian River County
American Patriots III%
Statewide
Constitution Party
The Villages
Florida Militia*
Central
Northeast
Northwest
Southern
Freedom Law School
Spring Hil
John Birch Society
DeLand
Gainesville
Jacksonville
Newberry
Ocala
Palm Beach Gardens
Pensacola
Winter Haven
KrisAnne Hall
Wellborn
Liberty First
Wellborn
National Assembly
Statewide
Now the End Begins
Jacksonville
Oath Keepers
Gainesville
Statewide
Reign of Heaven Society
Statewide
Sarasota Patriots
Sarasota
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Orange County
Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children
Sarasota
We Are Change
Palm Beach
Tampa
Wild Bill for America
South Daytona

Georgia (14)
III% Security Force*
Statewide
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
Constitution Party
Woodstock
Discount Book Distributors/The Patriot Depot
Powder Springs

Freedom Fighter Radio
Evans
John Birch Society
Acworth
East Point
Lamar County
Marietta
Suwanee
The Moorish Science Temple of America 1928
Athens
Oath Keepers
Duluth
Sovereign Filing Solutions
Morrow
Tea Party Patriots
Woodstock
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Wilkinson County

Hawaii (2)
American Patriots III%
Statewide
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Statewide

Idaho (15)
AVOW (Another Voice of Warning)
Rigby
Idaho Light Foot Militia*
Kootenai County
Meridian
Idaho Political Prisoner Foundation
Boise
John Birch Society
Boise
Meridian
Twin Falls
The Micro Effect
Kamiah
Oath Keepers
Bonner County
Boundary County
Statewide
People for Constitutional Freedom (P4CF)
Emmett
Redoubt News
Priest River
The Voice of Idaho
Boise
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Statewide

Illinois (6)
Connecting the Dots
Chicago
Illinois Light Foot Militia
Peoria
Rock Island
Illinois Sons of Liberty*
Chicago
Next News Network
Northbrook
Overpasses for America
Statewide
The Three Percenters-III%ers
DeWitt County
United States of America Republic Government
Chicago
We Are Change
Chicago

Indiana (12)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%*
Statewide
Indiana Citizens Volunteer Militia*
Lake County
Statewide
Indiana Sons of Liberty*
Statewide
Oath Keepers*
Boonville
Churubusco
Cicero
Indianapolis
La Paz
Terre Haute
Westfield

Iowa (3)
Iowa Patriots III%*
Des Moines
John Birch Society
Urbandale
Reign of Heaven Society
Statewide

Kansas (6)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%*
Statewide
John Birch Society
Overland Park
The Prophecy Club Resources
Topeka
Reign of Heaven Socierty
Statewide
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Ellsworth County

Kentucky (9)
III% Security Force*
Statewide
American Patriots III%
Statewide
Constitution Party
Lexington
KY Mountain Rangers*
Bath County
Oath Keepers
Statewide
Tea Party of Kentucky
Louisville
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Bullitt County
Louisville
Watchmen of America
Lexington

Louisiana (10)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%
Statewide
Constitution Party
Eunice
Continental Marshals for the Republic
Magnolia
Empire Washitaw de Dugdahmoundyah
Richwood
Gulf Coast Patriot Network
Shreveport
Oath Keepers
Central
Covington
Statewide
Outlaw Militia*
Tangipahoa Parish
Three Percenters-III%ers
Avoyelles Parish

Maine (6)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%*
Statewide
Maine Militia*
Statewide
Maine Volunteer Responders*
Gardiner
National Constitutional Coalition of Patriotic Americans
Hancock County
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Piscataquis County

Maryland (8)

III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%*
Statewide
America’s Survival, Inc.
Owings
Constitution Party of Maryland
Rockville
Maryland People’s Militia
Westminster
My Brother’s Threepers
Smithsburg
Oath Keepers*
Statewide
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Statewide

Massachusetts (6)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%*
Statewide
Constitution Party
Statewide
Reign of Heaven Society
Suffolk County
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Worcester County

Michigan (21)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
1st Michigan Assembly
Statewide
American Patriots III%*
Statewide
Capitol City Militia
Clinton County
Genesee County Volunteer Militia*
Genesee County
Great Lakes Three Percenters*
Statewide
John Birch Society
Waterford
Michigan Home Guard*
Statewide
Michigan Liberty Militia*
Barry County
Michigan Light Foot
Bay City
Michigan Militia Corps Wolverines*
Statewide
Michigan Peoples’ Reactionary Force*
Genesee County
Michigan Wolf Pack*
Gratiot County
National Assembly
Statewide
Northwest Lower Michigan Civil Defense Militia*
Statewide
Oath Keepers *
Statewide
Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia*
Livingston County
Macomb County
Wayne County
The Three Percenters-III%ers*
Statewide

Minnesota (7)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriot III%*
Statewide
Stearns County
Central Minnesota Tea Party
Saint Cloud
Genesis Communication Network
Eagan
John Birch Society
Crystal
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Crow Wing County

