In a revelation that should come as a surprise to absolutely no one, an anti-Islamic activist was discovered among the ranks of the militiamen illegally holding down the fort with his pals at a wildlife refuge in Oregon.

The Guardian reported on Monday that Jon Ritzheimer, a former marine and current bigot, has been holding out at the Malhuer Wildlife Refuge this week. Ritzheimer gave this horrible quote for the piece:

“I am very outspoken against it because I see the threat that it poses...There’s a lot of people out there [who say] ‘Hey you’re an infidel whether you like it or not’ if you don’t believe in Islam ... Islam is a tyrannical ideology. It cannot coexist with the constitution here in America.”

Ah, nice and patriotic words, in a country where the law specifically protects its citizens’ right to practice their own religion as they please.

Ritzheimer, a former marine who served in Iraq (during a military campaign that was meant to support an Islamic government), posted a video online last November showing himself with a gun and saying he was going to show up in Islamberg, a rural community of Muslim people in upstate New York.

According to the Guardian report, Ritzheimer reportedly creates anti-Islam propaganda online on the regular, and even created an anti-Muslim website that sells T-shirts that bear the tagline “Fuck Islam.” Here’s some footage of Ritzheimer talking to Anderson Cooper after he organized a protest outside a mosque last year:

Ritzheimer is in good company, however—alongside him are the the Bundys, the sons of notorious anti-government rancher Cliven Bundy, who also come from a history of mind-blowing racism. Cliven Bundy once suggested that suggested black Americans would have been “better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things.”

In his latest move, Ritzheimer, expecting to put his life during the standoff in Oregon, posted a “goodbye” video to his family and friends.

[Image via YouTube]


Contact the author at melissa.cronin@gawker.com.