Far-right groups had racism rift before Capitol riot

Infighting among some of America's most well-known far-right groups was revealed in a series of transcripts released by the congressional committee investigating the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot.

They had a shared love of Donald Trump, but not so much for each other.

Oath Keepers and Proud Boys were among those who gathered at the Capitol that day, but leaders of the two groups criticised each other in sworn testimony.

Their disagreements revolved around the involvement of white nationalists in groups and protest movements in the years before the riot.

Although many of Donald Trump's most fervent far-right supporters refused to engage with the committee, citing constitutional protections against self-incrimination, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes answered a number of questions over hours of testimony earlier this year.

He said his group defended peaceful protesters and aided people of many different backgrounds. During protests in Berkeley, California, in 2017, when right-wing protesters clashed with anti-fascist groups, he said he told white nationalists to "take a hike".

"We would not let them in," he told the committee, "They could not get their moment of fame."

Contrasting Oath Keepers with Proud Boys, he said members of his group were "quiet professionals". And he accused Proud Boys of failing to adequately vet its members.

"Look, I don't believe the Proud Boys are white nationalists," he told investigators. "I think they've been sloppy and let white nationalists infiltrate their group."

Enrique Tarrio, a Florida man of Afro-Cuban ancestry who led the Proud Boys at the time of the riot, was also subpoenaed by the committee and described an argument that he had with Rhodes.

"I didn't like Stewart Rhodes. I still don't like Stewart Rhodes," he said during testimony.

The animosity between the two stems from a 2019 demonstration in Portland, Oregon, one of a number of far-right protests in the city. Oath Keepers were providing security for the event, but Rhodes says he heard that a white nationalist was part of the group, and he pulled his members out. Mr Tarrio was furious.

"After that event in Portland, I didn't want to… have anything to do with Oath Keepers or militias or anything like that," Mr Tarrio told the investigators.

The pair were shown in video footage meeting in an underground car park on the night before the Capitol riot, but Mr Tarrio said he only shook hands with Rhodes to be polite.

Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy and other charges related to the Capitol riot last month, and faces a lengthy jail sentence. Mr Tarrio is currently on trial for seditious conspiracy and other charges. He was not in Washington on 6 January 2021, but prosecutors allege he was directing Proud Boys from nearby Maryland.

Megan Squire, deputy director of data analytics at the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, says that fractious relations are common among extremist groups.

"These groups devolve into infighting, mismanagement and bickering more than they stay together," she says.

Since the riot, increased scrutiny and criminal cases have hampered some of the country's most well-known far-right organisations.

"On the whole, it's not been a great year for these groups," Squire says.