Female Veterans and Right-Wing Extremism: Becoming ‘One of the Boys’

As we reflect on the one-year anniversary of the 06 January riots at the US Capitol, it is important to acknowledge who participated in the event, including members of the US Armed Forces, to gain understanding that can help us better prevent its repetition. Out of those, at least two female veterans were identified as participants: Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by the police on Capitol grounds, and Yvonne St Cyr, who has been charged for disruptive and disorderly conduct on restricted grounds. The involvement of some veterans with right-wing extremist (RWE) movements has been of great interest for researchers, although this has predominately been a focus on the roles of male veterans. There is extremely limited literature on, and understanding of the push and pull factors for female veterans to get involved with RWE, as well as of the roles that female veterans might take up within these groups.