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In western New York, the far right tries to make inroads with vaccine skeptics
National Security
In western New York, the far right tries to make inroads with vaccine skeptics
By Razzan Nakhlawi
Yesterday at 1:38 p.m. EDT
BUFFALO — The leader of a far-right "patriot" group in western New York stood on top of a truck trailer speaking to a crowd of about a hundred people in a quiet suburb of Buffalo. They had gathered in June to support a Buffalo Bills player who had refused to take the coronavirus vaccine, even at the cost of his career. Charles Pellien, head of the New York Watchmen, spoke proudly of a constellation of groups coalescing around their shared beliefs.
"We're all coming together," Pellien said. "That's why this crowd is so big."
Far-right groups across the nation have aligned themselves with those opposed to masks and vaccines, seeking new allies around the issue of "medical freedom" while appearing to downplay their traditional focus on guns, belief in the tyranny of the federal government and calls by some for violent resistance.
Public health mandates and the push to vaccinate as many people as possible against covid-19 have become animating issues for patriot groups, which have long held conspiratorial views of the federal government. The Watchmen and others say that official responses to the pandemic, both at the state and federal level, are a stark example of government overreach — an argument that helps them appeal to new potential supporters, analysts say.
{snip}
By Razzan Nakhlawi
Razzan Nakhlawi is a researcher on The Post's National Security desk. Twitter https://twitter.com/raz_nak
In western New York, the far right tries to make inroads with vaccine skeptics
By Razzan Nakhlawi
Yesterday at 1:38 p.m. EDT
BUFFALO — The leader of a far-right "patriot" group in western New York stood on top of a truck trailer speaking to a crowd of about a hundred people in a quiet suburb of Buffalo. They had gathered in June to support a Buffalo Bills player who had refused to take the coronavirus vaccine, even at the cost of his career. Charles Pellien, head of the New York Watchmen, spoke proudly of a constellation of groups coalescing around their shared beliefs.
"We're all coming together," Pellien said. "That's why this crowd is so big."
Far-right groups across the nation have aligned themselves with those opposed to masks and vaccines, seeking new allies around the issue of "medical freedom" while appearing to downplay their traditional focus on guns, belief in the tyranny of the federal government and calls by some for violent resistance.
Public health mandates and the push to vaccinate as many people as possible against covid-19 have become animating issues for patriot groups, which have long held conspiratorial views of the federal government. The Watchmen and others say that official responses to the pandemic, both at the state and federal level, are a stark example of government overreach — an argument that helps them appeal to new potential supporters, analysts say.
{snip}
By Razzan Nakhlawi
Razzan Nakhlawi is a researcher on The Post's National Security desk. Twitter https://twitter.com/raz_nak