Beware “Number 14” and These Masks: Scary

Two days after President Trump proudly informed supporters in Houston that he is a “nationalist,” the FBI arrested another self-described nationalist, Robert Rundo. Rundo is a member of the ultra-right white supremacy group, RAM (Rise Above Movement).

The group wears masks depicted above (with MAGA hat) and here:

The FBI's criminal complaint (at bottom of post) charges Rundo and others with conspiracy to riot in Charlottesville, Berkeley and other locales. Here are important excerpts from the FBI criminal complaint:

14. … RAM and its members documented their white supremacy extremist ideology in both private and public Internet postings. In a video taken by a RAM associate, later posted online, the associate asked Rundo to say the “14 words.” Based on my training and experience, I know that “14 words” refers to a slogan commonly known and used by white supremacy extremists and neo-Nazis that states: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” Rundo responded, “I’m a big supporter of the fourteen, I’ll say that.”

Point 14 does not allege illegal behavior but establishes criminal intent to riot against civil rights protesters with racial motivation.

Points 18-28 allege that RAM conspirators violently attacked civil rights protesters in Huntington Beach, California.

Point 22 alleges an attack against a reporter: “Videos show several rally attendees confronting, pushing, and then punching two journalists from a local news publication. As the journalist stumbled backward, LAUBE grabbed the journalist’s shoulder with his left hand, and punched him three times in the face.”
Points 49-53 set forth allegations that Rundo and others committed racially and religiously motivated violence in Charlottesville on August 12, 2017.

There will be one less frightening mask this Halloween. Rundo is being held in a downtown Los Angeles jail. The judge denied his bail request, calling him a flight risk. True enough: the FBI had to go to Central America to arrest him on Sunday.

For more, see https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/421-robert-rundo-complaint/0f1e76cdeef814133f24/optimized/full.pdf#page=1.