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Episode Summary
In this episode of Writer’s Voice, former FBI agent, scholar, and author Michael German discusses his explosive book Policing White Supremacy: The Enemy Within. German, who infiltrated white supremacist and right-wing militia groups during his FBI tenure, offers a chilling insider perspective on how racist ideology persists and thrives inside U.S. law enforcement.
“What January 6 revealed is how deeply embedded far-right sympathies are in federal policing institutions.” — Mike German
He explains how decades of systemic bias, failed policy, and outright sympathies with white nationalist agendas have shaped the institutions meant to protect democracy. From January 6 to Charlottesville, from FBI surveillance priorities to underreported hate crimes, German shows how government agencies have enabled far-right violence—and what must happen at the state and local levels to fight back.
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Key Words: Michael German, Policing White Supremacy, FBI white supremacist infiltration, domestic terrorism, Charlottesville riot, Proud Boys, January 6, right-wing extremism, Brennan Center, far-right violence in America
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Mike German
In Policing White Supremacy, Michael German shares insights from his undercover work in white supremacist and militia groups in the 1990s—and explains how little has changed. He details how federal agencies, especially the FBI, have long deprioritized white supremacist violence in favor of targeting environmentalists, anti-racist activists, and Black-led protests.
He also unpacks the structural failures that allow violent extremism to persist within police departments, including ineffective hate crime data collection, weak accountability mechanisms, and institutional resistance to reform. German argues that combating white supremacy inside law enforcement means more than increasing police budgets or surveillance powers—it requires bold structural overhaul, community accountability, and a commitment to the rule of law.
Key Topics
- Infiltration of white supremacists into U.S. law enforcement
- January 6 and the federal government’s failure to act
- Charlottesville as a model of law enforcement complicity
- FBI informant priorities and surveillance failures
- Hate crime underreporting and federal deference to local police
- Domestic terrorism statutes and myths of legal limitation
- Institutional racism and “dog whistle” political strategy
- The overlap of law enforcement, far-right militias, and white nationalism
- Reform strategies: whistleblower protection, local oversight, community defense
Next Week on Writer’s Voice
We talk with Will Potter about his new book Little Red Barns. The WAPO called it “an impassioned and thoroughly researched examination of factory farming and how it harms animals, the planet and us.”
We also talk with the folks over at Project Censored about their annual report State of the Free Press. It covers the most important stories the mainstream press underplayed or ignored. Don’t miss it!
And check out the new podcast I’m hosting! Changehampton Presents: Changing The World, One Yard At A Time.