Despite the pouring rain, nearly three hundred Tea Party supporters from across the state gathered on the steps of the Washington State capitol for the “Sovereignty Winter Fest” on January 14. The event featured state legislators, candidates for state and federal seats, Tea Party leaders, and other far-right activists from around the region. It was designed to support a series of state’s rights 10th Amendment “sovereignty” resolutions in the Washington legislature. This turn away from anti-tax and anti-healthcare rhetoric towards state sovereignty language points to a possible radicalization of the movement.
The Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights (IREHR) is a national organization with an international outlook examining racist, anti-Semitic, white nationalist, and far-right social movements, analyzing their intersection with civil society and social policy, educating the public, and assisting in the protection and extension of human rights through organization and informed mobilization.
