The Lawfare Podcast

"Lawfare Archive: A Jan. 6 Committee Staffer on Far-Right Extremism"

Date: January 10, 2026
Host: Quinta Jurecic
Guest: Jacob Glick, former investigative counsel, Jan. 6 Committee

Episode Overview

This episode revisits an interview from February 15, 2023, with Jacob Glick—a staffer on the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th attack. Glick led efforts examining the roles of social media and far-right extremism in the insurrection. The discussion delves into how the investigation deepened his understanding of American extremism, the ongoing threat it poses, the complex connections between extremist groups and mainstream supporters, the committee’s findings about Trump’s role, interviews with Twitter whistleblowers, and what must be done to prevent similar violence in the future.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jacob Glick's Role on the Committee

• Color-coded teams and tasks:
  • Purple Team: Focused on domestic violent extremism & social media.
  • Red Team: Tracked the movements and acts of rioters on January 6th.
  • Gold Team: Investigated Trump’s personal role.
  • Blue Team: Law enforcement and government structure.
  • Green Team: Followed the money.
• Glick’s work: Led depositions on social media's role and interviewed both extremist group members and general rioters.
  • “I was on the Purple Team, responsible for looking at domestic violence, extremism, and social media and their role in the attack on the Capitol.” (04:06)

2. Interviewing Extremists & Understanding Motivations

• Rioters’ attitudes:
  • Some were eager to justify their actions and did not consider themselves villains.
  • Others stayed tight-lipped due to criminal exposure.
  • Quote: “There was an eerie ability, uncanny ability, to distance a witness's experience from the violence that occurred…” (07:15)
• Criminal exposure as a constraint:
  • Many witnesses later indicted; awareness of DOJ’s parallel investigations.

3. Deep Roots of Far-Right Extremism

• A ‘slow burn’ toward insurrection:
  • The groundwork for January 6th was laid months (or years) in advance; not just the product of a single rally or Trump’s actions that day.
  • Quote: “There was a real slow burn towards insurrection that stretched months before January 6.” (11:20)
• Authoritarian faction:
  • Glick describes a persistent, organized anti-democratic core in American politics—a “coalesced authoritarian faction” that won’t vanish post-Trump.
  • Quote: “That sense of self empowered extremists is separate from what we've seen in recent years in multiracial American democracy. And it should be viewed as foundationally anti democratic and dangerous.” (14:22)

4. 2020: COVID, Protests, and Extremist Mobilization

• Pandemic as a radicalizing force:
  • Lockdowns, combined with far-right media, gave rise to ideas of private defense and paramilitarism.
  • Quote: “You have mainstream far right talking points about COVID intersecting with … militia movement propaganda that private citizens need to take up arms to defend the Constitution.” (15:45)
• George Floyd protests:
  • Protests against police violence were used to stoke fears and further radicalize certain segments of Trump’s base.
  • Law enforcement’s overreaction to BLM and caution on Jan. 6 seen as flip sides of same dilemma.
  • Quote: “I find it really troubling … there was some implicit alignment, at the very least, between what President Trump was saying in the Oval Office and what Oath Keepers and Proud Boys were doing on the ground.” (22:19)

5. Appeal and Nature of Extremist Groups

• Oath Keepers:
  • Attracting military/law enforcement veterans, promise to continue their oath and defend against “threats.”
  • Underlying message is “authoritarian law and order”—protecting their vision, not true rule of law.
• Proud Boys:
  • Billed as a social club; underlying ideology based on masculinity, white supremacy, anti-LGBTQ, and misogynistic beliefs.
  • Quote: “If we dug a little deeper … we got some pretty serious instances of homophobia, transphobia, general air of misogyny…” (27:19)

6. Connection Between Extremist Groups & the Broader Crowd

• Spread of rhetoric:
  • Social media platforms (like thedonald.win) served as bridges, where extremist ideas reached ordinary Trump supporters, helping to normalize violence.
  • Quote: “Groups provide an incubator for this serious anti democratic thinking … and then you're able to go online and use existing websites as a platform to spread that language…” (29:55)

7. Trump’s Role: Mastermind or Opportunist?

• Deliberate or instinctive?
  • Glick: Degree of strategic awareness is less important than the cumulative effect – Trump repeatedly enabled and amplified violent rhetoric and tactics.
  • Quote: “Throughout 2020 [there’s] an awareness by Trump and his circle that he does have the capacity to reach out and instruct folks about targets, about threats…” (35:10)
  • Key moment: After White House meeting (Dec 18), Trump tweets the infamous January 6th “be there, will be wild.” (38:08)
  • Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony cited: Trump wanted armed supporters present.

