Be There, Will Be Wild!: An Analysis of the Participation of Violent Militant Extremist Groups in the January 6 Attack on the Capitol Building

Be There, Will Be Wild!: An Analysis of the Participation of Violent Militant Extremist Groups in the January 6 Attack on the Capitol Building

Presenter(s)

Jacqueline Eckhart, Sarah Collins, Emma Blair

Comments

Presentation: 9:00-9:40 a.m., Kennedy Union 311

Description

In this presentation, we offer an analysis of the participation of violent extremist militia groups in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol building. Understanding the activities of violent extremist militia groups is a critical need in today's society. In an October 2022 report, the Department of Homeland Security and FBI identified "domestic violent extremists" as "one of the most persistent threats to the United States today." Using tools for the analysis of propaganda, we examine not only the groups themselves, their role in the attack, and the ideologies motivating their actions, but also the societal context surrounding the event and the role that media played. The participation of these groups in the attack is examined as part of a larger system of propaganda, through which institution(s) acting as the source of propagandistic messages, with the assistance of other agents, utilize media to manipulate the cognitions, shape the perceptions, and direct the behavior of a target audience to advance their own partisan interests, regardless of whether their actions promote the common good.

Publication Date

4-19-2023

Project Designation

Course Project 202310 CMM 350 01

Primary Advisor

Jason Combs

Primary Advisor's Department

Communication

Keywords

Stander Symposium, College of Arts and Sciences

Institutional Learning Goals

Critical Evaluation of Our Times; Scholarship

Be There, Will Be Wild!: An Analysis of the Participation of Violent Militant Extremist Groups in the January 6 Attack on the Capitol Building

Share

COinS