‘Socialist Rifle Association’ attempts to hide names of leaders after members linked to string of violent attacks

As the report from the outlet was released this week, the leadership link on their website has been redirected to the music video for Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up, in a move commonly known as a Rick Roll. However, archives of the website as of August 14 this year still display the names and contact information of the leadership officers in the organization.

The president goes by the first name of "Hope" and identifies with "she/they" pronouns. Many others on the leadership list use "they/them pronouns, indicating those in leadership of the socialist organization identify as transgender or nonbinary. The rest of the leadership only goes by their first names as well.

According to the investigation from the Daily Wire, members of the Socialist Rifle Association get membership cards with the quote, "Any attempt to disarm workers must be frustrated, by force if necessary," with a picture of Karl Marx. They stock up on rifles and other gear. A common logo used by the group is the transgender flag with the phrase "defend equality." However, the videos presented by the group do not look like they are training for self-defense, but for combat.

The crimes that were linked to the group include the shooting of correctional officer in Texas on July 4, when a group of militants opened fire on DHS officers near an ICE facility in Alvarado, Texas. Benjamin Hanil Song, who was charged with shooting an officer in the neck, is part of the Socialist Rifle Association’s Dallas-Fort Worth chapter.

Paul Hyon Kim, the suspect charged with setting fire to and shooting up five Teslas in Las Vegas, also appears to be a member of the organization. Court documents said, “Kim has an Instagram page where he follows the Socialist Rifle Association’s page. In a post from October 2018, on the Reno Socialist Rifle Association’s Instagram page, is a picture of a subject that appears to be Paul Kim training with firearms.”

On January 20, Adam Matthew Lansky allegedly firebombed a Tesla dealership in Salem, Oregon, and in charging documents, prosecutors said, "Lansky is a competitive shooter and a former member of the Socialist Rifle Association. He is skilled and well-practiced in the use of firearms and combat scenarios. The [improvised incendiary devices] used by Lansky were all manufactured by him."

Danel Alan Baker, who was sentenced to 44 months in prison for threats for offering “cash rewards for information leading to the verified identification of an and every individual in this video [from January 6]. Don’t worry, I wont ne [sic] going to the cops. We have decided to handle this ourselves.”

“Baker has made multiple violent threats to those he claims are white supremacists, fascists, United States persons with different ideologies than his, and allies of the United States. In addition, Baker has promoted the killing of United States military officers.” In 2017, Baker joined “a sub-affiliate of Kurdistan’s Working Party, which has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” prosecutors said.

The Socialist Rifle Association chapter in Utah said that Tyler Robinson, the suspect charged with murdering Charlie Kirk was not a member, but did not provide an answer when the outlet asked if Lance Twiggs, Robinson's transgender roommate and romantic partner, was a member, citing confidentiality policies when the Daily Wire requested comment.