Regional Overview
United States & Canada
January 2024

United States: Abortion-related demonstrations spike during annual March for Life

Demonstration events related to abortion spiked last month during the annual March for Life, a series of anti-abortion rallies held across the country around 19 January. Abortion, which has long been an important issue in US politics, has seen elevated significance since the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ended federal protections for abortion. This decision is thought to have hurt Republican gains in the 2022 midterm elections and is believed to have had a pivotal influence on Democratic victories in several races, especially since states with Republican majorities have failed to pass restrictions on abortion via statewide referendums.¹Joseph Ax, ‘How abortion could impact the 2024 US elections,’ Reuters, 14 December 2023

Anti-abortion demonstrations took place across at least 21 states and in Washington, DC, in January and reached their highest levels since the previous March for Life, in January 2023. Still, the number of anti-abortion demonstrations recorded in January 2024 was less than half the number recorded in January 2023, likely because the 2023 March for Life was the first after the Dobbs decision. Demonstrations in support of access to abortion also spiked last month, taking place across at least 17 states and in Washington, DC, and reaching their highest levels since May 2023, which saw widespread demonstrations against state-level legislation restricting abortion. 

During the 2023 March for Life, demonstration events in support of access to abortion outnumbered anti-abortion events by about 20%. This year — about a year and a half after the Dobbs decision — anti-abortion demonstrations constituted the slight majority of abortion-related demonstrations. In about 9% of abortion-related demonstrations, protests for access to abortion were held directly across from anti-abortion rallies, essentially making them counter to one another. This is a similar level of counter-demonstrations to those recorded around the 2023 March for Life.

Back to map

United States: Ongoing far-right militia, militant social movement, and white supremacist training events

Far-right, militant social movement, and white supremacist activity decreased slightly from December to January. In Arizona, the Verde Valley Preparedness Team, Lions of Liberty, and the Chino Valley Preparedness Team continued to hold recruitment meetings. Veterans on Patrol also resumed patrols in Arizona, marking the first time the group conducted at least five patrols in a month since July 2023. Meanwhile, the Proud Boys organized a demonstration in Oregon in commemoration of the 6 January Capitol riot, as well as an armed demonstration at the Ohio State Capitol in Columbus, where they were met by armed anti-fascist counter-demonstrators. On 29 January, Church Militant joined a convoy called “God’s Army,” which left from Norfolk, Virginia, bound for Texas. They passed through Louisiana on 30 January and arrived in Dripping Springs, Texas, on 31 January.

Openly white supremacist activity also slightly decreased from December to January. White Lives Matter (WLM) affiliates dropped banners in Colorado and Texas, held a sparring training in Washington, and held demonstrations in Texas, Alabama, Washington, Missouri, and Minnesota. WLM affiliates and the Goyim Defense League jointly distributed antisemitic fliers that promoted both groups in Montana, marking the first recorded instance of Goyim Defense League activity in the state. The Goyim Defense League also disseminated fliers in Illinois and Oklahoma. Several white supremacist active clubs, which are loosely affiliated with the Rise Above Movement, participated in sparring and fitness trainings in Tennessee, Colorado, Michigan, and Arizona. In Austin, Texas, the Alamo Active Club and Parker County Active Club demonstrated against migration alongside WLM affiliates. Members of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe also demonstrated in Wisconsin in support of white supremacy and antisemitism. 

Patriot Front’s activity continued at a steady rate in January. The group held at least one training in California, handed out care packages and propaganda materials in South Dakota, and dropped banners in eight states. Alongside their leader, Thomas Rousseau, Patriot Front also held an anti-migrant demonstration in New York City and participated in anti-abortion March for Life demonstrations in Utah and Washington, DC.

Back to map