Full Conversation: Inside the MAGA Movement: What Happens Now?

Discover filmmaker Michael Premo's insights on political violence in his documentary about right-wing groups and their diversity, featuring pardoned Proud Boy Christopher Quaglin.

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About the LF&F Full Uncut Conversations:  While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our supporting members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation.  The following is from our episode “Inside the MAGA Movement: What Happens Now?” with guest Michael Promo, a journalist and filmmaker who produced and directed the gripping documentary “Homegrown.”  The film follows three members of the Proud Boys in the lead up to the January 6th insurrection. These audio exclusives are made possible thanks to our member supporters.

*Full Episode Description:  Just hours after he took office, Donald Trump issued pardons for over 1,500 people convicted of crimes related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. One of those pardoned was one of the subjects of a gripping documentary: Homegrown, from Storyline Media. Alongside two other members of the extremist group, the Proud Boys, filmmaker Michael Premo followed convicted felon, Christopher Quaglin, at home, on the road, and up the steps of the Capitol that day. In this conversation with Flanders, recorded just prior to Trump’s inauguration, Premo describes how the film came to be and what he found, including the surprising diversity within the Right-wing groups he followed. How do political ideas turn to political violence? What is the path forward? Join us for a timely conversation and, as always, Laura’s commentary.

“I think what we're going to see is an escalation of the potential for violence . . . Project 2025 is a great example of the sort of broader consensus among the conservative movement around what to do once they regained power . . . People feel increasingly emboldened in a way that I think is somewhat similar to 2016, but there's a different sense of urgency.” - Michael Premo

Guest:  Michael Premo: Journalist & Filmmaker; Director & Producer, Homegrown

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*Note: This interview took place on January 15th, 2025 prior to the inauguration. Since the taping of this interview, Donald Trump issued pardons for over 1,500 individuals convicted of crimes related to the January 6 Capitol storming shortly after taking office.  Christopher Quaglin, a prominently featured subject in the documentary "Homegrown," was pardoned alongside other members of the extremist group, the Proud Boys.

Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:

•  Lisa Graves: The Extremist Revolution & Democracy Hanging by a Thread: Watch / Audio Podcast

•  Faith & Fascism: Rob Reiner & Dan Partland Tackle Christian Nationalism with  “God & Country”: Watch  / Download Podcast: Episode & Full Conversation

•  Another January 6 Insurrection? ‘War Game’ Film Asks if We’re Ready: Watch / Download Podcast:  Episode & Full Conversation

• Countering the Coup From the Grassroots Up: Watch / Download Podcast

• Political Violence & MAGA Militancy: Strategies to Protect Democracy: Watch / Download Podcast

• Idaho’s United Vision Project: Confronting Extremism in America’s Heartland: Watch / Download Podcast: Episode & Full Conversation

Related Articles and Resources:

• Police Must Do Better Against Far-Right Violence, byMike German & Beth Zasloff, January 8, 2025, Brennan Center

•  FBI seizes largest stockpile of explosives in its history from Virginia home, by WDBJ7 Staff, January 1, 2025, Isle of Wight, VA, WDBJ7

• Four years after the Capitol riot, its meaning and legacy are still debated, by Odette Yousef, January 6, 2025, WAMU - NPR News

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