UCP says it works with Border Patrol, which publicly claims that it doesn’t condone them. And the group’s founder, a conspiracy theorist who was previously convicted of impersonating an officer, claims to be in contact with President Donald Trump.
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Civilian border patrols have a long history among the far right. The first modern border militia was a 1970s effort by then-Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and his cronies. (“Duke’s project quickly fell apart amid internecine bickering with his fellow neo-Nazis,” writer David Neiwert recounts in his book Alt-America.) Today’s border militias have mobilized around far-right conspiracy theories.
UCP produces an online radio show, a recent episode of which pushed a racist conspiracy theory accusing the country’s Muslims (including Rep. Ilhan Omar) of trying to “impose Sharia law.” The group also latched onto a conspiracy theory accusing ISIS of trying to sneak into the country across the border. (Trump has tweeted a discredited meme that alluded to the conspiracy.)
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The conspiratorial DNA goes deep with the group. Its founder goes by Johnny Horton Jr., a reference to musician Johnny Horton. The 69-year-old’s actual name is Larry Mitchell Hopkins, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported last year.
Despite a professed love for the law, Hopkins has his own rap sheet. Court records reviewed by The Daily Beast revealed multiple convictions, including a 2006 conviction for impersonating an officer and felony firearm possession. (Reached by phone on Thursday, Hopkins declined to speak.)
