NEW: A former US Marine, Donovan Crowl, stormed the Capitol as part of an organized militia. My latest for @newyorker, on what he reveals about the role of far-right groups last week and beyond:
Crowl, whose name and role in last week’s events are being reported for the first time in this story, is fifty years old and served in the Persian Gulf in 1990.
Crowl was wearing the crest of the Oath Keepers, a far-right group that recruits former and current law enforcement and military officials. He is also a member of a local Ohio militia that has shown up at political events, sometimes armed.
These are among a number of sometimes overlapping extremist groups that were present last week.
Far-right militias have deep roots in American history, and while several experts I spoke with said Trump had ignited those groups, they also did not believe their fervor would wane after Trump’s departure.