Right Wing Death Squad
Right Wing Death Squad, often abbreviated to RWDS, is a slogan used in the 21st century by U.S. far right extremists. The term was first used in the 1970s to describe Latin American paramilitaries who targeted their left-wing opponents.
Historical usage
The term was first used in the 1970s to describe Latin American paramilitary death squads who targeted left-wing opponents.[1] The death squad dropped the leftists out of helicopters. They were called the “death flights.” [2]
From the 2010s onwards, the term was used in the U.S. by far right extremists. The term, often abbreviated to RWDS is used in memes,[3] in online forums, on clothing, patches, and stickers.[1] The Global Project Against Hate and Extremism attribute the terms' popularity to usage by the American neo-fascist organisation the Proud Boys. The slogan is often accompanied by the words "Pinochet Did Nothing Wrong"[4] and the abbreviation RWDS is used as a hashtag #RWDS.[5]
The slogan was used by attendees of the 2017 Unite the Right rally white supremacist event in Charlottesville, Virginia.[1] This violent rally staged the death of one woman from the counterprotesters group because a white supremacist drove into the crowd intentionally.
Some groups were created with names resembling RWDS, prompting Facebook to block multiple pages due to their hateful content.[6][7] A 2019 Facebook group called Right Wing Death Squad was monitored by the FBI due to the violent, anti-semitic, and white supremacist content being posted.[8]
Mauricio Garcia, the perpetrator of the 2023 Allen, Texas outlet mall shooting wore a RWDS patch when he killed eight people.[9] After the shooting, former Proud Boys regional leader Jeremy Bertino[10] spoke of his regret about wearing a Right Wing Death Squad patch.[11]
See also
- American militia movement
- Caravan of Death
- Crypto-fascism
- Fourteen Words
- Gang signal
- Diehard Duterte Supporters
- List of political slogans
- List of United States political catchphrases
- Political Soldier
- Right-wing terrorism
- Ultraconservatism
- Z (military symbol)
References
- ^ a b c Richer, Alanna Durkin; Kunzelman, Michael; Whitehurst, Lindsay (2023-05-09). "The meaning behind the far-right symbol Texas shooter wore as he killed 8". AP NEWS. Archived from the original on 2023-05-18. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ "RWDS/Right Wing Death Squad". ADL.
- ^ Ecarma, Caleb (2023-05-08). "Texas Mall Shooter Wore "Right Wing Death Squad" Patch, Officials Probing Possible Neo-Nazi Ties: Report". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 2023-05-23. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ Feuer, Alan; Goldman, Adam; Bohra, Neelam; Albeck-Ripka, Livia (2023-05-08). "After Texas Mall Shooting, Searching for Motive and Grieving for Children". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-05-19. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ Stan, Adele M. (2016-04-20). "As GOP Reconsiders Trump as Standard-Bearer, Candidate Retweets White Supremacist". The American Prospect. Archived from the original on 2023-07-04. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ Roush, Ty (9 May 2023). "What To Know About 'Right Wing Death Squad'—Phrase Linked To Texas Shooter, Proud Boys". Forbes.
- ^ Kunzelman, Richer, Whitehurst, Alanna Durkin, Lindsay, Michael (9 May 2023). "Texas mall shooter's 'RWDS' patch linked to far-right extremists". PBS. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Missouri soldier connected with others in 'Right-Wing Death Squad' group". FOX 2. 2021-07-01. Archived from the original on 2023-05-14. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ Roush, Ty. "What To Know About 'Right Wing Death Squad'—Phrase Linked To Texas Shooter, Proud Boys". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2023-05-18. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ "Ex-member: Proud Boys failed to carry out 'revolution'". AP NEWS. 2023-02-22. Archived from the original on 2023-07-04. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ Roche, Darragh (2023-05-09). "Ex-Proud Boy regrets wearing "RWDS" patch after Texas shooting: "Horrified"". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2023-05-25. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
