Poorly attended NCCPA national convention attracts “Patriot” extremists and supporters of hate

The individuals behind the National Constitutional Citizens of Patriotic Americans (NCCPA) are at it again.

An umbrella political front group for a coterie of so-called “Patriot” extremists, the NCCPA convened another national event a month after their poorly organized and poorly attended “Americans for America” protests held on April 14.  

On May 11 and 12 the “ALL Groups National Convention,” took place in Bridgeport, West Virginia, the home state of David Clayton, a key figure within the NCCPA and the Three Percent Republic, an antigovernment extremist group. The purpose of the event, according to a Facebook video posted by Clayton, was to set up a 501(c)4 entity to represent Patriot movement views in the public sphere.

As Hatewatch reported earlier, the NCCPA and its rallies were permeated by members of anti-government extremist groups (some of whom have histories of anti-Muslim activity) and attracted supporters of hate organizations. Their national convention was no different.

Despite advertising for the event as early as January, and extending invitations to hundreds of individuals, the Facebook event page listed only 62 who “Went.”

Several individuals listed as “Went” were people involved in organizing the NCCPA’s April 14 rallies at national and state levels, including David Clayton, Melanie MacDonald and Penny “PC” Rutter. 

Notably, the “Went” list also included militia leaders George Curbelo and Gary Sigler, leaders within the New York Light Foot Militia and the III% People’s Militia of Maryland, respectively, two of three organizations explicitly named in a recent consent decree that agreed to never return to Charlottesville, Virginia, as an organized group. 

The city of Charlottesville, with the assistance of Georgetown University’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection engaged in litigation against several militia groups, including the three groups listed in the consent decree, charging that, “Virginia law does not permit private paramilitary organizations to operate outside the comprehensive state-law requirements for using organized force or projecting a willingness to do so.”

Danny Bollinger, a leader of the Maryland-based militia My Brother’s Threepers, was not named in the consent decree. However, a photo posted on his personal Facebook page showed he also participated in the Charlottesville rally alongside Christian Yingling, a leader within the Pennsylvania Lightfoot Militia, the third group directly named in the decree.

Yingling was also listed as one of 650 “Invited” individuals to the May event. It is unclear if he attended.

Hatewatch’s analysis of those listed as “Went” showed significant representation from the Light Foot Militia group, including members from its New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania state chapters. 

In addition to its high-profile role as volunteer security at Charlottesville, chapters of the Light Foot militia have lent their armed assistance to anti-Muslim hate events. For example, several members of the New York Light Foot showed up in military-style gear at an “anti-Sharia” rally in Syracuse, New York, on June 10, 2017.

More recently Josh Ruben Braff, the Ohio chapter leader of the Light Foot Militia, along with several additional members of the Light Foot and other militia groups –– such as the Michigan United Patriots Three Percent, Michigan Liberty Militia and Ohio III Percent Security Force — attended an April 2018 anti-Sharia rally in Dearborn, Michigan. 

As Hatewatch has previously reported, the Security Force III Percent, run by Chris Hill, has a history of involvement in anti-Muslim hate. His group’s anti-Muslim antics earned condemnation and social excommunication from rival groups within the far-right militia movement.

The NCCPA’s invitation to its national convention didn’t just extend to members of groups who have lent their assistance to anti-Muslim hate. Invitees also included a Facebook user profile named “Kev Walk,” who sported an identitarian movement symbol as their profile picture. Walk’s profile includes blatantly antisemitic content and conspiracy theories.

From supporters of anti-Muslim and antisemitic views to militia members involved in Charlottesville, it appears that another event involving NCCPA-associated individuals has attracted a cross section of far-right ideologues. Despite a previously stated policy of prohibiting extremism and bigotry, NCCPA-linked individuals and their other far-right associates continue to do the exact opposite of what they profess.