I'm sorry to say I should not have requested this book, but it is NOT because the book is not good. It covers Trump's election denier lies, the goals of the movement, why it is so dangerous and the threats it poses, and how completely deranged the whole thing is.

My problem is that I just can't stomach reading it, and for the same reason, I will say I probably would not spend money on it. From how far I got into it, I've heard most/all of it before by terror-reading the New York Times and the Washington Post; watching in horror as it all actually has been happening.

So this is not a case of burying my head in the sand, it's that my head has been out of the sand the whole time and I just can't stand another telling of that which I've already lived through.

I can't submit without a star rating, so I will give it 4, but I have not read past chapter 2.

This is a fantastic book, that should be a must read in every home, school, church, etc. But who am I kidding? The right is pulling important books OUT of the Libraries & schools. This book is a warning especially for those that haven’t seen the cliff coming. We either vote (for Democrats who believe in laws & democracy) in the biggest numbers ever seen to overcome gerrymandering, or we become a fascist dictatorship. Simple.

Please vote & read this informative book.

This ebook was given to me by #Netgalley as a ARC to read & review with my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you to them & #MalcolmNance for giving me this opportunity to read #TheyWantToKillAmericans.

I received a reviewer copy of They Want to Kill Americans by Malcolm Nance from the publisher St. Martin's Press from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book talks about the threat of right wing extremism. What is interesting here is that there is less spent on the history/how we got there and more about the looming threat of this extremism. Right wing propaganda has painted liberals as monsters who do horrific things to the point that the battle of Right vs. Left has moved away from politicians and has put ordinary Americans in the crosshairs. This book is less about race and otherness (though the author certainly discusses this), and more the idea that a good portion of our country is at the point where they think harming Americans would be a solution.

The book sets up Nance's credential in counterintelligence and he uses the modern history of the Trump era from him race baiting against President Obama, to his 2016 campaign and pizzagate, to Q, to Covid, and wrapping up at the insurrection and the time since then. I don't know that this book provides new details to me which is kind of what I was expecting (more info about Jan 6th that I didn't know for instance). This book is more about a warning of this type extremism and the threat it poses. I don't believe I was the target audience (maybe less liberal people than I will disagree), so this book didn't really push me in my thinking. But I think this is a good book for more moderates politically. A warning that for me is well heard.

I wasn't able to download They Want to Kill Americans to my kindle and it expired before I could finish it. Because of the subject matter, I didn't want to read for hours at a stretch as it hurt my heart. But what I was able to read was shocking and eye opening. I know some stuff about the insurrectionist but Malcolm Nance showed me even more information that I couldn't find from the general media. I look forward to this being published as an audio book so that I may finish it. Malcolm Nance is a great political writer who doesn't hold back. He needs to be required reading for all Americans.

"There is only one way out of this. The only way out of this outcome is that the November midterms are the final referendum on whether America truly stays America and a democracy or if it becomes a fascist dictatorship. If the Democrats lose the House and the Senate, then it is all over. There may never be another free and fair election in America. If the Republicans take control, we may be teetering on the edge of an American dictatorship." - from The Guardian interview
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"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call "The Twilight Zone." - One of several introductions used for the show

It does not take a lot of imagination to see what is happening in America today. They are coming for you. They are coming for your voting rights, your right to have your vote counted, your right not to be gerrymandered into an Jackson-Pollock-designed district that renders your vote moot, your right to be able to vote without having to stand on line for hours, your right to vote without having armed men and women watching you, intimidating you, your right to vote by mail, by drop box, your right to have someone bring your ballot to the election board if you are unable to do it yourself. They are coming for your right to privacy. An extremist religious SCOTUS whose members lied when they swore they would uphold precedent, reversed that very precedent and removed your right to do what you need, what you want, with your own body, blithely leaving hungry state foxes in charge of the abortion hen-house.

They are coming for your money. Trump could not seem to do much to improve infrastructure, get us out of Afghanistan, deal with global warming or COVID, or seriously address any real public policy issues, but he managed to pass a massive tax cut for the wealthy and corporations. One guess who is supposed to make up that lost revenue. They are coming for the safety net programs that vast numbers of Americans rely on, while raising taxes on the middle class, on the working class and the poor.

