A nationwide US network of dozens of far-right, men-only fraternal clubs has what members describe as “literally hundreds” of participants who include past and currently serving military personnel, lawyers, civil servants, and prominent antisemitic influencers, a Guardian investigation can reveal. The Old Glory Club (OGC) – which has at least 26 chapters in 20 US states and until now has drawn little attention – exemplifies the alarming rise of organized racist political groups ...
A nationwide US network of dozens of far-right, men-only fraternal clubs has what members describe as “literally hundreds” of participants who include past and currently serving military personnel, lawyers, civil servants, and prominent antisemitic influencers, a Guardian investigation can reveal. The Old Glory Club (OGC) – which has at least 26 chapters in 20 US states and until now has drawn little attention – exemplifies the alarming rise of organized racist political groups in the past few years but especially during the rise of Donald Trump and his return to the White House.Harry Shukman, a researcher at UK anti-fascist non-profit Hope Not Hate, who last month published an exposé on the OGC-affiliated Basketweavers organization in the UK, told the Guardian: “Groups such as the OGC are a new breed of extremist organisation which aims first to build an offline social network before taking over society.”Heidi Beirich, co-founder and chief strategy officer of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, said the OGC “appears to be another major new network of racists, too many of which are springing up in the era of Trump”. She said the group was “pushing violent ideologies, including race hate and antisemitism and has links to prominent figures on the far right”.In a 10 July 2022 republication of his speech at that year’s rightwing Tennessee Scyldings conference, charter member and frequent OGC spokesperson Ryan Turnipseed lamented the fact that Spain’s authoritarian fascist dictator Francisco Franco – a touchstone for the contemporary far right – had “failed to secure his line of succession” despite propaganda and purges. “This is a lesson we need to learn,” he added. He proposed a decentralized network of groups, which would allow “us to draw upon the knowledge and abilities of these groups.
