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Far right extremism with Thomas LeCaque on Thursday's Access Utah

Anthony Crider
/
Wikimedia Commons

Thomas LeCaque is Associate Professor of History at Grand View University. He describes himself as a historian who specializes in the nexus of apocalyptic religion and political violence, medieval to now. He wrote recently in The Bulwark: “As has been the case at other times in history when political instability has drawn extremist groups into open street-fighting—a Proud Boys calling card—these groups represent the sharp end of the ax that the far right is driving into American society. On Jan. 6, 2021, their goal was to overturn the results of the recent presidential election. In June 2022, however, their goals have shifted. The [recent] arrest of dozens of members of extremist group Patriot Front … shines a light on the new agenda for the militant factions of the far right.

Thomas LeCaque was born in France, lived in Bulgaria for the first two years of his life, and grew up in Kirksville, Missouri. He has a Ph.D. in Pre-Modern European History from the University of Tennessee, an M.A. in English with a focus on Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman literature from Truman State University, and a B.A. (also from Truman) in History with minors in Philosophy & Religion and English. He also spent two years of his undergraduate life at Tulane University in New Orleans, where he was a theater & history major.

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Tom Williams worked as a part-time UPR announcer for a few years and joined Utah Public Radio full-time in 1996. He is a proud graduate of Uintah High School in Vernal and Utah State University (B. A. in Liberal Arts and Master of Business Administration.) He grew up in a family that regularly discussed everything from opera to religion to politics. He is interested in just about everything and loves to engage people in conversation, so you could say he has found the perfect job as host “Access Utah.” He and his wife Becky, live in Logan.