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Right Wing Death Squad

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Proud Boys member Jeremy Bertino wearing a Right Wing Death Squad patch in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S., in November 2020

Right Wing Death Squad, often abbreviated to RWDS, is a slogan used in the 21st century by far-right Americans. The term was first used in the 1970s to describe Latin American paramilitaries who targeted their left-wing opponents.

Historical usage

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See also: Indictment and arrest of Augusto Pinochet

The term was first used in the 1970s to describe Latin American paramilitary death squads who targeted left-wing opponents.[1] The death squad dropped the leftists out of helicopters. They were called the "death flights".[2]

Jeremy Bertino wearing a T-shirt with "RWDS" and "Pinochet Did Nothing Wrong" slogan, 2019, Pittsboro

From the 2010s onwards, the term was used in the U.S. by far-right extremists. The term, often abbreviated to RWDS is used in memes,[3] in online forums, on clothing, patches, and stickers.[1] The Global Project Against Hate and Extremism attribute the terms' popularity to usage by the American neo-fascist organisation the Proud Boys. The slogan is often accompanied by the words "Pinochet Did Nothing Wrong"[4] and the abbreviation RWDS is used as a hashtag #RWDS.[5]

The slogan was used by attendees of the 2017 Unite the Right rally white supremacist event in Charlottesville, Virginia.[1] This violent rally staged the death of one woman from the counterprotesters group because a white supremacist drove into the crowd intentionally.

Some groups were created with names resembling RWDS, prompting Facebook to block multiple pages due to their hateful content.[6][7] A 2019 Facebook group called Right Wing Death Squad was monitored by the FBI due to the violent, anti-semitic, and white supremacist content being posted.[8]

Mauricio Garcia, the perpetrator of the 2023 Allen, Texas outlet mall shooting wore a RWDS patch when he killed eight people.[9] After the shooting, former Proud Boys regional leader Jeremy Bertino[10] spoke of his regret about wearing a Right Wing Death Squad patch.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Richer, Alanna Durkin; Kunzelman, Michael; Whitehurst, Lindsay (2023-05-09). "The meaning behind the far-right symbol Texas shooter wore as he killed 8". AP NEWS. Archived from the original on 2023-05-18. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  2. ^ "RWDS/Right Wing Death Squad". ADL.
  3. ^ Ecarma, Caleb (2023-05-08). "Texas Mall Shooter Wore "Right Wing Death Squad" Patch, Officials Probing Possible Neo-Nazi Ties: Report". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 2023-05-23. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  4. ^ Feuer, Alan; Goldman, Adam; Bohra, Neelam; Albeck-Ripka, Livia (2023-05-08). "After Texas Mall Shooting, Searching for Motive and Grieving for Children". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-05-19. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  5. ^ Stan, Adele M. (2016-04-20). "As GOP Reconsiders Trump as Standard-Bearer, Candidate Retweets White Supremacist". The American Prospect. Archived from the original on 2023-07-04. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  6. ^ Roush, Ty (9 May 2023). "What To Know About 'Right Wing Death Squad'—Phrase Linked To Texas Shooter, Proud Boys". Forbes.
  7. ^ Kunzelman, Richer, Whitehurst, Alanna Durkin, Lindsay, Michael (9 May 2023). "Texas mall shooter's 'RWDS' patch linked to far-right extremists". PBS. Retrieved May 9, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Missouri soldier connected with others in 'Right-Wing Death Squad' group". FOX 2. 2021-07-01. Archived from the original on 2023-05-14. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  9. ^ Roush, Ty. "What To Know About 'Right Wing Death Squad'—Phrase Linked To Texas Shooter, Proud Boys". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2023-05-18. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  10. ^ "Ex-member: Proud Boys failed to carry out 'revolution'". AP NEWS. 2023-02-22. Archived from the original on 2023-07-04. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  11. ^ Roche, Darragh (2023-05-09). "Ex-Proud Boy regrets wearing "RWDS" patch after Texas shooting: "Horrified"". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2023-05-25. Retrieved 2023-05-26.


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