American Oversight Sues for Records Related to White Supremacist Incidents in the Military

On Thursday, American Oversight filed a pair of lawsuits seeking the public release of records detailing incidents of white supremacy across the U.S. armed forces. The lawsuits against the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Guard Bureau, Department of Defense, and army national guards of four states — Florida, Georgia, South Dakota, and Texas — came after each failed to adequately respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for a range of documents related to white supremacist activity and ideology among servicemembers.

“The presence of white nationalists in the military is a grave threat to our national security and our democracy,” said American Oversight Executive Director Heather Sawyer. “Unfortunately, as the Pentagon has warned, that threat still needs to be addressed. The American people have the right to know how their military has responded to racist and extremist incidents.”

White supremacist and nationalist activity in the military has been a persistent problem, and American Oversight has previously uncovered multiple sets of records documenting the Pentagon’s failure to adequately confront it. Recently, the watchdog group has also obtained additional records from the Navy and the Marine Corps that reference incidents involving alleged white supremacist or far-right activity from 2020 through early 2022.

In March, American Oversight submitted FOIA requests to the military services and national guard bureaus for records related to reports of white supremacy, white nationalism, or pro-Nazi activity or ideology among military personnel. Those requests also sought copies of any studies concerning such incidents, as well as records showing how many incidents or reports occurred within a given period of time.  

After American Oversight’s requests went unanswered or were improperly responded to under the requirements of FOIA, the watchdog group was forced to go to court to compel the release of the records. The first lawsuit names the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and National Guard Bureau, as well as their parent agencies, the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. The second names the army national guards of Florida, Georgia, South Dakota, and Texas, along with the Pentagon.

American Oversight’s Previous Findings

Documents obtained in American Oversight’s earlier investigations have illustrated how branches of the military have not adequately tracked incidents of white supremacy within their ranks. 

Records obtained from the Navy and Coast Guard in 2021 and reported on by USA Today showed “a pattern in which military leaders chose to deal with personnel involved in extremism by dismissing them in ways that would not attract public attention.” In 2020, the Air Force told American Oversight that it had no records of any study or report on incidents of white supremacist or far-right activity or ideology among military personnel. 

In 2022, American Oversight obtained additional Coast Guard records that detailed reports of members displaying and espousing white supremacist ideologies. Information provided in a few of the cases showed that some resulting investigations concluded after members agreed to stop seeking out extremist content online. Other records from the National Guard Bureau show that in January 2022 a new recruit admitted he was associated with the Three Percenters, an extremist anti-government militia, and said that he had been pressured by the Three Percenters to enlist in the New York Army National Guard for the purpose of returning and training other members of the militia. 

More recently, American Oversight obtained Navy documents detailing three incidents of white supremacy of pro-Nazi ideology from June 2020 to May 2022, though the records contain few details about how the military responded. Similarly, documents released by the Marine Corps — which included records of several reported incidents — also contained limited information about ensuing investigation efforts or repercussions. Three incident reports were about members who had been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

The lawsuits filed by American Oversight on Thursday seek to compel the release of additional records that could shed light on what measures, if any, the military has taken to identify, track, and confront white supremacy within its ranks.

Thursday’s complaints are available here and here.