"By Election Day 2020, the Trump-dominated Republican Party solidified itself for what it perceived was a battle to change the soul of America permanently. Trump’s financial backers saw endless opportunity for tax cuts and limitless, tax-free profits. The stock market saw a president who would ruin nearly a century of regulation and allow them unimaginable capital gains that they could pass on to their children without paying taxes. The party investors saw a middle and lower class that would pay for virtually everything Republicans wanted and divest from virtually every social program liberals wanted. In their eyes, the average American would see none of the profits of America but literally pay for the wealth and prosperity of the richest of the rich. In fact, Trump and his lieutenants managed to do precisely that in his first four years. By the end of his administration, money allocated for education, childcare, and mental health would pay for mega yachts. In Trump’s America, executive jet purchases were tax free."

They are coming for your right to remain alive. Republicans have fought every attempt to enact sane gun control, untouched by the daily slaughter from these weapons. They are apparently just not that into you. And this is just the tip of the iceberg of the rights and benefits that they want to take from you, from us. The right to marry, to love who you want, the right to define for yourself, and not allow the government to define your gender. Yes, they are coming for inter-racial marriage. They are coming for your right to use birth control. And they will not stop there. You have not just woken from a dream in an episode of The Twilight Zone (TZ). This is the terrifying reality of America today. Forget the reality you know, or thought you knew. You have been dragged, or maybe you ran, into The Twilight of Democracy Zone.

Malcolm Nance is an intelligence professional, who has been dealing with foreign enemies for decades. What he has seen in analyzing terrorism and insurgencies abroad has given him a unique insight into what is now an ongoing domestic insurgency, an insurgency that is the means by which the fascist Republican right will take what it wants from you. They will try to win elections, and will win many, some fairly. But they will try to win by cheating, wherever playing fair will not get the job done. Once in office they will steal your rights, and legislate permanence to their position. What they cannot win at the ballot box, they will try to seize at the end of a gun. He calls this movement TITUS, for the Trump Insurgency in the United States. If you are among the remaining sane Republicans you might feel like the guy in TZ episode 1, who finds himself all alone in an abandoned town.

Nance presents a group-by-group look at the organizations involved in promoting and perpetuating chaos in our country, with the goal of seizing power. Many of these will be familiar. (Proud Boys, Three-Percenters, Oath Keepers Boogaloo Bois) Some were news to me. (e.g. Atomwaffen, the Base, Panzerfaust) He offers some history, showing how the bigotries of the past have persisted, albeit with some costume changes. He shows how the unspeakable monsters of the far right have gained increasing publicity from the right-wing media echo machine, and the main-stream media. And sadly, how the views expressed have found a home in a large portion of American households. He notes Trump’s rapid transition from distancing himself from the crazies to fully embracing them. No, this is not a Rod-Serling-generated fantasy land. The Proud Boys really are the khaki’d descendants of the skinheads.

"TITUS is a pre-rebellion political-paramilitary alliance that intends to use politics, instability, and violence to meet its goals. The number one goal is reestablishing the Trump dynasty as the primary operating system for America. Then they will use the power of the government to punish their enemies. The political wing of TITUS, the Trump-dominated Republican Party, has already initiated a dangerous plan to embrace the launch of protracted political warfare in America."

Recent reports are that Trump even dreamed of having generals as loyal to him as Hitler’s were to Der Fuhrer, not realizing, because he is an ignoramus, that Hitler’s generals had tried to kill him on multiple occasions. It is pretty clear that this is not the only thing about Hitler that Trump envies.

What we are looking at is a world in which there are people hoping to put Anthony Fremont into the Oval Office, again. You don’t remember Anthony? If you are a Twilight Zone fan you might. He was a monster, the star of one of TZ’s most famous, and chilling episodes. He was six years old, and lived in Peakesville, Ohio. But he was born with an unusual talent. He could make things vanish or rearrange them in horrible ways. He has already made all the world around Mar-a-Lago, sorry, Peakesville, disappear, and if you harbor any unhappy (UnMAGA?) thoughts he will do terrible things to you. The episode was called It’s a Good Life, taking its title from the ironic statement of an adult who knows it is anything but.

"Discussing the impeachment of President Trump on Meet the Press, Representative Jason Crow, a Democrat from Colorado, said most members of the GOP are “paralyzed with fear.” He continued: “I had a lot of conversations with my Republican colleagues. . . . A couple of them broke down in tears . . . saying that they are afraid for their lives if they vote for this impeachment."

This is what TITUS wants.