Mississippi (10)
III% Security Force
Statewide
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%
Statewide
Citizens Militia of Mississippi*
Batesville
Calhoun County
Constitution Party of Mississippi
Seminary
Gulf Coast Patriot Network
Statewide
Oath Keepers *
Statewide
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Petal

Missouri (15)
2nd Amendment Patches.com
Halltown
Constitution Party
Piedmont
John Birch Society
Ellisville
Kansas City
Springfield
Missouri Brotherhood Militia*
Statewide
Missouri Citizens Militia*
Washington County
Missouri Militia
Joplin*
Kansas City*
Rolla
Springfield*
St. Joseph*
Oath Keepers
Neosho
St. Louis
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Cole County

Montana (7)
III% United Patriots*
Statewid
American Patriots III%
Statewide
John Birch Society
Broadus
Oath Keepers
Statewide
The Order of the White Rose
Hamilton
Stand Up America U.S.
Bigfork
SteveQuayle.com
Bozeman
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Statewide

Nebraska (3)
Free Inhabitant
Omaha
Sovereignty Education and Defense Ministry
Omaha
The Three Percenters- III%ers
Custer County

Nevada (4)
III% Security Force
Statewide
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%
Statewide
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Statewide
We Are Change
Las Vegas

New Hampshire (6)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%*
Statewide
Natinoal Constitutional Coalition of Patriotic Americans
Allenstown
Patriot Mutual Assistance Group*
Rindge
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Belknap County
What Really Happened
Concord

New Jersey (29)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Freedom Fighters Security Force*
East Vineland
American Patriots III%*
Cape May County
North New Jersey
Statewide
John Birch Society
Cranford
Flemington
Gillette
Holmdel
Keyport
Madison
Morristown
Ringwood
Sicklerville
Somers Point
Summit
Totowa
Union
Wantage
New Jersey Light Foot*
Statewide
Oath Keepers *
Bergen County
Cape May
North Region
Statewide
R.V. Bey Publications
Pleasantville
tomatobubble.com
Saddl Brook

New Mexico (4)
American Patriots III%
Albuquerque
Constitution Party
Los Lunas
Reign of Heaven Society
Statewide
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Statewide

New York (29)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%*
Statewide
Constitution Party
Buffalo
Corporate Freedom Group
Buffalo
Creditors Debtors Contracts in Commerce (CDCIC)
Statewide
John Birch Society
Little Neck
Long Island City
Nassau
New York
Town of North Hampstead
Liberty State Militia*
Chenango County
Long Island Mutual Assistance Group
Nassau County
Madison’s Militia
New Lebanon
National Liberty Alliance
Hyde Park
New York Light Foot Militia*
Statewide
New York Militia TM*
Albany County
Mohawk Valley Region
Statewide
New York Mutual Assistance Group*
Orange County
Statewide
Suffolk County
Oath Keepers
Columbia County*
Long Island*
Orange County
Statewide
Reign of Heaven Society
Statewide
Sisters of Liberty Militia
Norwich
The Liberty Den
Stamford
The Three Percenters III%ers
Herkimer County

North Carolina (13)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
America’s Remedy
Charlotte
American Patriots III%
Statewide
Camp Constitution
Charlotte
Constitution Party
Rocky Point
Free North Carolina
Cape Carteret
John Birch Society
Crumpler
Salisbury
NORTH-CAROLINA American Republic
Charlotte
Oath Keepers
Granite Falls
Piedmont Triad
Statewide
Stokes County Militia*
King
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Wake County

North Dakota (2)
III% Security Force*
Statewide
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Sheridan County

Ohio (36)
III% Security Force*
Statewide
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%*
Statewide
Constitution Party
New Lebanon
Cowboys Motorcycle Club CFFC*
Statewide
John Birch Society
Columbus
St. Mary
The Last Militia*
Allen County
Butler County
Clark County
Hamilton County
Montgomery County
Statewide County
Summit County
Trumbull County
March to Exodus
Statewide
North East Ohio Outdoorsman*
East Rochester
Oath Keepers *
Wood County
Ohio Defense Force Home Guard*
Cincinnati
Cleveland
New Lexington
Zanesville
Ohio Elite III%
Statewide
Ohio Heartland Defenders
Statewide
Ohio Irregulars*
Statewide
Ohio Minutemen Militia*
Statewide
Ohio Valley Minutemen Citizen’s Volunteer Militia*
Statewide
Reapers Constitutional Militia of Ohio*
Cortland
Reign of Heaven Society
Statewide
Silver Shield Xchange
Cleveland
Southern Ohio Militia
Statewide
Southern Ohio Outdoorsmen
Peebles
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Knox County
Threeper Tactical Training, LLC
Massillon
West Ohio Minutemen*
Statewide

Oklahoma (1)

The Three Percenters-III%ers
Pottawatomie County

Oregon (15)
III% Security Force
Statewide
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriot Party
Ashland
Central Oregon Constitutional Guard*
Redmond
Embassy of Heaven
Stayton
Freedom Bound International
Klamath Falls
Freedom From Government
Newberg
Heirs of Patrick Henry
Statewide
John Birch Society
Bend
McCutcheons Ink.
Central Point
News With Views
Merlin
State of Jefferson Formation
Coos County
Curry County
Josephine County
Klamath County

