California county on track to be run by militia-aligned group

But on Tuesday, voters ousted Moty, handing control of the Shasta county board of supervisors to a group aligned with local militia members. The election followed nearly two years of threats and increasing hostility toward the longtime supervisor and his moderate colleagues in response to pandemic health restrictions.

The recall is a win for the ultra-conservative movement in Shasta county, which has fought against moderate Republican officials and sought to gain a foothold in local government in this rural part of northern California.

It also highlights a phenomenon that extends far beyond the region, as experts warn the pandemic and eroding trust in US institutions has fueled extremism in local politics and hostility against officials that could reshape governments from school boards to county supervisors to Congress.

After the pandemic took hold in 2020 and the governor instituted lockdown measures, however, many residents were outraged by the restrictions and what they viewed as the failure of county officials to stand up to the state government. Shasta county was among the least restrictive in California, Moty said, but residents unhappy about state rules and mask requirements began showing up in meetings in large numbers.

Moty and other supervisors were soon subjected to levels of anger and hostility once reserved for state officials, in what Lisa Pruitt, a rural law expert at the University of California, Davis, describes as a trickling down effect.

The Redding Record Searchlight reported this week that an election official said they had been subjected to bullying in the lead-up to the election.

Meanwhile, money poured into the county in support of the recall from an outsider, a millionaire, Reverge Anselmo. His $400,000 donation to the gathering committee in the recall is believed to be one of the largest in the county.

Polling numbers on Wednesday showed 52% of voters opted to recall Moty. The success of the recall will likely set up more conflict between the local government and the state government, Pruitt said.