8. Social Media’s Failure

• Interviewing Twitter whistleblowers:
  • Twitter was unprepared; leadership afraid to restrict Trump even when his coded language incited violence.
  • Whistleblowers developed a “coded incitement to violence policy” repeatedly ignored by leadership.
  • Quote: “There is a really compelling and consistent story … that Twitter executives [were] terrified of taking direct action against Trump because of the power he held over that platform…” (41:22)
• Meta (Facebook/Instagram) & ongoing risk:
  • Meta’s new safeguards still allow Trump to attack past elections—missing the lesson of Jan. 6.
  • Quote: “The biggest problem with January 6th was not attacking an upcoming election, it was attacking an election that already happened.” (45:16)

9. Is the Threat Over?

• Trump's continuing influence:
  • Even if Trump’s power ebbs, the ecosystem remains.
  • Rhetoric and tactics are shifting to new targets (LGBTQ+ community, school boards).
  • Quote: “There’s a call and response between Trump and this fringe that goes both ways. He's having dinner with Nick Fuentes…and learning things, too.” (47:29)
• Law enforcement & society unprepared:
  • Political violence, once normalized, outlives its originator.
  • “It's easy to send Trump out as a scapegoat … but this goes far beyond him.” (49:38)

10. What About Other Republicans? DeSantis as Case Study

• Legislative actions (e.g., Florida’s HB1, curriculum control) point to similar authoritarian tendencies.
• Quote: “I don't know how he'd react differently than Trump did when there are vigilantes trying to enforce his agenda. In fact, it looks like he'll be quite receptive to that idea.” (54:09)

11. What Needs to Happen Now?

• Concrete steps:
  • States must update and enforce anti-paramilitary laws; local education to ensure enforcement.
  • Example: Oregon introduces bill to clarify and strengthen anti-paramilitary laws, with civil remedies for those harmed.
  • Quote: “By placing these paramilitary groups far outside the realm of normal, we can help to excise acts of political violence from our system.” (59:12)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “What we found … is that there was a real slow burn towards insurrection ... groundwork laid far before Election Day … that really empowered domestic violent extremists to stroll onto center stage by the time Trump needed them.”
  —Jacob Glick (11:20)

• “That to me constitutes the very core of this faction that I’m describing … self-empowered extremists … foundationally anti-democratic and dangerous.”
  —Jacob Glick (14:22)

• “January 6 was really something that goes far beyond Stop the Steal itself.”
  —Jacob Glick (18:30)

• “The biggest problem with January 6 wasn’t attacking an upcoming election, it was attacking an election that already happened.”
  —Jacob Glick (45:16)

• “By placing these paramilitary groups far outside the realm of normal, we can help to excise acts of political violence from our system.”
  —Jacob Glick (59:12)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Committee structure & Glick’s role: 04:01–06:39
• Interviewing extremists: 07:04–09:37
• Defining “authoritarian faction”: 12:44–15:12
• 2020 COVID protests & radicalization: 15:12–20:27
• George Floyd protests—law enforcement implications: 20:27–24:03
• Extremist group ideology & social appeal: 24:03–29:16
• Social media as an accelerant: 29:16–31:34
• Assessing Trump’s intent: 33:52–36:57
• Evidence of Trump’s connection to violence: 36:57–40:35
• Interviewing Twitter whistleblowers: 41:08–44:56
• Meta’s platform policies: 44:56–46:10
• Risks of future violence: 46:10–49:36
• Far-right politics beyond Trump (DeSantis): 52:15–57:43
• Policy solutions (anti-paramilitary laws): 57:43–60:05

Takeaways

• The march to January 6th was a long process involving deep currents of far-right ideology, not just a result of Trump’s actions on a single day.
• Social media platforms failed to contain extremist rhetoric, largely out of fear of political blowback.
• The threat of far-right political violence remains—and has already shifted to new targets (LGBTQ+, school boards).
• Policy and law enforcement remain largely unprepared or unwilling to grapple with paramilitary activity and authoritarian momentum.
• Concrete legal steps—updating and enforcing anti-paramilitary laws—are possible and urgent for defending democracy.

This summary captures the essence and depth of the conversation while guiding listeners to major themes and actionable insights on confronting political violence and authoritarianism in America today.