Trump's new Space Force uniforms based on 'fascist' sci-fi classic. Would you like to know more?
The United States armed forces are often parodied or serve as the inspiration for many Hollywood films, but it's typically not the other way around.
With the Space Force, for example, the entity saw a near-immediate parody after its founding in 2019, with actors like Steve Carell and John Malkovich tapped to do the deed.
'It's afraid.'
Verhoeven-core
Five months after President Donald Trump and his administration founded the Space Force in December 2019, Netflix launched a comedy series based on the new agency.
Although "Space Force" portrayed members with their own unique dark-blue dress uniforms, this was a bit of creative license. In reality, Guardians have worn "modified Air Force uniform[s]" since the Space Force was established.
That has been changing. The Space Force unveiled a prototype of its own service dress uniform in 2021 and spent the following years refining the design. In January, the service formally introduced the finished uniform and outlined plans for its rollout.
Now Trump appears to have something else in mind.
On Sunday, the president posted an image to Truth Social depicting a proposed “next generation” Space Force dress uniform.
“Inspired by the discipline and functionality of the Starship Trooper uniform,” the image read, “modernized for the Guardians of the Space Domain.” Its colors were identified as Space Gray, Midnight Black, Silver Gray, and Satin Black.
But the apparent inspiration for the design quickly attracted attention.
The reference is to “Starship Troopers,” Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 science-fiction satire, whose futuristic military aesthetic deliberately borrowed from Nazi imagery. Verhoeven has said he intended the film to depict a fascist society whose inhabitants did not recognize themselves as fascists.
Forbes was among the outlets to note the resemblance, calling the style "Sci-Fi Fascist."
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Cult following
"Starship Troopers" has developed a cult following, thanks in part to its bizarre humor, memorable lines, bloody action sequences, and hordes of giant alien bugs.
The film takes place in a distant future in which Earth is controlled by a single government known as the Terran Federation. Full citizenship — including the right to vote — is reserved for those who complete a term of federal service, which for the film's main characters means joining the military.
Citizenship also carries other privileges. At one point, a character says she wants to serve because it will make it easier for her to obtain a license to have children.
The society is deliberately depicted as an outwardly prosperous and harmonious but deeply militaristic regime, complete with government propaganda, constant appeals to sacrifice, and an enemy — the alien “bugs” — against which humanity can unite.
Director Paul Verhoeven told Interview magazine in 2017 that he “wanted these people to be like proto-Nazis, proto-Aryans.”
A year later, Verhoeven told the Guardian that he had deliberately borrowed imagery from Leni Riefenstahl's Nazi propaganda films, including “Triumph of the Will,” while filming the movie's propaganda sequences.
“I was using Riefenstahl to point out, or so I thought, that these heroes and heroines were straight out of Nazi propaganda,” Verhoeven said. “No one saw it at the time.”
“I thought Neil Patrick Harris arriving on the set in an SS uniform might clear it up.”
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Clothes call
Despite that satirical intent, the movie is perhaps best remembered by fans for its gleefully over-the-top propaganda sequences and endlessly quotable lines, including “I'm doing my part!” and “It's afraid!” For many, the film has become a beloved sci-fi action comedy whose militaristic excess is part of the joke.
The Space Force, meanwhile, continues with its years-in-development uniform roll out. An Honor Guard version, featuring distinctive light-blue accents, made its public debut last month.
It remains unclear where Trump's “Starship Troopers”-inspired design fits into those plans. While the president's post described it as a “next generation” uniform, it did not say when it would be introduced or whether it would replace the service dress uniform already being rolled out.
“Our service dress uniform represents the unique identity of Guardians, blending heritage with a modern design that reflects our unity and mission,” then-Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said in January. “From the start, Guardian feedback shaped its design and fit. I know the force will wear it with pride.”
Along with concerns over ownership versus licensing, there is the far wider and more disturbing issue of censorship by stealth.
DAVID BOILY/AFP/Getty Image
Remigration protest in Toronto, Canada. Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu/Getty Images.
The Clancy case raises a larger moral question: What happens when circumstances become the rationale for defending the unthinkable?
Hoda Davaine/Getty Images/SXSW London
Sen. Jim Banks has offered a text-and-precedent-bound response to a decision his opponents assumed had ended the debate.
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Southern Poverty Law Center's BIG FAT MESS: 3 things to know about Heidi Beirich's indictment
While smearing law-abiding conservatives in recent years as "extremists," the Southern Poverty Law Center was seemingly getting into bed with bona fide Nazis — in one alleged case, perhaps quite literally.
Heidi Beirich, the former director of the SPLC's Intelligence Project who was indicted and arrested on Wednesday, is accused not only of getting romantically involved, cohabitating, and sharing bank accounts with a neo-Nazi informant whose work she oversaw, but also allegedly committing fraud along the way.
'The charity that supposedly fought Neo-Nazis actually funded Neo-Nazis.'
The second superseding indictment in the SPLC's criminal fraud case announced by the Justice Department on Wednesday sheds light on Beirich's various alleged improprieties as well as on the SPLC-linked activities of her alleged skinhead lover.
Quick background
The Alabama-headquartered smear- and fearmongering outfit was federally charged on April 21 with six counts of wire fraud, four counts of making false statements to a federally insured bank, and one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering.