Nance goes through what he calls the Psychodynamics of Radicalization, pointing out characteristics that well describe many on the right. They all see themselves as victims, are emotionally reactive, internalize negative stimuli until they burst, embrace conspiracy theories, have flexible ideological identifications (meaning there is no there there, any excuse will do to back up whatever it is they want, or are being told to do.) It goes on, but offers a fair description of many of the TITUS horde. There is certainly a lot of thinking inside the bubble going on, which leaves them with reduced capacity to think critically about the propaganda they mass-consume from the likes of Fox and Breitbart.

One thing that I hoped would be addressed is the role Russia might have played, or is still playing in organizing or supporting some of these nut farms. Personally, I believe that Russia was instrumental in the creation of Q-Anon, but do not claim that to be a fact. It would be consistent with Russian cyber-war attacks against the West over the last few decades. There is a strong connection between Putin and disgraced former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who has been rumored to be “Q.” Nance might be in a position to have an actual informed opinion about who Q is. He does, however, offer a provocative scenario in which Q-Anon evolved from a live-action-role-playing game.

An even more provocative scenario depicts a theoretical nation-wide assault on governments by the armed right. It is chilling.

The violence of today’s right has been bubbling for a while. He reports on increasing white-nationalism in the police and military. The significance of this is that instead of bumbling amateurs trying to storm governors’ mansions, many of the assaulters will be combat trained, able to organize assaults, and comfortable using weapons. Military-style training camps have been increasing in number. Insurrectionist-oriented organizations joining together, or coordinating, can form a serious threat to the nation. Another huge threat is the propagation of lone-wolf terrorists, fooled by right-wing media lies into taking action against non-existent crimes. Remember Pizzagate? In its ability to inspire low-information followers to commit mortal acts of violence TITUS very much resembles ISIS.

"Violent extremists in the United States and terrorists in the Middle East have remarkably similar pathways to radicalization. Both are motivated by devotion to a charismatic leader, are successful at smashing political norms, and are promised a future racially homogeneous paradise. Modern American terrorists are much more akin to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) than they are to the old Ku Klux Klan. Though they take offense at that comparison, the similarities are quite remarkable. Most American extremists are not professional terrorists on par with their international counterparts. They lack operational proficiency and weapons. But they do not lack in ruthlessness, targets, or ideology. However, the overwhelming number of white nationalist extremists operate as lone wolves. Like McVeigh in the 1990s and others from the 1980s, they hope their acts will motivate the masses to follow in their footsteps."

He also points out that the right has an advantage in camouflage. The January 6 insurrectionists were able to get as close as they did to the Capitol largely because they were white. Had a black mob of comparable size been breaking down barriers in DC that day, the response would have been very different. The whiteness of the assaulters allowed them to get close. Will that work in state capitols too, or again in DC?

You will pick up some of the terminology used by the right, terms like accelerationism, ZOG, The Storm, zombies, sovereign citizen, constitutional sheriff, and plenty more.

You will also learn about some of the books that inspire these folks. You may have heard of The Turner Diaries, but maybe not about The Great Replacement, by Renaud Camus, or Siege, by James Mason (no, not that one).

They Want to Kill Americans is Malcolm Nance, with his hair on fire, trying to get everyone to see what is coming, pleading with us to take measures to forestall a bloody American insurgency. The book works in two ways, both as a warning of imminent peril, and as a resource. Use this book to learn who the relevant right-wing groups are, what they are about, who their leaders are, what their goals and methods are. There are many names named in this book. It would be good to learn as many of them as possible.

Sadly, we are not in a dimension beyond time and space. We are in the dark place in which millions around the world find themselves, facing hordes of fascists determined to destroy democracy as we have know it, substituting authoritarian rule. The threat is real, and unless we can fend it off we may never be able to find our way out of The Twilight of Democracy Zone.

"…several Republican legislatures including in Florida, Oklahoma, and Missouri have made the murder of protesters by running them over in a vehicle legal."

Review posted – August 12, 2022

Publication date – July 12, 2022

I received an eARE of They Want to Kill Americans from St. Martin’s Press in return for a fair review. Thanks, Sara Beth and Michelle, and thanks to NetGalley for facilitating.

To view this review in the intended format, please check it out on my site, https://cootsreviews.com/2022/08/12/they-want-to-kill-americans-by-malcolm-nance/

This book is scarier than any horror novel. Nance has done a great job laying out the different right wing extremist groups that have been empowered through the MAGA movement. These are scary times and Nance lays out how we got to where we are and where we may be heading if we don't make some much needed changes or heed the troubling signs. This is a good, "easy", informative read. However, it will scare you of what the future might look like if these groups have their way. I highly recommend this book. It might be one of the more important books on the market today.

