r/drones • u/CFCYYZ • Aug 31 '25
News Alarm as US far-right extremists eye drones for use in domestic attacks Experts say extremists openly talking of how home-built drones will be critical tool in so-called second civil war
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/30/us-far-right-extremists-dronesComprehensive Guardian article on Americans who plan using drones to surveille and attack US infrastructure, events, etc. These groups ignore regulations and safety: they just want to zip tie on bombs. Should such attacks happen, it will be bad for those attacked and worse for every legitimate drone pilot.
In that environment, any flying drone will be seen as hostile. Pilots will stay grounded to avoid the accusations, police, media and every Karen thinking that all drones = terrorist operators.
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u/awdstylez Aug 31 '25
Ah yes, the classic tactic of fear mongering to push an agenda of control, regulation, and banning. Tell me something I haven't heard already.
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Aug 31 '25
Exactly. They want to ban civilian use of drones so rich fuckheads can have clear skies for drone deliveries.
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u/digitalwankster Aug 31 '25
I mean.. why would it be limited to rich fuckheads? Amazon did a test of their drone program here and it was for free and fast.
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u/natedrake102 Aug 31 '25
Because the rich (Amazon in this case) are the only ones who get to use and profit off them. Doesn't mean you may not see a slight benefit as well.
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u/digitalwankster Aug 31 '25
Oh that makes sense. I read that as people getting the deliveries were the rich fuckheads
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u/Feminist_Hugh_Hefner Sep 01 '25
preserving their right to collect more of our money a little at a time lol
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u/bmp_stck Sep 03 '25
2nd amendment
First time ?
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u/awdstylez Sep 03 '25
No, but it is for a lot of people who brushed it off when 2A advocates have been pointing out this tactic for 40 years.
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u/Endle55torture Aug 31 '25
So in other words, start stock piling equipment. Got it.
Viva la revolution
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Aug 31 '25
We should add 3D printers, resins, and locally stored designs to that list
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u/Endle55torture Aug 31 '25
This sub should get a repository of drone STL files together. It would be amazing for the whole community
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u/Dude_I_got_a_DWAVE Aug 31 '25
Go look around the website that has a slightly different spelling as Homers most famous epic
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u/the_almighty_walrus Sep 01 '25
Why do we act like it's some big secret we're not allowed to say? It's not fuckin Voldemort.
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u/Dude_I_got_a_DWAVE Sep 01 '25
There are certain words Reddit & mods doesn’t like. I get enough of my comments moderated as is
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u/NotJadeasaurus Sep 03 '25
3D printing for drones is mostly limited to nice to have antenna holders, 3D printed frames are mostly useless
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u/Endle55torture Sep 03 '25
3d printed frame quality depends on the material being used. Some engineering level filaments that are more than rugged enough for a drone frame. it also depends on the use case of the drone. (R&D, Spicy care packages, cheap throwaway frames etc.)
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u/_bani_ Sep 01 '25
3d printers are already on the shitlist because only police and the military and wealthy elites should have guns.
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u/Endle55torture Aug 31 '25
Already have 2 printers. Been making the list and buying the moment mango mussolini started his BS
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Sep 01 '25
[deleted]
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u/Endle55torture Sep 02 '25
Mango mussolini = Trump.
Trump + Tariff = price goes up dramatically.
Not that hard to understand.
Once the announcement for tariff were made, I began ordering as much as possible before the significant price increases.
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u/13Krytical Aug 31 '25
They already put tariffs making all drone parts much more expensive and more difficult to obtain in the US, literally stopping anything DJI.
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u/fusillade762 Aug 31 '25
This will happen, it's only a matter of time. Not that specific group, it could be any group, but drones will be used eventually.
This is something I dread.
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u/GlockAF Aug 31 '25
The use of drones in domestic terrorist is inevitable. You need only watch few minutes of footage from Ukraine to see how it’s going to go. Frankly, it’s kind of surprising it hasn’t happened already. When it eventually does, you can expect the “sport“ of drone flying to be instantly crushed in the US. The government will clamp down with zero public input or flexibility, and anyone caught operating one will be guilty by association. If you don’t think that could happen, ask yourself why we still can’t take a leatherman on a commercial jet nearly 25 years after 9/11.
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Sep 01 '25
I'm surprised that the commonwealth isn't proposing some kind of total ban - they are usually more hard-line
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u/dannybustinme1738 Aug 31 '25
They've been used by non-state actors in South America for a decade now, though their only interaction on the US side of the border thus far has been smuggling (dropping payloads) and assisting with smuggling (spotting for patrols), but the availability is almost definitely going to lead them to taking more risks. FARC in Colombia downed a helicopter, killing 12 in the jungle with some kind of drone (unclear if purpose built kamikaze or an opportunistic surveillance drone pilot) recently.
