Former FBI Agent Doesn’t Believe President’s Comments Will Incite Violence
Sep 30, 2020, 8:17 PM | Updated: Oct 1, 2020, 3:26 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A former FBI agent who spent 20 years infiltrating extremist groups and white supremacist organizations doesn’t believe President Donald Trump’s comments in his first debate against former Vice President Joe Biden will incite violence by these groups in Utah.
During Tuesday night’s debate, President Trump refused to condemn white supremacists and said to the far right group known as the Proud Boys, “Proud Boys… stand back and stand by.”
Members of the Proud Boy organization in Utah have been seen at a variety of rallies.
Greg Rogers said for the most part these extremist organizations across the country are not violent.
“Small percentages are violent, the vast majority aren’t,” Rogers told KSL-TV.
Rogers was an FBI agent for 30 years – 20 of those he spent doing undercover work.
“The vast majority like going to meetings,” he said. “They like carrying guns and acting like they are in the military.”
Rogers spent much of his time in other states outside of Utah, because he said these organization were not big in the Beehive State.
“There is a small chapter of the Proud Boys here, but they are ineffective and tiny,” said Rogers. “As far as the question goes, ‘Are they going to do anything violent because of the answer [the president gave],’ is no. They’re going to be thrilled [with his response].”
Lex Scott, the founder of Black Lives Matter in Salt Lake, said the president’s comments only add fuel to the fire. She said she was worried about her safety.
“It’s threatening to any Black and brown person in this nation. The president is telling white supremacists to ‘Stand back and stand by,’ and the Proud Boys are celebrating this,” said Scott. “I think there is a real threat there of terrorism and that there are extremist. We’ve seen them attack Black and brown people in the past.”