This article is part of TPM Cafe<\/a>, TPM\u2019s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation.<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the House Select Committee prepares to begin public hearings on the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, far-right groups including the Proud Boys<\/a> and the Oath Keepers<\/a> are slated to be a topic of discussion<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, both of those groups\u2019 leaders<\/a> are facing criminal charges<\/a> of seditious conspiracy<\/a>. They are alleged to have worked together \u201cto oppose by force the authority<\/a> of the Government of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Those charges can be difficult to prove in court. But regardless of the outcome of any prosecution that alleges these groups worked to overthrow the government, our<\/a> research<\/a> has shown that the more committed members of these and other extreme right-wing groups<\/a> believe that the U.S. government, as currently constituted, is illegitimate and should be overthrown and replaced with one that is based on white supremacy.<\/p>\n\n Proud Boys have identified themselves as \u201cWestern chauvinists<\/a>\u201d who focus on opposing political correctness and white guilt. But these claims have generally been seen as cover for deeper racist and antisemitic sentiments<\/a>. For some Proud Boys members, this group was a steppingstone to more extreme groups, such as The Base<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n Get TPM in your inbox, twice weekly.<\/p>\n\n Violent racism<\/h2>\n\n