Leaked documents from far-right militias show a history of voter intimidation plans
A trove of internal messages and documents leaked from militia American Patriots Three Percent—also known as AP3—reveals how the team works with group refused to vote as part of a plan to conduct paramilitary surveillance of ballot boxes during the 2022 midterm elections.
This information was leaked to Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets), a non-profit organization that says it publishes hacked and leaked documents in the public interest. The person behind this AP3 leak was an individual who, according to their statement uploaded by DDoSecrets, had infiltrated the militia and became so alarmed by what they were seeing that they felt compelled to attack. Declare information before the upcoming presidential election.
Federal and election officials have voiced concerns about the potential for voter intimidation this November, in part due to a rise in the rhetoric of political violence and election denialism. Some right-wing groups have already committed conduct supervision Remote ballot boxes using AI-controlled cameras. And last month, the Homeland Security newsletter warning that domestic extremist groups may plan to sabotage election infrastructure, including ballot drop boxes.
Devin Burghart, president and CEO of the Institute for Human Rights Education and Research, says AP3’s leaked plans for the 2022 midterm elections should serve as a warning for what could happen next. next month. “Baseless election denial plots that promote armed militias to monitor ballot boxes are a dangerous form of voter intimidation,” Burghart told WIRED. “Expanding voter denial, rising militia activity, and growing coordination among them are cause for serious concern in November. Now, with voter suppression groups like True the Vote and some GOP elected officials target ballot drop boxes for vigilantism, the situation should be alarming.”
Leaked text messages from 2022 show that AP3 and other militias provided paramilitary power to ballot box surveillance operations organized by the “People’s Movement,” the group leading the 2021 anti-vaccine bandwagon protest and Clean Elections USA, a group with links for the team behind 2000 mules the film falsely claims widespread voter fraud. In leaked conversations, People’s Movement leader Carolyn Smith identified herself as an honorary member of AP3.
AP3 is run by Scot Seddon, a former Army reservist, Long Islander, and male model. ProPublica profile about him was published in August. That filing, based on the same anonymous intruder who leaked AP3’s internal messages to DDoSecrets, explains that AP3 escaped scrutiny after January 6 in part because of Seddon, after weeks of benchmarking. was forced by his ranks to reach DC, finally deciding to save himself. soldiers for another day. ProPublica reports that some members still participate but are under strict instructions to give up any AP3 badges. According to leaked messages, Seddon also directed his state leaders to participate in the “campaign.”
