Eighteen Republican members of the Utah Legislature are listed amongst a whole lot of lawmakers from across the nation who’ve adopted far-right or extremist teams on social media, together with Home Speaker Brad Wilson.
A brand new research from the Institute for Analysis and Schooling on Human Rights discovered almost 900 state legislators have joined at the very least certainly one of 789 Fb teams the group outlined as on the “far-right” of the political spectrum. IREHR is a progressive-leaning group targeted on far-right, racist and anti-semitic organizations. These teams included COVID denial, far-right paramilitary teams and posse comitatus or sovereign citizen-focused pages. The research additionally defines Tea Get together-related teams as “far-right” as a result of a lot of them overlap COVID-denial, anti-immigrant or different right-wing financial philosophies.
The best-profile Utah legislator on the record is Home Speaker Brad Wilson, a member of the LaVoy Finicum; One Cowboy’s Witness #LibertyRising Fb group, which the report says is influenced by the violent far-right Posse Comitatus motion.
Finicum was a part of the group led by Ammon Bundy that staged an armed occupation of the Malheur Nationwide Wildlife Refuge in 2016. Finicum was shot and killed by police throughout an tried arrest at a roadblock.
The core perception of the Posse Comitatus motion is the mistaken concept that the county sheriff is the best constitutional authority and may ignore and even nullify federal legal guidelines they imagine are unconstitutional. Posse Comitatus teams additionally need to see the 14th and fifteenth Amendments overturned.
Wilson declined to remark for this story.
Sen. John Johnson, R-Ogden, belongs to seven Fb teams recognized as selling extremist views, essentially the most amongst Utah legislators.
Johnson is a member of three teams targeted on public schooling coverage, together with Cease Essential Race Principle, Weber College District Mother and father for Selection in Schooling and Idaho Mother and father’ Rights in Schooling.
Johnson can be a part of a pair of COVID-denial teams and one affiliated with the Tea Get together motion.
Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, belongs to 5 Fb teams selling extremist views. Lyman is a part of the It Issues How You Stand and Liberty United teams, that are broadly influenced by the Posse Comitatus motion.
Lyman can be a member of the anti-vaccine Medical Liberty Coalition and COVID-denial Stand for Freedom (Utah) pages. Moreover, he’s a member of the Utahns for Election Integrity group, which the research considers a voter suppression group due to its efforts to eradicate mail-in balloting in Utah. Lyman unsuccessfully sponsored laws within the 2022 session to return Utah to same-day, in-person voting.
4 different Utah Home members belong to teams associated to the Posse Comitatus motion. Rep. Kera Birkeland, R-Morgan, and Rep. Cory Maloy, R-Alpine, are a part of the Open Carry Utah Fb web page, which is an arm of Ammon Bundy’s far-right PeoplesRights.org. That Fb group has been shut down.
Sen. Jake Anderegg, R-Lehi, is a Constitutional Grassroots Motion web page member, and Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, joined Liberty United.
Six legislators have joined numerous COVID-denial teams on Fb. Rep. Walt Brooks, R-St. George, is a part of Stand for Freedom (Utah) and Utah Employees Towards Mandates. Within the 2022 session, Brooks sponsored HB60, which might have blocked most personal companies and authorities companies from requiring proof of vaccination. The proposal died within the Utah Senate with no vote on the ultimate evening of the session.
Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, Johnson Birkeland and Teuscher are additionally a part of Stand for Freedom (Utah). Moreover, Johnson belongs to Utah Residents for God Given Rights.
Rep. Travis Seegmiller, R-St. George, who has introduced his resignation from the Legislature, is listed as belonging to a few far-right Fb teams, together with the Posse-influenced Liberty Motion Coalition.
The remaining legislators on the record joined Tea Get together-related teams, together with People for Prosperity Utah.