Ex-soldier's extremist activities lead to 25-year prison term
Chris Arthur‚ an Iraq War vet turned extremist trainer was sentenced to 25 years. His case highlights growing concerns about military-linked individuals involved in extremist activities‚ despite efforts to address the issue
In a small North Carolina town‚ Chris Arthur an Iraq War veteran‚ was busy teaching others about explosives and combat tactics. His YouTube videos talked about a coming civil war‚ and he wrote manuals on how to set up militias. At his farm‚ he showed people how to attack officials and use sniper tactics
Arthurʼs activities went on for years‚ even though his wifes ex-husband tried to warn authorities more than 10 times. This allowed Arthur to keep making explosives near kids and train others like Joshua Blessed who later got into a big fight with police in New York
From 2017 to 2023 over 480 people with military backgrounds were accused of extremist crimes (this includes more than 230 arrested for the Jan 6 2021 Capitol attack). Data shows that when military-trained people turn to extremism‚ theyʼre more likely to cause serious harm
The Pentagon has been trying to deal with this problem. After Jan 6‚ they made new rules about whatʼs not allowed. But they still dont have a good way to track extremism in the military. Even though researchers came up with a method to find extremist incidents‚ the Pentagon isnt using it
Joshua Blessed came to Arthurs farm to learn in early 2020. A few months later‚ he led police on a wild chase in New York‚ shooting at them and using tactics he learned from Arthur. This finally got the FBI to look into Arthur
The older I get‚ the more screwed up I see the stuff is
In May 2021 the FBI sent someone to meet Arthur. They talked about using explosives and snipers against politicians. This led to Arthurs arrest at a gun show
Last month‚ a judge gave Arthur 25 years in prison. The judge‚ also a veteran said “You took the oath that all of us who served took. You know better“
Experts worry that military-trained extremists might use their skills for mass attacks. As one researcher said “My primary concern is not a march on the Capitol... Its that somebody with the skills... uses those skills... and have a real impact on public safety“
