Training for combat: NH paramilitary group defies state militia ban
Leaked documents shed light on the New Hampshire operations of American Patriots III%, one of the largest right-wing militias in the U.S.
The New Hampshire chapter of American Patriots III% (APIII or AP3) has been exposed as a well-armed and well-trained paramilitary organization that appears to violate the state’s prohibition on armed civilian groups, based on leaked chat messages from the group’s state and national leadership that shed light on its operations, training, and ideology.
The leaked messages, which capture the group leaders’ informal banter from late 2020 through early 2023, are among 200 gigabytes of private chat logs, screenshots, and recordings released in an audacious undercover operation by an unaffiliated operative who infiltrated APIII and rose to command the Utah chapter. The complete dataset has been published online by Distributed Denial of Secrets, a nonprofit whistleblower organization led by Emma Best.
‘Suffused with a military ethos’
APIII was founded in 2009 by Scot Seddon, an army veteran who built the national network of organized paramilitary groups following the election of Barack Obama. It is part of the Three Percenters militia movement, which takes its name from the spurious claim that only three percent of American colonists fought against the British during the American Revolution.
“Like other militias, AP3 has a vague but militant right-wing ideology, a pronounced sense of grievance and a commitment to armed action,” wrote ProPublica’s Joshua Kaplan, who profiled the group last year and recently broke the undercover operation story.
The group, which Kaplan describes as “suffused with a military ethos,” has adopted the structure and terminology of a military organization, with state and national leaders overseeing the operations who often have military or law enforcement backgrounds.
Well-equipped and trained
The bulk of the leaked messages describing the group’s Granite State operations were written by the NH commanding officer (CO), a 61-year-old Grafton County home builder. A combat veteran, he was named to the leadership position in August 2021 and adopted the pseudonym, “Craftsman.”
Additional messages came from the NH executive officer (XO), a 52-year-old Sullivan County machinist known by his handle “Jim Fred,” who has also served as East Region CO and NH CO.
“I have a SOLID team, well equipped and trained. Our numbers are strong and growing….” Craftsman wrote in November 2021. “We have built a ‘compound’ of sorts. We are stocked and supplied for 2-3 months for a good sized group. It is a defensible location, with power, water, etc.”
The group appears to be well-armed. The required gear for APIII members, according to Jim Fred, includes an AR 5.56 rifle with sling and at least six 30-round magazines; a 9mm pistol with a drop leg holster and at least four magazines; a chest rig or plate carrier; and miscellaneous communications and first-aid gear.
Craftsman suggested that he has stocked up on armor-piercing ammunition. In response to a June 2022 news report that “leftist progressives of color” have begun wearing body armor and tactical gear, he noted, “I have invested almost $6000 for 2000 solutions to this problem, should it arise!”
In another message, he describes training with a firearm modified to fire as rapidly as a fully automatic weapon. “So I found out something amazing today!” he wrote. “850 rounds per minute, 3 60 rds drum mags and a bunch of 5.56 makes for a really BIG smile! Does anyone else have a FRS trigger? This thing is AWESOME!”
The NH CO described the group’s training regimen: “We have high intensity firearms tactics available, cold weather training, vehicle cqb [close-quarters battle], food prep and storage, comms are a work in progress, but coming along,” he wrote. “All team members are fully trained to start IV's, do sutures and airways.”
A video he shared depicts a training exercise in which armed personnel retrieve a wounded comrade under enemy fire. “This was the start of training scenarios. Initial blood sweep, 2 tq's applied and casualty pulled back to better cover. Under stress and fire,” he explained. “Paramedic/respiratory therapist and 2 nurses on our team.… Every member can start IV, blood pressure, air tubes, etc.”
Security and surveillance
Messages from Jim Fred indicate members have attended various right-wing gatherings around the state as a group, including a November 2021 rally at the courthouse in Concord to support a group arrested at an Executive Council meeting and the 2A Freedom Rally held in Concord in April 2022.
The XO has turned to We the People NH — the group led by Christian nationalist activist Terese Bastarache, who was among the group arrested at the Executive Council meeting in 2021 — to recruit new members. “Looking for NH leaders. Join us,” he wrote on the group’s Telegram channel, with a link to the APIII website.
APIII NH members mobilized to provide “security and surveillance” for a local crisis pregnancy center in June 2022, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and large rallies protesting the decision were held around the state. “We're pulling overnight shifts here in NH,” Craftsman wrote. “The manager was amazed and grateful! We will be running 4 hour shifts, 2 man teams Fri and Sat overnight.”
Craftsman described himself as a "behind the scenes guy” in Granite State politics. He called former U.S. Senate candidate Don Bolduc a “dear friend of mine, and our principles” and wrote, “I financially support local candidates, who I have personally vetted. I'm well known, and respected, by many people in local and state gov. But I have no intention of being on the 6 o'clock news.”
Before the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the New Hampshire group was less covert and more involved in community outreach activities. Nashua resident Dave Lopez, NH CO until he left the group in a dispute with national leadership, forged alliances with law enforcement and organized volunteers for community service activities.
After Hurricane Harvey ravaged Texas and Louisiana in 2017, group members volunteered to help collect supplies for a relief drive sponsored by the Lebanon Police Department. The department publicly acknowledged their efforts in a Facebook post, to which Lopez responded, “Always know that American Patriots III% support our first responders 100%.”
‘Time is short’
APIII members believe they will be called to combat in an existential fight to resist government tyranny and quell civil unrest. “I certainly do NOT want violence. I will exhaust every ethical option to keep that from happening,” Craftsman wrote. “But I REFUSE to continue this submission of rights, and destruction of the country I have sworn to protect!”
“I truly believe time is short,” he wrote in January 2022. “And the reason we all came to this group will be on us shortly. I am committed to getting my house (team) in order and functioning as well as possible.”
“[A]ll the bravado in the world will not prepare you for the absolute horror that will befall your families if this goes hot!” Craftsman warned his recruits. “Those of us who have seen and lived that horror, pray to never see it again. That doesn't mean I'm afraid of it. It means I will become something I hoped to never be again. It would require no mercy, no quarter. It will require acts that true warriors are capable of, but hope and pray to avoid.”
The state prohibition on armed civilian groups
New Hampshire state law prohibits armed civilian groups from assuming “any semblance of military organization or character.” Individuals violating the law are guilty of a misdemeanor; organizations are guilty of a felony. Both are subject to having their firearms and other military weapons confiscated.
In 2021, state Rep. Michael Yakubovich (R-Hooksett) introduced legislation to repeal the state ban, with Reps. Erica Layon (R-Derry), Terry Roy (R-Deerfield), and Tony Lekas (R-Hudson) as co-sponsors. The bill, An act repealing the prohibition on armed civilian groups, was subsequently withdrawn.
Yakubovich believes the ban is unconstitutional, but he explained to reporter Kevin Landrigan that he withdrew the bill in response to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. “With everything happening around the country it turned into this huge new deal,” he said. “Some Second Amendment groups said they did not like it at this time. The title of it sounded very scary to a lot of people.”