He's a doctoral student. He's got a government-issued security clearance. And apparently he's also working for defense contractor Northrop Grumman while attending white supremacist rallies and participating in the Rise Above Movement (RAM), a southern California group that stokes hate against Muslims, Jews, and immigrants. His name is Michael Miselis and here's what ProPublica writes of his involvement in last year's white supremacist rally in Charlottesville:
During one encounter, the unidentified man in the red hat pushed an African-American protester to the ground and began pounding on him, video of the episode shows; moments later, a known RAM member choked and bloodied a pair of female counterprotesters. The possible RAM member also had turned up in video shot during hours of combat at a Trump rally in Berkeley, as well. Wearing protective goggles to ward off pepper spray, the man fought alongside RAM members, wrestling one protester to the ground and punching others.
That man turned out to be Miselis, who at 29 is currently a Ph.D. student in UCLA's aerospace engineering program. At a Northrop Grumman plant in Redondo Beach, CA, Miselis works as a systems engineer and has access to sensitive national security information. ProPublica reports that the type of security clearance Miselis has would typically be run through the Office of Personnel Management and then the Defense Department.
Northrop Grumman did not respond to several requests for comment. However, interviews with current and former Northrop employees, as well as an internal email, make clear the company knows of Miselis’ actions in Charlottesville and involvement with RAM. [...] So far, it seems, the company has taken no action against Miselis, who remains employed.
Coddling white supremacists and giving them access to high-level national security is definitely the way to Make America Great Again. Thanks for doing your part, Northrop Grumman.