Republic of Florida Militia: Difference between revisions

| dissolved = 2019

| country = [[USA]]United States

| motives = Creation of a [[White ethnostate]]

| headquarters = [[Tallahassee]]

| ideology = Far-right [[accelerationism]] <br>[[White separatism]]<br>[[White nationalism]]<br>[[antisemitism]]

| attacks = [[StonemanParkland Douglashigh High Schoolschool shooting]] (Claimed)

The '''Republic of Florida Militia''' ('''ROF''') is a [[White Supremacist|white supremacist]] group based in [[Florida]]<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=What to Know About Republic of Florida, a White Supremacist Group |url=https://time.com/5161203/republic-of-florida-nikolas-cruz-white-supremacist-militia/ |access-date=2022-12-28 |magazine=Time |language=en}}</ref> that promotes white supremacist ideology; the group's goal is to form a [[White ethnostate|white ethno-state]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Here's what we know about the white supremacist group allegedly linked to the Florida shooter |url=https://archive.thinkprogress.org/parkland-white-supremacist-florida-1814434b9bf8/ |access-date=2022-12-28 |language=en-US}}</ref> in the south of [[Florida]] and it engages in paramilitary training to further this goal. ROF borrows paramilitary concepts from the [[American militia movement|militia movement]] and has a small following in the [[Tallahassee, Florida|Tallahassee]] area, as well as a small presence in [[South Florida]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Republic of Florida (ROF) |url=https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/republic-florida-rof |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=www.adl.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Republic of Florida Militia (U.S.) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/FOTW/FLAGS/us%7Dflrof.html |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=www.crwflags.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Historical Flags of Our Ancestors - Flags of Extremism - Part 3 (o-z) |url=http://www.loeser.us/flags/hate3.html#rof |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=www.loeser.us}}</ref>

ROF attends events organized by other [[White supremacy|white supremacist]] groups and spreads its hateful ideology online. The group has developed relationships and associations with other extremist organizations, including [[Vinlanders Social Club]], [[League of the South]], [[Atomwaffen Division|Atomwaffen]], and the [[Traditionalist Worker Party]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stall |first=Hampton |date=2018-02-16 |title=Secessionist Boot Camps, White Nationalist Ideology, and School Shooting: A review of the Republic… |url=https://medium.com/militiawatch/secessionist-boot-camps-white-nationalist-ideology-and-school-shooting-a-review-of-the-republic-3632ca887eb2 |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=MilitiaWatch |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=white nationalist |url=https://politicalfilm.wordpress.com/tag/white-nationalist/ |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=Political Film Blog |language=en}}</ref>

ROF's leader is, Jordan Jereb, a convicted felon who founded the group in 2014. Jereb and other members of the group have made violent threats in the past, and while the group does not have a significant history of violence, its use of violent language has raised concerns. Jereb was first arrested in 2016 for threatening a staffer in the office of [[List of governors of Florida|Florida Governor]] [[Rick Scott]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stars Behind Bars: League of the South Joins Republic of Florida Militia for FSU Protest |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2015/04/21/stars-behind-bars-league-south-joins-republic-florida-militia-fsu-protest |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |language=en}}</ref> In August 2017, Jerebhe was arrested a second time and charged with [[trespassing]] after allegedly entering his old high school with another member of the group. He remained in jail without bond at the time of the report.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Militiaman Down |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2014/militiaman-down |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |language=en}}</ref>

