Suburban Man Runs Website For Far-Right Extremists: Report

CHICAGO AREA, IL — A 41-year-old suburban man is the owner of a social media hub meant for far right extremists who are on a mission and believe they have the right to take up arms against a "tyrannical" government, according to reports.

MyMilitia has been identified as a key platform that's helped anti-government groups ramp up more support and power than they've had in years.

WBEZ reports that Joshua Ellis, formerly of Naperville and who appears to have recently moved to Antioch, is the current owner of MyMilitia.com. He works in mold remediation and water damage, calls himself an Army veteran — though he spent just six months with the Iowa Army National Guard and admittedly left before finishing advanced individual training — and regularly has failed to pay his taxes, according to the WBEZ article.

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Among the site's main purposes is to help organize what it refers to as "militias." Ellis was also responsible for organizing anti-lockdown protests last spring, according to media reports.

Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University San Bernardino, told Rolling Stone the MyMilitia site connects people wanting to form militias in their area. He referred to it as "almost like Tinder for militia folks."

“I don’t want to suggest everyone on there is a bomb-throwing lunatic,” Levin told the Rolling Stone. “But if I were a bomb-throwing lunatic, that’d be a place I’d want to check out.”

Currently, MyMilitia has more than 24,000 members.

"Main stream news has primarily reported on the negative stereotypes and criminal activity of groups that have nothing to do with militia. The true militia has exactly the opposite purpose; to uphold the law and the Constitution," according to the website. "We are a growing community of Americans that believe that the supreme laws of our Constitution must be diligently protected and upheld. Fostering the lawful rebirth of State militia is a crucial step in preserving the Republic."

Police say members of private paramilitary groups, like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, have turned online to organize violent acts. Many alleged members from those groups been indicted in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Brian Maiorana, 54, from Staten Island, New York, had a profile on MyMilitia, according to Rolling Stone. And a digital trail of death threats levied against protesters, Sen. Chuck Schumer, people celebrating President-elect Joe Biden's victory and others led authorities to his doorstep last November, authorities said.

Maiorana, who is registered as a sex offender, was arrested by members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force at his home. An unsealed complaint details accusations that Maiorana levied a barrage of extremist posts starting in September 2020 and culminating with threats of retaliation over the results of the 2020 general election.

Maiorana also purchased parts for a semi-automatic handgun and other weapons that he, as a registered sex offender, could not legally possess, the complaint states.

"All right thinking people need to hit the streets while these scumbags are celebrating and start blowing them away," he wrote on Nov. 8, the day after outlets projected Biden's victory over President Donald Trump, according to the complaint.

• Staten Island Man Threatened To Kill Over 2020 Election: Feds

While many might think that a suburban Chicago man seems like an unlikely candidate for running a far-right extremist site, it does not surprise Reid Ross, a professor at Portland State University and a fellow at the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right.

He told WBEZ he started tracking street activity after police in Minneapolis killed George Floyd and found the Chicago area to be a hot spot for rallies prior to the presidential election, according to WBEZ.

“I ran the data, and I found out that, demographically, places where these far right incidents were taking place were actually demographically more diverse and actually had slightly higher median household income than the national average,” he said. “That narrative was true that these guys are rising up in the suburbs. They’re feeling like the world is getting more diverse and they’re losing their white power.”

Kyle Rittenhouse, who formerly lived with his single mother at an apartment in Antioch, is among the most highly publicized examples of far-right extremists accused of becoming violent, spurred by a purported desire to "protect" others or stand up against the government.

Rittenhouse was 17 years old when he traveled over the border to Wisconsin armed with an AR-15 rifle, authorities said. Rittenhouse claims he went to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to protect property amid protests after police shot Jacob Blake.

Rittenhouse has since been charged with first-degree intentional homicide and is accused of killing Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, of Kenosha, and Anthony Huber, 26, of Silver Lake, Wisconsin, and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, of West Allis, Wisconsin.

Rittenhouse is currently expected to appear for a trial in Wisconsin in November.

• Rittenhouse Trial Delayed At Least 7 Months
• Court Documents Detail Rittenhouse Charges
• Data Breach Shows Public Officials Donated To Rittenhouse

More via WBEZ and Rolling Stone