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Thread. Let me fix that for you @dleonhardt - your NYT column contains an error. The militia movement in the US is for real. Just ask @kathleen_belew or @DavidNeiwert 1/ 
These headlines are just from the past month. 2/
Even this past Saturday armed militia neo-Confederates sporting "Dixie Defenders" and "three percent" patches (not to mention "Charlottesville August 12 2017" merit badges) showed up at UNC to terrorize community members once again. 3/
These people perceive themselves to be Trump's army. They're offering to "help" protect any number of Trump-inspired causes -- for example the southern border, after Trump & Fox whipped them into a frenzy about the caravans. thinkprogress.org/how-americas-m… 4/
Even the ones who can't make it all the way to Texas are looking for a cause: Here's a neo-Confederate "threeper" up here in NC trying to get in on the border patrol frenzy. flickr.com/photos/acrider… 5/
Oh, and that "Bikers for Trump" he keeps crowing about? Yep, founded by a militia guy. postandcourier.com/politics/memor… 6/
My own data shows that social media (particularly Facebook) is a breeding ground for anti-government "patriot" militias, threepers - whatever you want to call them - freely mingling with other Trumpian ideologies, including anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, and white power. 7/
Five lazy minutes on Google News shows that there actually IS something to the Trump-militia-violence connection, and it's nothing that should be ignored. @dleonhardt Please run a followup story to correct the record. 8/
