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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

NW 'Testing Ground' for Far-Right Violence at U.S. Capitol

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Friday, January 8, 2021   

SALEM, Ore. - Americans are reeling from an attack on the U.S. Capitol this week. One civil-rights group in Oregon says it was horrifying - but not surprising.

Amy Herzfeld-Copple is director of programs and strategic initiatives for the Oregon-based organization Western States Center, which follows far-right groups.

She said groups in the Northwest have exploited crises such as the pandemic and civil unrest in the wake of George Floyd's killing, and their history of violence in the region extends even further back.

"The Pacific Northwest has been the testing ground for alt-right paramilitaries for really three decades in some way or another," said Herzfeld-Copple. "But militias have been particularly active here over the last year."

Members of groups in Oregon, including Timber Unity and Oregon Women for Trump, claim to have been at the riots in the U.S. Capitol this week, and the vice chairperson of the Young Republicans of Oregon was arrested in Washington, DC.

Far-right groups also gathered in Oregon's capital on Wednesday.

Herzfeld-Copple noted that a scene similar to that in the nation's capital occurred in Salem when Oregon lawmakers convened for a special session in December.

"With armed, far-right protesters breaking glass, overtaking law enforcement, deploying chemical weapons," said Herzfeld-Copple. "This is really concerning for democratic governance and state legislatures across our region."

She said her group is concerned there will be further disruptions during Oregon's upcoming legislative session.

Herzfeld-Copple added that people who support an inclusive democracy need to speak up.

"Certainly a trend in our region, and really underscores the need for broad cross-sector support across civil society and business leaders and elected leaders to condemn political violence and this extremism," said Herzfeld-Copple.


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