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Arthur Thompson in September 2011.

Arthur R. "Art" Thompson (born 1938 in Seattle) is a former CEO of the John Birch Society. He took office in 2005 [1] after launching a "coup" with the support of the organization's former president John McManus. [2] He was replaced as CEO by Bill Hahn in 2020. [3]

Thompson is also CEO of FreedomProject Education, the educational arm of the American Opinion Foundation which is intended to provide online curriculum for students in grades 9 through 12 featuring an emphasis on "patriotism and the idea of American exceptionalism" which is "based on the foundation of Biblical belief" . [4]

Earlier career

Before becoming head of the JBS, he had a long career as an anti-communist activist: he claims to have infiltrated Marxist organizations around his Seattle home in the 1960s. [2]

In his JBS Biography, Thompson is also credited with past membership in an unnamed small City Council, as the chairman of an unnamed local Chamber of Commerce, as a party official and an elector for the Republican Party, and as a Washington state citizen advocate for the Christian Coalition. The biography documents attendance but not graduation date or field of study from the University of Washington and the Washington Military Academy. [3]

Views

Thompson believes that Russian communism remains a serious threat to the United States, and is responsible for much global terrorism [5] including 9/11. [6] He has claimed a number of Islamists, including Ayman al-Zawahiri, are or were communists. [7] He has criticised both mainstream Republicans and Tea Party movement figures, such as Sarah Palin, for failing to see the nature of the threat from Moscow. [8] He also believes in a shadowy international conspiracy, including such bodies as the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission and the Rockefeller family, that threatens American interests. [2]

Citations

  1. ^ Gomez, Christian (December 26, 2016). "Exclusive Interview With John Birch Society CEO". The New American. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Barry, Dan (June 25, 2009). "Holding Firm Against Plots by Evildoers". New York Times. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Arthur Thompson National Council Member". National Council. John Birch Society. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  4. ^ Clabough, Raven (2011-08-12). "FreedomProject Education: In the Tradition of the Founders". The New American. Freedom Project Media. Retrieved 2017-03-10. FPE acknowledges the dangers of political correctness in the classroom and refuses to cater to demands for it. Art Thompson, CEO for both the Freedom Project and The John Birch Society, asserts,
  5. ^ Terry, Don (Spring 2013). "Bringing Back Birch". Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Report (149).
  6. ^ Conner, Claire (2013). Wrapped in the Flag: A Personal History of America's Radical Right. Beacon Press. ISBN  9780807077511.
  7. ^ Fenwick, Ben (February 5, 2009). "As conspiracy theories abound in Oklahoma, John Birch Society, others rally". Oklahoma Gazette. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  8. ^ "John Birch Society wonders about Palin". Alaska Dispatch. February 10, 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
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