California GOP Candidate Admitted He’s Proud to Have Been in Militia That Attacked the Capitol

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit michaelfanone.substack.comSo a Republican candidate for governor of California got called out for ties to the Oath Keepers.And instead of denying it — instead of distancing himself — instead of doing what any serious law enforcement leader would do when confronted with an extremist militia label…He said he was “very proud” of it.The candidate is Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County and a GOP contender in California’s June 2 top-two primary.If you’re outside California, you might be tempted to treat this as just another weird moment in a loud election cycle. Don’t. Because this isn’t really about one line in a debate.It’s about what the Republican Party is willing to elevate in plain sight in 2026 — and how comfortable certain candidates have gotten saying the quiet part out loud.Let’s talk about why that matters.The Oath Keepers aren’t a vague “patriot group.” They’re a far-right militia organization whose leader, Stewart Rhodes, was convicted of seditious conspiracy for a plot connected to January 6 and sentenced to 18 years.January 6 isn’t abstract to me. I was there. I was one of the cops in that building. I know what it looks like when political rhetoric becomes physical violence and a mob decides the law doesn’t apply to them anymore.So when someone running for governor brushes up against Oath Keeper branding — and responds with pride instead of distance — that deserves scrutiny. Not because of party. Because of what it says about their tolerance for political extremism.And Bianco’s record matters here too, because this debate moment didn’t happen in a vacuum.There’s been extensive reporting in California over the last year about Bianco’s election-related actions as sheriff, including his department’s seizure of roughly 650,000 ballots tied to a redistricting election, which led to legal challenges and intervention by the California Supreme Court halting the investigation.That’s not “campaign talk.” That’s the power of a law enforcement office intersecting with elections — a space where the public should demand extra clarity, extra restraint, and extra accountability.There’s also been ongoing criticism of the performance metrics Bianco runs on as a “law and order” candidate — including reporting and analyses highlighting Riverside County’s low crime-clearance rates relative to other counties.If a candidate is asking voters to hand him the executive power of the most populous state in the country, voters deserve to know what he believes about democracy, elections, and the limits of law enforcement authority — and they deserve straight answers.That’s why the debate exchange matters. Because in a healthy political environment, a candidate doesn’t treat ties to an extremist militia as a badge of honor. And in a healthy party, that moment would be disqualifying with donors, with leadership, with the people who claim to care about “law and order.”Instead, we’re watching a new normalization: extremism gets reframed as “patriotism,” institutions get treated like enemies, and accountability gets painted as persecution.If you’re a Californian, this is a “pay attention” moment. You heard it yourself: a candidate for governor didn’t deny the Oath Keeper tie — he embraced it.And if you’re not in California, don’t fool yourself into thinking this stays in California. This is part of a national pattern: the distance between mainstream GOP politics and extremist branding keeps shrinking, and more candidates are betting they can say anything as long as it plays to the right audience.That’s the story. Not the one line on a stage — but what that line says about where we are.🟧 Paid subscribers get 15% off your next merch order🟧 Founding Members get 20% off for lifeYou’ll get the link in your welcome email.GET DISCOUNTS BELOW! ENJOY!