When the Southern Poverty Law Center came out with its annual Hate Map last spring I noticed a group called Tactical Civics which has a chapter in Clearfield County Pennsylvania. It also has a chapter in Allegheny County. Travis McAdam of the Southern Poverty Law Center gave me this summary of the group:
The group was started by brothers David and Oscar Zuniga. David has published a few books outlining the goals of the group. Tactical Civics primarily organizes around two issues – trying to get counties to create their own militias and establishing citizen grand juries. The national headquarters are in Texas, but they are trying to organize chapters across the country. We started including them on our map in 2023.
Looking at the videos and websites that they post, they argue that the Federal Government began taking control citizens during the Lincoln Administration. This was by the use of paper money during the Civil War. This was exacerbated by the creation of the Federal Reserve Bank 50 years later. They want their version of the constitution. Below is a video of local Tactical Civics organizer Bill Ogden speaking in Blair County.
They also frequently cite the bible to describe themselves as the normal folks. Everyone else are deviants. They claim to be an educational organization where you can become a member for a fee on their website. The group is not explicitly partisan, although Ogden repeats claims that the election was stolen from Trump. He also expresses admiration for Q Anon. They advocate creating citizen grand juries to investigate perceived crimes by the government.
Tactical Civics in Clearfield Pennsylvania deserves more attention. They have chapters in many counties across the U.S. They have not yet been banned by Facebook and other You can see a profile of the group’s founder David Zuniga here.
Thank you for this post. We need to stay aware of the many hate based groups in PA and not let them get away with their far right agenda.