| The AR-15 is more than a weapon. It's a powerful symbol. The Post explored the significance of the AR-15 over seven months, producing 3D animations showing the destructive power of the AR-15, as well as interviews with people about why they own one and a story on the decades of marketing that helped turn it into a top-selling firearm. As part of the series, reporter Hannah Allam, who writes about extremism and domestic terrorism, followed leftists and right-wing groups who are arming themselves in anticipation of civil unrest. "Militants say they favor the AR-15 for all the same reasons mainstream enthusiasts do — it's easy to handle, affordable and customizable — but they also exploit the fear surrounding the weapon," Allam writes. About US spoke to Allam about her story and how it came to be. How did this story come about?
As the reporting team began exploring the role of the AR-15 in American life, we wanted to show the rifle's influence not just in mainstream society but also on the extremist fringe where the risk of political violence is highest. My beat involves covering militant movements, so my assignment was to look at how extremists use the AR-15 as both a tool and a symbol. For your piece, you followed two armed groups, one on the far left and another on the far right. Was it difficult to gain their trust?
Yes. It's very difficult to make inroads into militant factions, especially with their increased fears of infiltration by authorities since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol put a spotlight on domestic extremism. I'd been in touch with members of the anti-government militia group in Virginia for about three years and my partner on the project, the photographer Jim Urquhart, had known the far-left activists in North Carolina even longer. Even with that baseline of trust, we had to negotiate access, identification levels and photography with each group. Both groups anticipate unrest. Are those concerns valid?
There's almost always an element of paranoia when you deal with armed groups, but in this case the concerns are echoed by political violence analysts who warn of a heightened threat of unrest, particularly as we get closer to the 2024 election. We've already seen attacks on marginalized communities and have heard Donald Trump and other right-wing politicians issue thinly veiled calls for violence. Of course, nobody has a crystal ball and there are many factors that could influence whether the tensions spill into the streets. Was there anything in your reporting that surprised you?
It was not so much surprising as clarifying to hear differences in how the far left and the far right view the AR-15 as it relates to their goals. Far-right militia groups revere the rifle and use it as a rallying point for Second Amendment extremism and to intimidate their enemies. Though some antifascist factions also exploit that fear surrounding the weapon, the leftists we spoke to said they see the AR-15 simply as a cheap, easy-to-use tool intended only as a last resort for "community defense."  (Jim Urquhart/FTWP) Far-right groups have used the AR-15 for years to intimidate political opponents. Now leftist groups are turning to the same weapon. By Hannah Allam ● Read more » | | | | 
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