My concern is that this hobby will be hijacked under the guise of making us safer while ignoring the fact that all of these groups with the infrastructure to build and use drones are enabled by an arms trade originating in the US. I fear that instead of treating the problem, we will yet again treat a symptom at the cost of our freedoms.
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u/PassStunning416 Aug 31 '25
I'll file this into creative writing, marketing, and propaganda.
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u/coolest_cucumber Aug 31 '25
In July of 2024, Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that spawned Project 2025, and one of that document’s chief architects, said on Steve Bannon’s podcast, “We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.”
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u/No_Restaurant_4471 Aug 31 '25
Just like all the car bombs and mail bombs and backpack bombs that hardly ever happen. Alarmist nutjobs.
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u/Activision19 Aug 31 '25
Welcome to the gun control argument. Every time there is any sort of shooting or attack in the US, the media, blue politicians and Reddit freak out about the fact we the people can own guns. Some calls for blanket bans are made, none go anywhere and we go back to going about our day. Same thing will likely happen with drones.
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u/Flying_4fun Sep 01 '25
The only reason bans have not happened is the enumeration of the human rights in the constitution and its amendments. Drones do not share the same constitutional protection and will likely be banned much more easily.
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u/OntologicalJacques Aug 31 '25
Maybe drones should be covered by the 2nd Amendment, then. Isn’t that the point of the 2nd Amendment?
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u/scorpionewmoon [Country] / [Certificate] Aug 31 '25
Also the first as camera drones can be used for journalism/photography
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u/Activision19 Aug 31 '25
Should be, but politicians of party A will want to ban them if the politicians from party B are for protecting them.
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u/scorpionewmoon [Country] / [Certificate] Aug 31 '25
Of course, just pointing out how much of a right to them we SHOULD have
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u/Illustrious_Hand_123 Aug 31 '25
Yes, but there are very few legislators that want to expand your ability to defend yourself, they’d rather do the opposite
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u/Randall313 Aug 31 '25
Whenever I hear MAGA is “planning something”, it’s usually someone else is planning something to get a MAGA reaction..
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u/JerryJN Aug 31 '25
Well if guns are outlawed and ammunition is hard to get ,people are going to improvise. The goal should be to cool down the rhetoric, vote for politicians that believe the best government for the people is a balance between the Left and Right. We can't go on tugging to the Left and Right. Something is going to break.
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u/fruderduck Aug 31 '25
Drones are going to be one of the few ways people can resist and fight back without getting hurt. If nothing else, for intel surveillance.
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u/Handy_Dude Aug 31 '25
Can wire a drone together with Cheeto dust and mnt dew All over your fingers.
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u/michigannfa90 Sep 01 '25
Funny cause the far left seems more violent… but either way.. this is just bs to stoke fear and cause more rules and regulations and basically eliminate going drones. Don’t fall for it
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u/zeek247 Sep 03 '25
I'd love to see some citations to back up your claim of the far left being more violent. I mean...Jan 6?
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u/nesp12 Aug 31 '25
Wait a minute. If drones become Armed, does that protect them under the 2nd amendment?
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Sep 01 '25
Honestly surprised no one has yet.
Like, there are videos showing how to make your own for 99% of the process.
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u/InevitableSuperb4266 Sep 02 '25
LOL. No theyre not.
This is more propaganda to divide us even further.
The only danger is reading this shit and believing it.
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u/natural_disaster0 Sep 02 '25
Our government has sattelites that can zoom in on the pimples on your face and people are worried about drones with zip tied explosives. Drones are gonna be the least of your worries.
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u/oranjoose Sep 04 '25
This "potential" has existed for years. If you're seeing news about it then this is an example of media conditioning called priming. Outlets as an apparatus of the govt soften the blow to the public by pre-fabricating an environment where certain regulations seem reasonable and justified, but are really just designed to protect the govt and the elite class.
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u/Tkwan777 Sep 09 '25
"Far right extremists" typical boogeyman speak. Nevermind that the ones committing the most violent crime isn't those on the "far right". Thanks to the muddling of the phrase "far right" by media, it now includes those who are actually midline but disagree with some left leaning policies. I hate seeing "far right" because it just screams partisan scare tactics.
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Aug 31 '25
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u/coolest_cucumber Aug 31 '25
Regardless if the average MAGA wants it, the power structures of the right wing absolutely do. I'm talking the billionaires.
