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 webmagazine |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 |websitemagazine=Time |language=en}}</ref> that promotes hatefulwhite and [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]]supremacist ideology.; Thethe group's goal is to form a [[White ethnostate|white ethno-state]] <ref>{{Cite web |title=Here’sHere'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>

ROF's leader is, Jordan Jereb, is 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,. heJereb 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 |access archive-date=20222018-1202-2826 |website=web.archive.org}}</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=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Colin |date=2018-02-15 |title=A white supremacist militia just admitted it trained the Florida school shooter |url=https://washingtonpress.com/2018/02/15/white-supremacist-militia-just-admitted-trained-florida-school-shooter/ |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=Washington Press |language=en-US}}</ref>

However, it was later reported that Jereb had recanted his claim of [[Stoneman Douglas High School shooting|Cruz's]] involvement with ROF, stating that he had made the claim as a joke and had no real information about [[Stoneman Douglas High School shooting|Cruz's]] alleged ties to the group. Despite this, the association between ROF and the [[Cruz school shooting|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, later forming its own paramilitary organization, the "Indomitables" its president, [[Michael Hill (activist)|Michael Hill]], has espoused [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] views in his online writings.