Details about Utah-based Robert Kinch, who backed ‘race war’, suggest rightwing militia has retained links with police

Summary

Robert “Bobby” Kinch, a former Las Vegas homicide detective, is revealed as the leader of the Utah-based Oath Keepers USA, a spinoff of the militia linked to the January 6 Capitol attack.

Kinch, who retired from the force in 2016, has a controversial history, including Facebook posts advocating a “race war” and a photo of him pointing a gun at a plate with Barack Obama’s image.

Critics highlight the threat of extremists in law enforcement.

The Oath Keepers remain active, adding police officers to their ranks amid Trump’s potential return to power.

  • peoplebeproblems@midwest.socialEnglish
    63·
    3 days ago

    You mean the same people who regularly shoot unarmed black people, do all kinds of shitty things to get poor people in jail, and work for an institution originally implemented to catch slaves are led by a militant racist?

    Color me surprised. Almost like that was obvious a long ass time ago.

    • frezik@midwest.social
      8·
      3 days ago

      This guy is special. He apparently had several plaques in his house with a certain Hemingway quote:

      “There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.”

      There’s an implication that he’s killed several people while covered by the state’s monopoly on violence, and he liked it. Even among cops, he’s a special kind of terrible.

        • marron12@lemmy.world
          3·
          3 days ago

          The article does mention him by name. His part of the story starts in section 5 (the detective and the sheriff). I couldn’t believe the part where the mole brought a bug to the Kinch’s house, his dog stole it, and then he just handed it back without asking questions.

          Same guy who bragged about being on a “black squad” and woke up with blood on his hands, wondering if he had killed someone.

          Link for anyone who missed the article. It’s a long read, but worth it.

    • NutWrench@lemmy.world
      14·
      3 days ago

      This. The fact that u.s. police forces are infiltrated by racist sh*theads is one of the worst-kept secrets on Earth.

    • Nastybutler@lemmy.world
      13·
      3 days ago

      Thunberg wasn’t mentioned once in that whole article…

      But seriously, I read the whole thing a couple days ago and what a ride. Dude was getting pretty paranoid towards the end, but he got out safely and now we have some knowledge of their inner workings. I hope he takes some comfort in that.

      • quicklime@lemm.ee
        10·
        3 days ago

        We / our society need many more like that guy, but I wouldn’t wish that level of stress on anyone. I’ll bet he gave two years off his eventual lifespan for every year undercover. On the other hand, lifespan would be worth so little in a white-supremacist christofascism.

        • frezik@midwest.social
          3·
          3 days ago

          Even if more people were willing, most don’t have the skills. That guy very carefully practiced lying in order to infiltrate the group. He decided to use those skills for good rather than, say, defrauding a rich old widow out of her money.

          • quicklime@lemm.ee
            2·
            3 days ago

            Yes – surely the eligible pool is tiny at best. And the pull to use skills of deception for profit instead is widespread.

  • Emberleaf@lemmy.ml
    28·
    3 days ago

    Wouldn’t it be interesting if we started an investigation into how many right-wing extremists are currently holding positions in the White House? We already know at least one person opened a door for the Jan. 6th terrorists. I’m willing to bet that the rot goes a lot deeper than that…

  • Boddhisatva@lemmy.world
    12·
    3 days ago

    The department attempted to contain the fallout by quietly adopting a new social media policy in July 2015 that explicitly prohibits discriminatory speech and threatens termination for violations.

    Makes sense. We don’t care if you’re racist, just don’t advertise it because it makes the department look bad.