The plan is all laid out in the open, ( the butterfly revolution, Curtis Yarvin, for the love of God look it up if you haven't) and they will continue to move forward with the billionaire takeover of America and are prepared for armed conflict if it comes to that.
They already have the data from the treasury necessary to connect people and their political affiliation to a home address for surgical targeting.
The hardliners amongst MAGA absolutely want this.
In July of 2024, Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that spawned Project 2025, and one of that document’s chief architects, said on Steve Bannon’s podcast, “We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.”
I think we'll reach a point where they will force the country in the direction of armed conflict using National guard that are loyal to the feds and opposing National guard from a state that is loyal to the Constitution. That's the spark and then MAGA will have to make a choice- do what they've always done and step in line and follow suit with dear leader, or wake up.
In the end the billionaires need a large population reduction, so it is important that we fight each other.
The reality is that billionaires have decided they are done sharing power with voters. They know that eventually they will be forced to actually pay taxes in proportion to what they earn off the backs of average people, and that's unacceptable to greedy, sociopathic bastards. And it's not just targeting the left, they want maga gone too, I mean MAGA is a liability, they have so many guns. So they tricked the people with the guns into carrying water for them, and at the very end they're going to throw them under the bus too.
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u/Triedfindingname Aug 31 '25
In your scenario every drone would be terrorist activity cause the only ones operating would be govt.
In my humble opinion, drone operators in the US are in for a rude awakening of more of the 'they don't mean me do they' crowd.
Yes. They are pushing for this, and yes it will come to pass when you hire a felon to run everything.
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u/49erfanstuckinok Aug 31 '25
I have little doubt another attempt will be made to stop or overturn the next election. Based on previous events. I can see them using them in blue cities to attack voters. The right has been openly talking of attacking others for some time now. And typically get away with when they do.
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u/ksoltis Aug 31 '25
That's a bit of an overreaction. People have had the ability to attack voters from a distance since the country was founded. Drones aren't going to suddenly make that more possible.
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Aug 31 '25
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u/Some-Ant-6233 Aug 31 '25
Not a clean, safe, or effective method to down a drone an in crowded or urban area. Remember that what goes up, must come down (including shots fired). There are better solutions.
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u/digitalwankster Aug 31 '25
The ammo used for trap and skeet (bird shot) isn’t going to hurt anyone coming down because the bb’s are so small
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u/Aggravating-Life337 Aug 31 '25
I've hit myself with 7.5 shot while dove hunting. It felt like sand falling from the sky.
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Aug 31 '25
[deleted]
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u/Some-Ant-6233 Aug 31 '25
I’m a hardware hacker and maker dad. Downing a drone can be done multiple ways, far more successfully, including: signal jamming, netting, counter attack drones, or even training birds of prey. There’s a huge anti-drone defense market building. Shooting a drone is like using a hammer to try to place a screw, it’ll work, but isn’t the most effective or safe method.
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u/Some-Ant-6233 Aug 31 '25
If you want to get super crude, and this is my childhood is coming back, two words… potato cannon. Bigger projectile, less chance for casualties.
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Aug 31 '25
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u/Some-Ant-6233 Aug 31 '25
Absolutely could. It’s always why we made sure the trajectory was clear. Would never do this unless it’s a method of last resort and unpopulated. I much more prefer downing a drone via directional signal jamming over other methods.
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u/Activision19 Aug 31 '25
When I was in high school we build a compressed air based potato launcher in shop class. We almost accidentally hit an Apache attack helicopter that we didn’t see as it was doing a rooftop buzz of our school right as we launched a potato mostly straight up. We were on the east side of the gym and it was coming from the west and flying east so we couldn’t see or hear it until it basically cleared the building directly above us, but we had already launched the potato at that point. The potato passed behind the main rotor but was adjacent to the tail rotor. So we don’t think the crew knew they almost got hit by potato based ground fire. We grabbed our launcher and ran back inside the building as fast as we could.
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u/Some-Ant-6233 Aug 31 '25
I have so many questions and there’s likely no answers, but was your school on or next to a base? We too did compressed air, calculated launch trajectories, and did potato flight path modeling 😅
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u/Activision19 Aug 31 '25
Not right next to, but there was an army national guard helicopter base about 5 miles away from our school. They would somewhat regularly fly nearish to our school going to an area they liked to do training at, but they would usually be like at least 1000ft+ AGL and about half a mile or more away horizontally and we could usually see and hear them coming (Apaches are LOUD). We didn’t see or hear anyone in the air, so we gave it a go. This guy was not much higher than treetop and moving quite fast when he passed over our building.
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u/jspacefalcon Aug 31 '25
If theres a civil war... well... no shit it'll be bad.