Armed Revolt in the Obama Era? Right-Wing Gun Nuts Share Their Paranoid Worldview

By Max Blumenthal, The Daily Beast. Posted May 1, 2009.

(Weapons like these are useful to Mexican narco-cartels, too. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Phoenix field division claimed that "many gun shows attracted large numbers of gang members from Mexico and California. They often bought large quantities of assault weapons and smuggled them into Mexico or transported them to California.")

Though big guns were the main attraction, a handful of retailers in Reno appealed to some visitors' apparent enthusiasm for Nazi memorabilia. Swastika-emblazoned flags, photographs of Hitler and his henchmen, and anything related to the Third Reich were available at several booths.

There was obviously no way to gauge the percentage of show attendees who adhered to the racist fringe, but the prominence of so much Nazi regalia suggested they maintained a significant presence. In fact, I learned about the gun shows I attended from a Web site that features a prominent banner ad for the Council of Conservative Citizens, America's largest white-supremacist group.

On April 4, a neo-Nazi wannabe named Richard Poplawski killed three Pittsburgh police officers with a high-powered assault rifle. By all accounts, Poplawski was an avid follower of right-wing talkers, including Alex Jones and Glenn Beck, who "grew angry recently over fears Obama would outlaw guns."

In the wake of Poplawski's massacre, the Department of Homeland Security issued a report warning of the mounting threat of right-wing extremism.

"Heightened interest in legislation for tighter firearms control," the DHS asserted, "may be invigorating right-wing extremist activity, specifically the white-supremacist and militia movements."

With its focus on right-wing gun culture, the report compounded the already-palpable paranoia of gun-show enthusiasts. An organizer of the Antioch show told me the heightened specter of government scrutiny prompted numerous dealers to demand a total ban on cameras inside the show.

Even with the restriction in place at both shows I attended, I managed to record enough footage to provide what I think is a vivid journalistic report on gun culture mentality during the first 100 days of the Obama era.

Was the DHS report on right-wing extremism credible? See my video report, "Gun Show Nation," and judge for yourself.

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Max Blumenthal is a senior writer for the Daily Beast and writing fellow at The Nation Institute, whose book, Republican Gomorrah (Basic/Nation Books), is due this spring. Contact him at maxblumenthal3000@yahoo.com.