I’m writing to make you aware of a bill before the Maine State Legislature this session, L.D. 303, “An Act to Repeal the Law Prohibiting Unauthorized Paramilitary Training.” My name is Mira Ptacin. I’m a mother, professor, activist and member of The New Brackett Church on Peaks Island. I’m also the author of “The Crash of the Hammer,” published in The Atavist this past October.

For this in-depth magazine assignment, I spent more than six months researching the actions of the Blood Tribe group and Christopher Pohlhaus, also known by the moniker Hammer. I come to you today with deep concern about the growing and dangerous threat of unauthorized paramilitary training in Maine.

In my research, I have encountered disturbing figures and ideologies that, if left unchecked, could have devastating consequences for the people of this state. One such figure is Christopher Pohlhaus, whose violent tendencies, extremist beliefs and involvement with groups like Blood Tribe pose a serious risk to the safety and unity of Maine.

Pohlhaus is at the forefront of a dangerous and insidious movement that is rooted in hate, violence and a delusional vision of racial purity. In March 2022, Hammer bought 10.6 acres of land in Springfield, Maine. He told his followers that he was going to use it to build a haven, operational center and training ground for white supremacists. He invited them to join him.

Together, he said, they would plant the seed of a white ethnostate, and they would engage in violence, if necessary, to nurture it. Hammer’s group Blood Tribe promotes an ideology that calls for violent action against those they consider “undesirable,” including Jewish people, immigrants and our African American sisters and brothers. Blood Tribe members believe that society should be purged of these groups, and they advocate for the violent overthrow of governments they view as illegitimate.

Hammer also believes that the role of women — particularly white women — in society is to serve as “war brides.” In other words, their role is to reproduce, against their will, the white race.

Blood Tribe’s ideology is not just a theoretical or abstract belief — it is a call to arms. The group trains its members in paramilitary tactics, preparing them for a race war that they believe is imminent. They view figures like Adolf Hitler as not just historical figures, but as divine figures to be revered.

Pohlhaus himself has publicly declared Hitler to be a deity, a belief that reinforces the group’s neo-Nazi agenda and drives their violent actions. This kind of extremism is deeply rooted in hate and a dangerous revision of history, and it has no place in Maine — or anywhere else.

The actions and rhetoric of individuals like Pohlhaus and groups like Blood Tribe pose a direct threat to the values we hold dear. Their hate-filled ideology seeks to divide us, to incite violence, and to spread fear and destruction. These individuals do not represent Maine’s strong sense of community, safety and respect for all people. Instead, they represent the kind of extremism that leads to terror and division.

The spread of these beliefs and the establishment of unauthorized paramilitary training camps in our state only serve to further radicalize vulnerable individuals. It is essential that we take immediate action to shut down these dangerous operations and prevent the spread of hate-driven violence. The risks of inaction are too great; we cannot afford to wait until it is too late.

Before I close, I’d like to introduce or remind you all of the idea of “the paradox of tolerance.”

The concept of the paradox of tolerance is usually credited to the Austrian-British philosopher Karl Popper. In his work “The Open Society and Its Enemies,” published near the end of World War II, Popper writes in an extensive footnote: “If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant … then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them. … We should therefore claim, in the name of tolerance, the right not to tolerate the intolerant. We should claim that any movement preaching intolerance places itself outside the law, and we should consider incitement to intolerance and persecution as criminal.”

Boiled down: If we tolerate hate, we run the risk of tacitly supporting it. That is to say: by accepting all types and all sides, whatever our intentions in doing so, we give oxygen to those who would cause irreparable damage to our polity and civil society.

Even if Hammer and Blood Tribe are exercising their constitutional rights to free speech and privacy, even if Hammer has not yet committed a crime, constructive intervention is vital, and is our responsibility.

Rather than hiding behind tolerance, we should do the hard work of helpfully intervening for the sake of our community. This requires both spiritual self-examination and social, political engagement. It isn’t spiritual to rise above it. Instead, our spirituality should equip us to get down to it. We can be tolerant and have moral clarity. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.

I should note: Pohlhaus’s group is not a ragtag group — it is large, and continues to grow, particularly after the election of President Trump. It is safe to assume it may return to Maine, as members have made appearances of late and, at the very least, more groups are continuing to come out of the woodwork (I suggest you read Crash Barry’s “Crash Reports” for detailed reports) as our president has pardoned those who have taken it upon themselves to violently rise against the law.

Our nation has a gun violence problem. There was a shooting in Lewiston last week. Before we move forward, we must slow down. As a mother, if my children abuse a privilege and freedom, I take the privilege and freedom away until they are mature enough to handle the privilege and freedom.