How the Far-Right Comes for Trans People

Violent far-right U.S. groups are ‘hugely and deeply’ anti-transgender

Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash

On June 10, NBC reporter Ben Collins spoke on “All In with Chris Hayes.” At one point (33:26–34:17 Apple; 33:52–34:41 Spotify) , he said that violent groups like the Proud Boys have “moved on” from the interests they had while Trump was in office. No longer, Collins said, are these groups

“singularly focused on defending President Trump…that is not the point of these groups anymore. They are back to the idea of being a menacing street gang, and they want to get in the way of people that have become pariahs to them. So they are hugely and deeply into this anti-trans panic that’s going on right now. If you go to their pages, they’re not talking about January 6. They’re talking about LGBTQ groups and Pride Month and places to go for that. They’re looking for a leader who’s more into that sort of thing. And they’re open. They don’t necessarily need it to be Donald Trump to give them directions anymore like he did during that debate a few years ago. They are looking for anyone who is willing to ratchet up the rhetoric and maybe lead it to violence.” [emphasis mine]

This is an important connection to make. Few people talk about this, and I want to highlight it.

There is an anti-transgender disinformation machine. I’m not talking about individuals who ask good-faith, curious questions and are oriented toward their own learning. I’m saying that there are people who are professionally anti-transgender, and they have followers who admire and elevate that language.

The anti-transgender disinformation machine feeds violent hate groups like the Proud Boys. Yes, that’s the group whose leaders were indicted for seditious conspiracy in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. They don’t like trans people; they do like disinformation. Producing disinformation about trans people feeds these violent groups.

So I appreciate that Ben Collins brought up the topic in this intersectional way.

Organized Violence Against Transgender People

The day after this episode aired, on June 11, police in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho arrested 31 members of the group Patriot Front who…