Megan Brown
Staff Writer
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, journalist Micah Loewinger listened to far-right militia groups on Zello, a walkie-talkie app, as they discussed conspiracy theories about Black Lives Matter and Antifa.
“These violent fantasies grew louder and louder, which is how I knew to monitor militia channels on Jan. 6, 2021,” Loewinger said on NPR’s “All Things Considered.”
Ultimately subpoenaed by the Department of Justice, Loewinger testified before a jury with recordings of Jessica Watkins, a member of the Oath Keepers. In May 2023, she was found guilty by a U.S. district court judge and sentenced to prison.
Delving into how right-wing militia groups appropriate climate change disasters, Loewinger will lead a lecture as part of the Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative at 12:15 p.m. today in Smith Wilkes Hall. With rising numbers of natural disasters due to climate change, right-wing populist authoritarians are using fears of mass migration to draw in voters and new members.
“Loewinger’s groundbreaking investigative reporting has demonstrated how in the United States, right-wing militia groups have capitalized on climate-driven natural disasters as a powerful recruiting tool, preying on people’s distrust of the government to raise both funds and new supporters,” said Mark Wenzler, Peter Nosler Director of the Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative.”
Alongside Brooke Gladstone, Loewinger currently co-hosts WNYC’s “On the Media,” where he originally began as a producer. His work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Guardian and NPR, and The New York Times covered his research on using restorative justice while moderating the largest online Christian forum.
Although his work leading up to and after the Jan. 6 insurrection was a critical point in his career, Loewinger feels ambivalent about the role he played.
“I didn’t get into this line of work to play such an active role in locking people up,” he said on “All Things Considered.” “I’m proud my work had an impact and that I could help show America what the militia movement really represents. But I realize now that I was naive. I want to believe that the end game of journalism is truth, but sometimes it’s prison.”