I found They Want to Kill Americans to be incredibly timely, considering the January 6 hearings that are currently occurring. There was a ton of very important, and harrowing information.

My biggest critique is that the book jumped around timeline so much that it gave me whiplash and at times was hard to follow. While I appreciate the historical context, it was almost too detailed.

Admittedly, I am relatively well-versed on these issues, so I approached it differently than a lot of folks. That being said, I do think it would be a fantastic read for a lot of folk s- I do fear that the level of historical detail may be a bit too dense, but ultimately I think the information shared was so important.

Have you ever wondered about the KKK, Proud Boys, Aryan Nation, and QAnon in relation to our country today?
Have you wondered how those groups could be part of the January 6 events. Especially when they seem to be anti government?
This is the most detailed and significant book on this subject! Very well researched, and time lined.
It is not meant for the light weight reader.
I wish every American would read this book….no matter their political affiliation.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me this ARC

This is an interesting and largely educational investigation of the most rabid, MAGA segments of the modern Right. The first eight of so felt very shallow and cursory to me and I am glad I pushed through that. There is details on history of groups such as Proud Boys, The Base, and Oath Keepers I did not know. There is a fictional imagining of a ruling extreme right that I think could have been left out. I did not know they were as integrated into establishment GOP as to do security details for prominent Republicans. This segues into the timeline of the January 6 Insurrection with details on the preparations, actions, and communications of various groups and key members.

We live in disturbing times. As a nation we are bitterly divided. This book provides a keen analysis of how we got here and what it might take to narrow the rift. Worthwhile reading.

They Want to Kill Americans
The Militias, Terrorists, and Deranged Ideology of the Trump Insurgency
by Malcolm Nance

This is a book I requested from NetGalley and I want to thank them and the publisher for letting me read this book! Although I am really getting trump fatigue by now, as most people are, this was very informative.

Yes, Nance did lead the reader through many of the events that we all saw or heard on news stations, except on right wing media and I have no idea what they spew on there. But the rest of the world saw and heard it all, well I thought. Nance takes the reader deeper.

Nance takes us back and shows us how some of this starts. He tells us the difference between the militia right wing groups and what each believe. He gives examples of some crimes they have committed. Explores their thought processes. Initiation routine and more. It's terrifying! I just didn't realize just how much they hate, period. But hate women especially.

There is so much more behind the scene info I never heard even from so called liberal media. Nance really spills the info out there. This was written BEFORE the Jan 6 committee hearings too! He knows his stuff!

I enjoyed learning about the new information but just tired of HOPING for justice! Nance gives a dire warning, and it came true on January 6th, the next terrorist attack on America will probably be again, by fellow Americans. The goal of many right wing militia groups is to kill every Democrat including man, woman, and child. So, who is paying attention? Nance is warning us. Vote like your lives depends on it because it really does!

Rating 3/5

[I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book]

“They Want to Kill Americans: The Militias, Terrorists, and Deranged Ideology of the Trump Insurgency” by Malcolm W. Nance discusses the history of Trump-led insurgency and their rebellion in America. The book also discusses the history of right-wing hate groups and religious terrorists.

This is a good read for those interested in non-fiction, politics, and American history. Nance’s writing follows a clear and concise journalistic style and I learned a ton about the U.S. This was my first time reading a North American History book and it was good!

Malcolm Nance has written a masterpiece about terrorist groups inside the United States. He has coined the term TITUS, Trump Insurgency in The United States to write about the various groups who came together in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021. Nance not only looked at that day in Washington, but he writes about white nationalist groups that formed in the 20’s, 30’s, and other groups in each decade. As a resident of northern Indiana I was surprised to see him mention Tom Metzger and the effects he had in forming groups.

At the beginning of one of his chapters, he started with this quote that really spoke to me, “If we are to have another [civil war], I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's, but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition, and ignorance on the other.” I had not heard this before and I was surprised to see that it was written by Ulysses S. Grant.

There is so much information about Charlottesville, police, prior military, and others who participated on January 6. The various groups such as QAnon, ThreePercenters, Proud Boys….who came together to storm the Capitol. There is so much information to absorb, and I appreciate it that it is told in plain everyday English. It is also is well sourced with footnotes. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

The truth is very scary. This book should be required reading for every true American.

You have a choice. You can be a patriot or you can be a terrorist. Don’t be a terrorist.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and the author for an advanced copy of this timely and urgent book.