The SPLC — which has been credibly accused of bankrolling leaders and organizers in the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nation, the American Front, United Klans of America, the National Socialist Party of America, and the National Alliance with millions of dollars in donor funds through fictitious accounts — pleaded not guilty in May to all counts.
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On June 2, the DOJ filed a superseding indictment against the SPLC detailing some of the ways that field sources allegedly used SPLC donor money, including to grow existing chapters of extremist groups; make donations to extremist group leaders; host extremist rallies; purchase materials for cross burnings as well as for KKK robes and hoods; and publish extremist literature for recruitment purposes.
The June indictment also told the love story about a former Intelligence Project director and a field source referred to only as "F-9."
The second superseding indictment filed on Tuesday fills in some of the gaps in that love story — including the former director's name, Heidi Beirich — and paints her in a particularly unflattering light.
The SPLC, Beirich, and Beirich's attorney did not respond to Blaze News' requests for comment.
There are three core components to the case against Beirich, who has been personally charged with wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering.
1. Shell companies
Beirich is an anti-Trump liberal who served as director of the Intelligence Project from 2012 until 2019 and now serves as the chief strategy officer at the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. In her latest capacity, she concerned-mongered before Congress in 2020 over the supposed problem of white supremacists in the military.
The indictment alleges that Beirich opened and/or modified a series of bank accounts in the name of numerous shell companies, including the Center Investigative Agency, Fox Photography, Tech Writers Group, and Rare Books Warehouse — and knowingly signed bank documents "containing false statements for the purpose of influencing banks" to open and maintain the accounts.
'I knew it was that fat, ugly hog Heidi Beirich.'
According to the indictment, the fictitious organizations Beirich allegedly helped stand up were never incorporated, conducted no legitimate business, and had no real employees.
Funds from SPLC donors — who were led to believe they were supporting the fight against extremism — were allegedly funneled through the identified shell companies to so-called informants, including Beirich's alleged lover, F-9.
2. Thick as thieves
Prosecutors allege that F-9 received millions of dollars in donor funds, primarily through the Tech Writers bank account, while helping the National Alliance "carry out its extremist activities."
RELATED: Federal judge REJECTS the victim narrative pushed by the criminally charged SPLC
Beirich allegedly oversaw the SPLC payments to F-9 while engaged "in a romantic relationship" with him, said the indictment.
Beirich is also accused of getting a taste of the action.
"During this relationship, BEIRICH and F-9 shared a house and two bank accounts," the indictment alleges. "Between 2015 and 2021, approximately $140,000.00 in donors' money flowed from the SPLC operating account, through the Tech Writers account, and was ultimately deposited into the joint bank accounts held by F-9 and BEIRICH."
The then-SPLC director allegedly used donors' money to pay for their shared living expenses, even though she does not appear to have been hard-pressed for cash. After all, when Beirich left the SPLC, she was reportedly earning $190,000 in salary and benefits.
Whether their alleged romantic relationship is ongoing is unclear.
3. Another use for the Nazi informant
According to the allegations, Beirich's informant broke into the National Alliance's headquarters in West Virginia in 2014 with her knowledge; stole 25 boxes of documents; transported those documents across state lines; and with Beirich's help, copied those documents before breaking back into the National Alliance headquarters to return the originals.
Prosecutors alleged that Beirich paid for the copies with donor funds and used the stolen material for a "story to solicit more donations."
The documents taken in the burglary appear to have served as the basis for Beirich's lengthy March 2015 "Hatewatch" article titled "Chaos at the Compound," where she discussed drama and mismanagement behind the scenes at the National Alliance.
Beirich then allegedly "paid approximately $6,000.00 in donors' money" to a different field source "to falsely take responsibility for the burglary."
After the June indictment came out and linked the SPLC to the burglary, William White Williams, National Alliance's 78-year-old chairman, told the New York Post, "I knew it was that fat, ugly hog Heidi Beirich."
Protest and condemnation
FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement on Thursday, "The charity that supposedly fought the KKK actually funded the KKK. The charity that supposedly fought Neo-Nazis actually funded Neo-Nazis. Heidi Beirich supposedly dedicated her career to fighting neo-Nazis. The indictment alleges she helped FUND them."
Patel added, "The woman who supposedly fought hate allegedly helped pay the very people spreading it, used their activity to raise more donor money, and personally benefited from the scheme."
Beirich's lawyer denies she did anything wrong.
"Dr. Beirich is innocent, and this case is without merit," Beirich's attorney, Michael Proctor, said in a statement obtained by CNN. "We believe the charges against her and the SPLC are politically motivated, and Dr. Beirich has been targeted in this case because of the important work she has done to combat hate groups and extremists."
The SPLC has already tried and failed to get the case dismissed on the basis of the claim that the prosecution is politically motivated.
Judge Emily Marks of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, a Trump appointee, said in an order rejecting the SPLC's motion on Friday, "The SPLC has failed to offer some evidence tending to show animus on the part of the prosecutors involved in bringing this case and that such animus resulted in the prosecution."
Proctor added, "Dr. Beirich won’t be silenced or intimidated by the government’s false and politicized allegations now."
"The actions taken by the DOJ will not shake our resolve," the SPLC told CNN. "We remain steadfast in our fight for justice and in our commitment to ensuring the promise of the Civil Rights movement becomes a reality for all. We are confident in our position and look forward to presenting the evidence and making our case in court."
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