One out of five applicants to white supremacist group tied to US military: Report

One out five or 21 per cent of applicants to Patriot Front, a white supremacist group in the US, had ties with US military, said a report in The Guardian. It cited documents leaked by Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and alternative media collective Unicorn Riot.

Patriot Front is a white supremacist group that rebranded itself from the name Vanguard America. The rebranding took place after 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

SPLC's Hatewatch, a blog that tracks violent activities from the right-wing said that 21 per cent of applicants had individuals having current as well as former affiliations to US military.

SPLC says that Patriot Front is "one of the most prominent" white supremacist group in the US. The group is headed by a 23-year-old who reported to have said in past that goal of the group was to create 'a nation within a nation'.

Members of Patriot Front have expressed their open admiration for Nazism. In the information released by SPLC and Unicorn Riot some of the applicants have been quoted to have expressed their hate for Jews. Some others have been quoted to be professing their hatred for LGBTQ+ people.

The leaks also revealed that the white supremacist group also targetted minors in order to instill racist thoughts in them.