The last US soldier to leave Afghanistan returned home this August, but private security personnel long outnumbered US troops in that war, and the for-profit business of training guns-for-hire is booming -- literally -- in the backyards of many rural Americans. In this special episode, The Laura Flanders Show travels to the tiny town of Hoffman in Richmond County, NC, where residents live next to a loud private training ground.They have real concerns about who is receiving training there and why, especially after the January 6th Insurrection at the Capitol. Laura interviews Hoffman’s Mayors and one of the County Commissioners who approved the permit for Oak Grove Technologies’ tactical training site. They regret that approval now. And we travel to nearby Hoke County, where a diverse coalition of local stakeholders — and an all-POC County Commission — were able to stop the expansion of Reservoir International, another training outfit seeking to expand its footprint near the county seat of Raeford. “The latter is an example of the power of community organizing,” says Serena Sebring of Blueprint NC. Blueprint is partnering with a statewide network of veteran ant-racist, anti-militia organizers to pool information and lift up local strategies for making communities safer.
GUESTS
Donald Bryant, Richmond County Commissioner
Tommy Hart, Mayor Hoffman, NC
Daniel Kelly, Mayor Pro Tempore, Hoffman, NC
Danielle Purifoy, Assistant Professor, Dept of Geography, UNC Chapel Hill
Harry Southerland, Chairman, Hoke County Board of Commissioners
Christina Davis McCoy, Former Executive Director, North Carolinians Against Racist and Religious Violence
Jim Davis, Former Sheriff, Hoke County, NC
Serena Sebring, Executive Director, BluePrint NC
CONTENT
North Carolina & The Paramilitary Industrial Complex 0:00
Oak Grove Technologies' Impact on Richmond County Residents 1:37
Fears of Paramilitary Groups Training at Oak Grove 10:43
Hoke County Wins Against Private Training Facility 17:48
Community Based Approaches to Safety 21:25
CREDITS
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Creative Director: Matt Colaciello
Communications Director: Jeremiah Cothren
Editors: Charlotte Carpenter, Mercedes Gorostiaga, Nat Needham, David Neumann
Radio & Podcast Producer: Jeannie Hopper
Co-Director Development: Dominic Marcella
Story Producer: Sabrina Artel
Motion Graphics: Nat Needham
Communications Associate: Mercedes Gorostiaga
Production Assistant: Ryan Hotes
ON-LOCATION CREW
Amanda Rudd & Olivia Steed, Vertex Theory Productions
VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO
Mab Segrest
Christina Davis-McCoy
Sheriff Jim Davis
Jazmynne Williams
The staff and board of BluePrint NC for their research and assistance
David Neumann
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ACCESSIBILITY
This episode is closed captioned.
#northcarolina #militia #whitesupremacy #oathkeepers #militariziation #blackwater #ftbragg #military #afghanistan #environment #community #civilian #insurrection #publicsafety