January 6th holds a special meaning for me - it was the time when I submitted the full draft of my PhD dissertation to my advisor. It was also the time when I was driving when the news changed and was shaped by the violence that was taking place at the Capitol Building - a sight I thought I would never see in the United States.

I have heard Malcolm Nance speak before, and was pleasantly surprised when I received the advanced copy of his non-fiction study of the events. Undoubtedly, this book is well-researched and gives us an informative, but also prophetic message to be concerned about how this historical event has redefined history. This is a timely book that those who have been following the January 6 hearings on the televisions should read. While there are other non-fiction books that have come on the Trump era over the years, Nance's book offers a new and well-informed perspective as someone who is an insider in the government as a US government official. He explores the current hot-button issues on this topic including the QAnon scandal, which has also been prominent in the news channel.

An important read a book that explains the threats that our real in America.From the milita and other radical groups.The authors writes in Ann educated clear manner his thesis can be frightening but so important for all citizens to read.#netgalley #st.martins-press

What a read, wow. I could not put this book down once I started. Once you start reading you are hooked and need to continue in order to find out more. It moves along at really great pace which made for a great read. The more you read the more you are sucked into it and need to see what happens next. This is a book that you need to read, you will not be sorry that you did.

A thoroughly researched analysis of domestic terrorist groups and conspiracy theorists who planned, organized and carried out the insurrection on January 6th.

Malcolm Nance meticulously pieces together information about the origins of these groups and forecasts future violence if there isn’t a significant change in course, predictions that are grim, if not terrifying.

Nance doesn’t pull any punches or make journalistic attempts at presenting “both sides”. The subject matter makes this a challenging book to read at times, but it’s prescient and necessary, now more than ever.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for this book's Advanced Reader Edition and eARC copy. All thoughts are my own.

Malcolm Nance has a background in intelligence and national security which gives him a unique perspective on the challenges of the depths that the cult of Trump will go to to put/keep him in power. Of course, the most prolific event has been the storming of the United States Capitol building in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021. But that wasn't the beginning by any means of this violent ideology.

Nance takes us through recent American history where we have examples of white supremacist groups willing to use violence and terrorist tactics to send a message to the government. Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, believed these messages and was incensed by the events in Waco, TX to send his own message to the ATF. Nance points out that these groups tend to go underground after events such as the OKC bombing where these ideals are not palatable to the public. But there has been a major shift recently where we are now seeing elected officials espouse these ideals publicly.

Nance does a great job of going through many of the white supremacist groups pushing for violence and perpetrating disinformation, the most prolific being Q-Anon. Trump's unwillingness to denounce these groups has only empowered them leading to violent events like on January 6th and lone-wolf attacks.

I thought this book was incredibly informative and even though I have an interest in the subject matter and was aware of the people, groups, and events at play, I liked having it all in one book and separated out by how these groups come to be, develop their messaging, and then act on their violent ideology.

How was Donald Trump able to transform the Republican party into one that idolizes just one man? Why are his supporters intent on installing him as dictator by any means necessary? How has he been able to “normalize” racism and antisemitism? In this book, Malcolm Nance details how domestic extremists are a national threat and why we should all be afraid.

I have been following Nance for several years. As a U.S. Navy specialist in Naval Cryptology, he gained expertise in counterterrorism and intelligence. As a civilian he has studied foreign terrorism including that from the Middle East and the Russian Federation. In July 2016 he was the first in the U.S. news media to warn us about the Russian disinformation campaign in the U.S. elections. Just three days after the 2020 Presidential election, he publicly announced that we would have a “political paramilitary insurgency”; the Boogaloo Bois, Proud Boys being among the paramilitary forces.

Nance provides an evidence-based assessment of events and activities that uncovered the Trump insurgency that started well before the Jan. 6 attack. He reveals the strategic plan of the Trump insurgency movement and even some of the groups that funded the attack.

Nance goes into the history of domestic terrorism and what we have learned from individuals like Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. From his research, he explains what skills are necessary to run a well-grounded insurgent group and shows the similarities of how violent extremists in the U.S. and Middle East get radicalized. He also goes into detail about certain organizations such as the ones mentioned above as well as delving into QAnon conspiracies.

There is a lot here and Nance doesn’t just guess or simply espouse theories. He collects hard data with statistical research and analyzes it. Fortunately, Nance does suggest possible solutions, like options for breaking down domestic violent extremist groups.

If you insist on burying your head in the sand and ignore the obvious warning signs, then this book is not for you. But if you are actually concerned that democracy in the United States is in peril, then   "They Want to Kill Americans" is a must-read.