Area of Work: Anti-White Nationalism

Kind of Resource: Political Education, Stories from the Field

Up in Arms: A Guide to Oregon’s Patriot Movement is a groundbreaking report and toolkit designed to support local communities, reporters, public officials, and community activists under siege from or curious about armed militias and other Patriot movement groups. This guide was developed by Rural Organizing Project in partnership with Political Research Associates through extensive research on the right-wing movements and by pooling the local expertise of rural community leaders and scholars. It exposes, explains, and offers alternatives to this movement.

New Patriot movement groups formed since 2008 include local affiliates of the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, as well as the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. Researchers estimate that dozens of groups have thousands of supporters in the state. Up In Arms also documents how the Patriot movement takes advantage of the collapse of the rural Oregon economy and funding cuts to vital community infrastructure.

Providing alternatives for communities being targeted for Patriot movement recruitment is extremely important. Rural Organizing Project offers strategies for how community members can break out of a sense of isolation, form a group, and speak out with their vision of what the community should look like. The toolkit’s case studies of effective community resistance from five Oregon counties show how residents can successfully counter Patriot movement messaging and intimidation, and help build inclusive and democratic communities.