western states ctr WSC

===
<a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/06/janice-mcgeachin/">https://www.alternet.org/2021/06/janice-mcgeachin/</a>
<div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body css-listicle-body-2653294418"><div class="body-description">In

Idaho, Republican Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin — who is seeking the

state's GOP gubernatorial nomination for 2022 — has generated

considerable controversy because of her ties to extremist far-right

militia members. The Guardian has obtained a copy of a video that,

according to reporter Jason Wilson, shows <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/09/janice-mcgeachin-idaho-lieutenant-governor-rightwing-militia-leader" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">militia extremist Eric Parker</a> giving McGeachin's gubernatorial campaign an enthusiastic endorsement at a recent event.In

the video, Wilson reports, Parker can be seen "reminding" the

58-year-old McGeachin that she previously told him, "If I get in, you're

going to have a friend in the governor's office." Parker is the leader

of a militia known as the Real 3% of Idaho.Parker became

well-known in the militia movement in April 2014, when he was seen

pointing a rifle at federal agents during the infamous <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/10/22/926279072/militia-leader-known-as-the-bundy-ranch-sniper-seeks-a-new-title-senator" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">standoff at the Bundy Ranch</a>

in Bunkerville, Nevada. Although he was facing federal criminal

charges, Parker avoided the possibility of spending decades in federal

prison by <a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/bundy-blm/2-plead-guilty-to-misdemeanor-in-bunkerville-standoff-case/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank">agreeing to plead guilty</a> to a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/f18c96a50fa2426ca9ab96209edac915" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank">single misdemeanor charge</a>. Parker came to be known as the "Bundy Ranch Sniper," which is considered a badge of honor in the far-right militia movement.Wilson

reports that in the video showing Parker endorsing McGeachin at an

event in Idaho, Parker "tells the small audience that when he sought

McGeachin's assistance in the case of Todd Engel — another Bundy Ranch

attendee who was sentenced to <a href="https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/crime/article244783802.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">14 years in prison</a> in 2019 — he showed her sealed evidence from the trial."According

to Wilson, the video shows Parker saying that McGeachin "started

writing letters to the Department of Justice" on his behalf when he was

incarcerated and was "rallying support" for him. And Parker says of

McGeachin, "We need to do everything we can to get her where she can do

the most good for us…. We got to get her in there for us."Wilson

explains, "Parker posted the speech video on his Telegram channel on 19

May, the same day that McGeachin publicly announced her candidacy for

governor, where she may be up against the incumbent, fellow Republican

Brad Little, who is yet to clarify his intentions."Little was

elected governor of Idaho in 2018, which was also the year in which

McGeachin was elected lieutenant governor. Before her 2018 campaign,

McGeachin had spent a decade serving in the Idaho House of

Representatives.Lindsay Schubiner, program director at the

Western States Center, told The Guardian that it is "deeply disturbing"

that a high-level figure in Idaho's state government has a "cozy

relationship" with Parker. The Western States Center monitors extremist

groups in the western United States, and Schubiner warned that McGeachin

"has consistently sought the support and backing of extreme,

anti-democratic movements in Idaho.""No public official has any

business advancing the agenda of an anti-democratic paramilitary group,"

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