White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy

In Chapter 6, the authors discuss the radical and violent tendencies of a splinter group in Kansas known as “the Crusaders” and the broader implications of such movements on American democracy. The chapter opens with a depiction of Patrick Stein, the Crusaders’ unofficial leader, who expresses extreme anti-Muslim sentiments and plots to kill Somali immigrants in Garden City, Kansas. This small town, part of the “Meat Triangle” known for its meatpacking industry, is home to many immigrants who take on dangerous, low-paying jobs that natural-born Americans often avoid. Stein and his group, inspired by Trump’s campaign rhetoric, particularly his anti-Muslim stance, see themselves as “sovereign citizens” and believe in a conspiracy that the US government has been secretly replaced by a shadow government.

The sovereign citizen movement, as described by the authors, is based on conspiracy theories claiming that the American government set up by the founding fathers was secretly replaced with a shadow government based on admiralty law. This movement, which includes groups like the Three Percenters, fosters a deep mistrust of the government and promotes violent resistance. By the summer of 2016, Stein and his three accomplices, one of whom was a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informant, planned a terrorist bombing targeting Somali immigrants.