Pennsylvania (42)
III% Liberty Defenders Audiliary*
Statewide
III% Liberty Defenders Militia*
Statewide
III% Security Force*
Statewide
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
A.R.M.E.D. Riding Club
Statewide
Alt Market
Pittsburgh
American Patriots III%*
Chester County
Statewide
Westmoreland County
Berks County Patriots
Blandon
Carlisle Light Infantry*
Cumberland Count
Constitution Party
Lancester
Eastern Pennsylvania Regional Militia
Wyomissing
Emergency Non-Profit Asissting Communities Together (ENACT)*
Dauphin
John Birch Society
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Maulitia Bikers MC
Dauphin
National Assembly
Reynoldsville
Pennsylvania Armare Woodsmen*
Statewide
Pennsylvania Homeland Shield*
Clarksburg
Pennsylvania Light Foot Militia*
Berks County
Bradford County
Juniata County
Luzerne County
Schuylkill County
Statewide
Tioga County
Westmoreland County
Pennsylvania Oath Keepers*
Butler County*
Clinton County
Erie County*
Harrisburg*
Lancaster County
Luzerne County*
Millersburg
Statewide
Wayne County
Pennsylvania Patriots United
Oley
Pennsylvania State MIlitia*
Statewide
Reign of Heaven Society
Statewide
Three Percenters-III%ers
Northumberland County
Rhode Island (4)
American Patriots III%*
Statewide
Oath Keepers
North Kingstown
Rhode Island Patriots*
Statewide
TruthRadioShow.com
Providence

South Carolina (14)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%
Statewide
Constitution Party
Taylors
John Birch Society
Boiling Springs
Columbia
Conestee
Greenville County
Landrum
Myrtle Beach
Spartanburg
Summerville
West Columbia
South Carolina Light Foot Militia*
Horry County
Three Percenters-III%ers
Sumter County

South Dakota (2)
Oath Keepers*
Statewide
The Three Percenters-III%ers*
Stanley County

Tennessee (9)
III% Security Force*
Statewide
1st Tennessee Rifles UMIT*
Lafayette
American Patriots III%
Statewide
Appalachian Mountain Patriots
Kingsport
Constitution Party
Montgomery County
East Tennessee Mountain Militia*
Knoxville
National Black Robe Regiment
Springfield
Oath Keepers
Knoxville
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Smith County

Texas (36)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
Alamo Militia*
San Antonio
Americans Standing for Liberty
Hamlin
Constitution Party
Iredell
Constitution Society
Austin
Defense Distributed
Austin
Fearless Nation
Leander
Freedom School
Austin
Golden Triangle Militia*
Groves
Orange
InfoWars
Austin
John Birch Society
Austin
Bastrop
Dallas
Fort Worth
Houston
Richardson
Temple
Oath Keepers
Fort Worth
High Plains
Quitman
Statewide
Temple
Patriots General Store
Ennis
Reign of Heaven Society
Statewide
Republic Broadcasting
Round Rock
Republic of Texas
Bastrop County
Rule of Law Radio
Austin
Silver Bear Cafe
Garland
Texans4Truth
Georgetown
Texas Light Foot Militia*
Longview
Tyler
Texas State Militia*
Austin
Big Spring
Houston
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Comanche County

Utah (5)
John Birch Society
Sandy
Liberty RoundTable
American Fork
Oath Keepers
Statewide
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Statewide

Vermont (4)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%*
Statewide
Green Mountain Militia*
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Orange County

Virginia (19)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%
Statewide
American Policy Center
Warrenton
Constitution Party
Newport News
Constitutional Rights PAC
Alexandria
Declaration Alliance
Herndon
Gun Owners of America
Springfield
John Birch Society
Clarksville
Newport News
Oath Keepers
Bedford County
Franklin County
Fredericksburg
Goochland
Hampton
Pittsylvania-Henry
Prince William County
Roanoke
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Buckingham County
United States of America Republic Government
Statewide

Washington (12)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%
Statewide
Black Horse Militia*
Seattle
Citizen Review Online
Sequim
I UV
Bellevue
John Birch Society
Camas
Gig Harbor
Ranier
Kingdom of YAH of HOSTS
Tacoma
Light Foot Militia*
Spokane County
North Western Research Institute
Statewide
The Three Percenters-III%ers

West Virginia (9)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%
Statewide
Constitution Party
Weston
National Constitutional Coalition of Patriotic Americans
Bridgeport,
Oath Keepers*
Eastern Region
Statewide
Ohio Valley Minutemen Citizen’s Volunteer Militia*
Charleston
Three Percent Republic*
Sutton
West Virginia Light Foot Militia*
Central
Statewide

Wisconsin (3)
David-Wynn: Miller
Milwaukee
American Patriots III%*
Statewide
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Marathon County

Wyoming (6)
III% United Patriots*
Statewide
American Patriots III%
Statewide
Natural News
Cody
Oath Keepers
Northwest
Southeast
The Three Percenters-III%ers
Statewide

No responses yet

Leave a Reply