The terror inflicted on the U.S. Capitol on January 6 exposed America’s problem with violent extremism.
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies began compiling the events of that day as they tried to thwart any threatening attacks. Numerous people have been arrested and charged with assault – the vast majority are men.
In the aftermath of these events, there were stories that attributed the violence and destruction to ‘white male anger’, ‘violent male anger’ and ‘angry white men’.
But what about the women?
To distill the violent uprising in a story of raging male anger is to overlook the threat that women pose to the crowd in front of congressional officials, law enforcement, and American democracy on that day.
Long history of women’s involvement
Several women were identified as alleged participants in the events of January 6th. These include a former occupational therapist at the school, an employee of the sheriff in the country, a broker and a former mayoral candidate.
At least one woman is being investigated for her role in organizing the attack with fellow members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right military movement. And Ashli Babbit, a female veteran, was shot dead by police while trying to trespass on the Senate floor.
The women who took part in the siege of the Capitol are part of a long history of women’s participation in extremist violence, both in the United States and abroad.
Women have run American far-right organizations and businesses for centuries. In her recent book on women at the forefront of contemporary white nationalism, author Seyward Darby writes that women are not ‘casual to white nationalism, they are a sustainable trait’.
Since the late 1800s, women have supported and enabled the terrorist white supremacist organization, the Ku Klux Klan, while hundreds of thousands have joined the women’s branch, Women of the Ku Klux Klan, and its predecessors.
Women helped establish the Klan culture, strengthened its recruitment efforts and produced its propaganda. Despite his hyper-male ideology, which identifies white men as the primary arbitrators of political power, women also held leadership positions in the contemporary Clan.
More recently, women have joined the far-right Proud Boys movement, which has openly recruited female infantry. In December, a growing gap between male and female Proud Boys was reported. After experiencing intense sexist backlash from men in the organization, women led by MMA fighter Tara LaRosa started their own group, the Proud Girls USA.
Leaving one extremist organization to form another indicates a deep commitment to the far-right cause.
Discounts are dangerous
A 2005 study noted that there is a gap between the increase in women within U.S. right-wing terrorist organizations and the attention it has received from law enforcement.
Despite a marked increase in the involvement of women in acts of terrorism against the state and racial minorities, security officials have largely succeeded in disclosing, searching and questioning women operatives in these organizations, even after they became known. at law enforcement.
There is also evidence that American far-right women draw inspiration and tactical knowledge from women engaged in extremist violence abroad.
Evidence from the global war on terror points to the potential dangers of the growth of violent extremism among women. In Iraq, for example, female terrorists carried out a large number of deadly suicide attacks on US assets during the US occupation.
The rest of the world has since been forced to grapple with the reality of violent women after female terrorists carried out deadly attacks in Nigeria, Somalia, Tunisia, the Philippines, Indonesia and France.
Recent terrorist attacks in US cities such as San Bernardino, California and Las Vegas in which women have appeared among the perpetrators confirm that violent women have already damaged American soil.
Gender bias can be fatal
In fact, my research suggests that attacks by female terrorists are often more destructive than those carried out by their male counterparts.
In an analysis of more than 2,500 global suicide attacks, I show the differences in the severity of male and female attacks are the largest where gender stereotypes indicate that women are not violent or political. Such troops can blind security officers and civilians to the threat posed by female terrorists, causing them to overlook the potential for female complicity.
Female terrorists, including in Iraq, Israel and Nigeria, could distract suspicion because they were women. My research shows that gender bias can be fatal if it prevents effective policies against terrorism, such as surveillance, investigations and interrogations, from being implemented.
Since ordinary citizens played an unusual role in exposing the identity of the attackers of the Capitol, gender bias among citizens is also relevant. Failure to accept women’s complicity in the Capitol siege and the broader movement could prevent the identification of female perpetrators and hinder efforts to punish and repel future attacks.
For centuries, American women have been the mainstay of support for violent right-wing extremists. They were right-wing extremists themselves – racist skinheads, neo-Nazis and Klanswomen. Women are also sworn guards, three percent and proud boys. They were capital rioters.
To compile an accurate account of the Capitol attack, it is necessary to ask ‘Where are the women?’ And the answer is, “Right there.”
This article was published from The Conversation, a non-profit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Jakana Thomas, Michigan State University.
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Jakana Thomas does not work, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has not disclosed any applicable commitments outside of their academic appointment.