'At a crossroads': Former bloodthirsty extremist says there's 'no redemption' in vengeance
A former member of "the most radical wing" of the Ku Klux Klan says in an editorial in the Clarion Ledger that while he used to think violence was the answer and that he was "serving some greater cause," he no longer believes any of it and says that he lost his freedom because of his extreme beliefs.
"What I really did was throw away the one thing I cherished the most, my freedom," writes George T. Malvaney, author of the book "Cups Up: How I Organized a Klavern, Plotted a Coup, Survived Prison, Graduated College, Fought Polluters and Started a Business."
Malvaney had ties to "some of the most violent and radical Klansmen to ever have existed," men, he says, "who would make leaders of Antifa, the Groyper Army, and the Proud Boys look like model citizens."
"You don’t become a confidant of these men without being considered a violent extremist yourself. I was deep in it, and I paid the price," Malvaney writes, saying he spent time in five federal prisons for his actions, including the maximum-security U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta.
Malvaney served time there "for conspiracy to invade a foreign country with intent to overthrow the government, known as the Bayou of Pigs," he explains.
The brutal conditions of that prison, he writes, wasn't the worst of his punishment. "It was the suffocating reality of losing my freedom. That loss seeps into your soul and never leaves. In prison, you lose birthdays, graduations, and simple human moments you can never reclaim. You lose your sense of worth as the world moves on without you," he says.
And despite his previous loyalties to these radical Klansmen, Malvaney has regrets and a warning.
"No cause, no leader, no ideology is worth that kind of emptiness," he says, noting that he sees many people going down the same "dark path" as he did.
"Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk, and the gunman who opened fire on an ICE facility in Dallas," he writes, adding, "And it's not confined to one ideology. We've seen it in the murders of Minnesota House of Representatives Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, and in the shooting of Minnesota State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife," he says.
The ending for these people, Malvaney cautions, is bleak. "I know exactly where it ends. What feels like a bold act in the moment will collapse into regret, iron bars and wasted years," he says.
Political violence, Malvaney warns, is not the answer. "Political violence tears at the fabric of this country and makes it harder for people to come together in peaceful debate. It fuels fear and division, and in the end, it silences the very voices that want real change," he says.
It's a stark warning and one Malvaney hopes more people will listen to it.
"If you are listening to voices urging violence and 'revenge' or trying to inspire copycat attacks, understand this: You will not be a hero. You will not spark change. You will end up in an 8-by-10 cell, surrounded by people you despise, and you will spend every hour wondering why you gave everything up for nothing," he says.
Malvaney says that although he thought he was a big shot standing along side some of the Klan's most revered leaders, ultimately he was wrong.
"I once thought I was proving myself by standing shoulder to shoulder with men whose names carried fear and hatred. I was shrinking my life into something small and hollow," he admits.
Despite his past, Malvaney remains optimistic that his lesson can be one for others to inspire change in their lives and in the country.
"Change in this country comes through politics, law, organizing and persistence. It is slow and often frustrating, but it is real," he says.
There is a way forward, he says, adding, "We are at a crossroads. Political violence is not just the ruin of the person who pulls the trigger; it weakens the very system that allows us to disagree and still live free. If my story shows anything, it is that there is no redemption in violence. The only way forward is through engagement, not destruction."
