Get to know the anarchist responsible for DHS’s far-right radicalization scandal.

Biden Administration Weaponizes DHS Against Political Opponents

Is Michael Loadenthal a Reliable Academic Researcher?

At first glance, Michael Loadenthal’s academia.edu account might look impressive, but a review of his published academic papers quickly reveals a lack of reliable academic research. He employs a full grab bag of buzzwords to get around the pesky “methodology” section of academic writing. His research methods include using a “Scavenger methodology” as practiced by “queer linguist” William L. Leap to explain why far-left eco-extremists are good but far-right eco-extremists are bad, a “Discourse analysis and Autoethnography” to justify Antifa rioting, and a “Foucauldian analysis of disciplinary power” to justify far-left ecoterrorism.

But that’s not all. Often, he doesn’t even bother to employ a methodology, as in “Othering Terrorism: A Rhetorical Strategy of Strategic Labeling,” where he makes the case that the term terrorism is racist based on a review of the movie “Black Hawk Down.” All his papers are personal political screeds influenced by his activism, reliant on highly subjective methodologies and anecdotal evidence.

Michael Loadenthal’s Antifa Ties

Further listed as academic output on his ResearchGate profile is a 2018 interview with violent militant anarchist collective CrimethInc in which he confirmed he is a militant anarchist. During the interview, he stated, “We can see some success … recently in the more mainstream acknowledgment of the effectiveness of militant antifascism.” Loadenthal is explicit. He praises the mainstreaming of militant antifascism and rioting.

History of Antifa Association

For Loadenthal, these are not empty words. He has been arrested numerous times for his activism. Though his Twitter account is currently locked, I possess an archive of all of his tweets pre-2019 as Loadenthal is featured in my peer-reviewed research on Antifa on Twitter. The research identified him as one of the most Antifa-embedded academics in the United States.

On Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2016, there was massive, premeditated rioting and property damage caused by anarchist and Antifa groups in Washington, D.C. Loadenthal’s tweets from that day show that not only was he there, but he was arrested with black bloc Antifa. In fact, he found it funny, writing in one tweet, “This is the slooooowest mass arrest I’ve ever been a part of. Not bragging but I’ve been through a few. #disruptj20 #washingtondc.”

Brazenly, Loadenthal used the experience of being arrested that day to write another article, arguing that empiricism and objectivity in academia are bad and that “action-centric, emancipatory-focused” approaches — activism — should be the basis of academic publishing. Once more he is attempting to normalize illegal Antifa activities within academia.

The Impossible Truth

It seems impossible that the University of Cincinnati would still employ an openly violent, extremist Antifa anarchist who was arrested during the 2016 Inauguration Day riots. It seems impossible that the University of Dayton would give him a coveted speaker position to teach conference participants how to dox, harass, and deplatform political opponents while openly stating that his work is illegal. Most of all, it seems impossible that DHS would give the University of Dayton more than $350,000 in grant funding to combat domestic terrorism based in part on the work of this violent domestic extremist.

Yet here we are. The only obvious conclusion is that DHS has been thoroughly weaponized by the Biden administration against centrist and conservative Americans.

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