In February 2018, the [[Anti-Defamation League]] (ADL) reported that Jordan Jereb, the leader of the [[White supremacy|white supremacist]] [[militia]] Republic of Florida (ROF)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historical Flags of Our Ancestors - Flags of Extremism - Part 3 (o-z) |url=http://www.loeser.us/flags/hate3.html#rof |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=www.loeser.us}}</ref>,had claimed that suspected shooter [[Stoneman Douglas High School shooting|Nikolas Cruz]] was affiliated with ROF. This claim was quickly picked up by other media outlets, causing known white supremacists like [[The Daily Stormer|The Daily Stormer's]] [[Andrew Anglin]] and [[Traditionalist Worker Party]]'s Matthew Parrott to distance themselves from ROF and the shooting.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The 'Republic of Florida': What We Know About White Nationalist Group That Claims Florida Shooter Nikolas Cruz as a Member |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2018-02-16/ty-article/.premium/the-republic-of-floridas-ties-to-florida-shooter-nikolas-cruz/0000017f-f2ea-d8a1-a5ff-f2ea54c10000 |access-date=2022-12-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Batchelor |first=Amanda |date=2018-02-15 |title=What is the Republic of Florida Militia? |url=https://www.local10.com/news/2018/02/15/what-is-the-republic-of-florida-militia/ |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=WPLG |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=florida-school-shooting-suspect/story | website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/florida-school-shooting-suspect/story?id=53092753 |access-date=2022-12-28 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226062631/https://abcnews.go.com/US/florida-school-shooting-suspect/story?id=53092753 | archive-date=2018-02-26 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-02-15 |title=Leader of white nationalist group says Florida shooting suspect was a member |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/leader-of-white-nationalist-groups-says-florida-shooting-suspect-was-a-member |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=web.archive.orgPBS NewsHour |language=en-us}}</ref>

However, it was later reported that Jereb had recanted his claim of Cruz's involvement with ROF, stating that he had made the claim as a joke and had no real information about Cruz's alleged ties to the group. Despite this, the association between ROF and the school shooting brought additional attention and scrutiny to the group and its leadership.<ref>{{Cite web |last=G |first=Cristina López |title=Chronicle of a white supremacist PR crisis and the making of a hoax |url=https://www.mediamatters.org/maga-trolls/chronicle-white-supremacist-pr-crisis-and-making-hoax |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=Media Matters for America |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lessons to be learned from the ROF Florida shooting hoax |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/02/20/lessons-be-learned-rof-florida-shooting-hoax |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Joke's on Jordan Jereb: Republic of Florida leader charged with lying to police about Parkland shooter |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/04/18/jokes-jordan-jereb-republic-florida-leader-charged-lying-police-about-parkland-shooter |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Etters |first=Karl |title=Local law enforcement: No ties between militia and Florida high school shooter |url=https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/02/15/florida-school-shooting-suspect-nikolas-cruz-member-white-nationalist-militia-tallahassee-leader-say/341751002/ |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=Tallahassee Democrat |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=White nationalist leader Jordan Jereb charged with making false report |url=https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/04/18/white-nationalist-leader-jereb-charged-making-false-report/527532002/ |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=Tallahassee Democrat |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2015, the Republic of Florida Militia (ROF) and the [[White supremacy|white supremacist]] group [[League of the South]] (LOS) organized a protest in [[Tallahassee, Florida|Tallahassee]], [[Florida]] against the [[Florida State University]]'s [[Students for a Democratic Society (2006 organization)|Students for a Democratic Society]] (SDS) group, who had burned a [[Flags of the Confederate States of America|Confederate flag]] to protest increased [[Ku Klux Klan]] (KKK) recruiting in the area. The ROF and LOS protest included burning a [[Flag of the Soviet Union|Soviet flag]] in response. The event highlights the alliance between the ROF, led by Jordan Jereb, and the LOS, which has attempted to improve its public image but has actually become more radical in recent years. Jereb, a convicted felon who can no longer own firearms, has a history of violent rhetoric and was arrested in 2016 for threatening a staffer in the office of Florida Governor Rick Scott. The LOS has also formed its own paramilitary organization, the "[[Indomitable|Indomitables,]]" and its president, [[Michael Hill (activist)|Michael Hill]], has espoused [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] views in his online writings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stars Behind Bars: League of the South Joins Republic of Florida Militia for FSU Protest |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2015/04/21/stars-behind-bars-league-south-joins-republic-florida-militia-fsu-protest |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |language=en}}</ref>