American University Experts Available to Comment on Far-Right Extremism, Militias and 2020 Election Protests

What: This weekend, thousands are expected to descend upon Washington, D.C. to rally for President Trump and his ongoing dispute of the election results. Several rallies and protests are being promoted by far-right media personalities and white nationalists, while counterdemonstrations are being organized by anti-fascist and anti-racism groups. As you prepare your coverage of the protests, American University experts are available to discuss far-right groups, militias, political violence, and online radicalization.

When: Friday, November 13, 2020 – ongoing

Who: American University experts:

• Kurt Braddock, assistant professor at the School of Communication. Professor Braddock research far-right extremist groups and related groups and how they communicate. He is an expert in the persuasive strategies used by violent extremist groups to recruit and radicalize audiences targeted by their propaganda. He is the author of Weaponized Words: The Strategic Role of Persuasion in Violent Radicalization and Counter-Radicalization.
• Carolyn Gallaher, professor at the School of International Service. Professor Gallaher is an expert on extremism and the right-wing, organized violence by non-state actors and urban politics, including the politics, internal dynamics, and patterns of violence of militias, paramilitaries, and private military contractors, among others. Gallaher is the author of On the Fault Line: Race, Class, and the American Patriot Movement that tracks the identity politics of the Kentucky State Militia as it experienced rapid growth, internal upheaval, and decline with the arrest of its commander.
• Brian Hughes, adjunct professor in the School of Communication. His work explores the impact of communication technology on political and religious extremism, terrorism, and fringe culture. His work seeks to identify the affective and material commonalities between extremists of differing ideologies, cultures, times, and places. Hughes and his research have been featured on NPR and he is an emerging career fellow with the Center for Analysis of the Radical Right.
• David Malet, associate professor in the School of Public Affairs, can comment on issues related to militant groups, terrorism, US national security policy, the US Congress and elections, and military use of biotechnology. He is currently conducting a study of domestic anti-government extremism and opposition to COVID-19 public health measures.
• Cynthia Miller-Idriss, professor at the College of Arts & Sciences. Professor Miller-Idriss has testified before the U.S. Congress and frequently serves as a keynote speaker and expert panelist on trends in white supremacist extremism to global academic and policy communities as well as staff and representatives in U.S. and international government agencies and embassies. She is the author of Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right.
• Joe Young, professor in the School of International Service and School of Public Affairs, is an expert in cross-national causes and consequences of political violence and extremism. He can discuss threat of domestic extremism, and domestic surveillance and homeland security. He is available for print, online and radio interviews.
• Thomas Zeitzoff, associate professor in the School of Public Affairs, studies political violence and political psychology, and is particularly interested in the effects of social media and exposure to violence on political attitudes, why individuals fight, and how leaders mobilize supporters for conflict or peace. He has conducted fieldwork and survey research in the U.S., Israel, Georgia, Turkey, Mexico, and Ukraine.

Contact:  AU Media, 202-559-5950 or [email protected]

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