Lilith Kievskaya is bucking the public perception of firearms enthusiasts with the new Wisconsin John Brown Gun Club. Though millions of Americans proudly and enthusiastically exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms, Kievskaya and the group’s membership has a far more controversial, many would say dangerous, ethos.
The new club says it is “anti-fascist, anti-police, pro-worker community defense organization aimed at helping marginalized people” properly exercise their right to bear arms. Kievskaya considers the club a necessary counterweight to far-right groups dominating gun culture, emphasizing defense rather than provocation.
Kievskaya’s personal journey that culminated in founding the Wisconsin John Brown Gun Club included considering themself a neo-Nazi as a youth, becoming transgender, and now describing themselves as a “committed communist.” Kievskaya has extended her personal political philosophy beyond the mainstream, embracing the labels “extremist” and “radical”, saying it “just means you want significant change.”
Recruitment for the group began awkwardly but has since grown more methodical, with members pursuing firearms training, first-aid certifications, and concealed carry instructor credentials. Yet, the group’s visibility has sparked both admiration and alarm. While they view themselves as defenders against rising right-wing threats, others fear escalation. According to Daryl Johnson, an expert on domestic terrorism, violence perpetrated by left-wing groups has risen.
Experts at the Network Contagion Research Institute, which studies “the spread of hate, manipulation, and extremism across digital platforms” have called attention to what it calls the “assassination culture” of left-wing extremism, citing the glorification of Luigi Mangione, who murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the attempt on President Donald Trump’s life last July.
Kievskaya and the small membership of the Wisconsin John Brown Gun Club are not the only liberal extremists who have suddenly found reverence for the Second Amendment. A similar group in Washington state took it upon themselves to provide security for a transgender pride event, believing they can fill a void when “marginalized groups do not trust” police. (RELATED: Anti-Cop Violence on the Rise as Immigration Tensions Boil Over)
In Philadelphia, a chapter of the Socialist Rifle Association saw its membership rise dramatically in the final weeks of 2024. LGBT-associated groups, like the Pink Pistols, have popped up in response to what they believe are efforts to put them in “concentration camps.”
Some scholars who have studied the history of firearms in American culture argue that while the uptick in individuals like Kievskaya who want to exercise their constitutional rights is “newsworthy”, the increasing diversity of gun owners is not a new phenomenon. As David Yamane wrote for The Hill, American gun culture has shifted its focus from “hunting” and “recreational shooting” to an emphasis on self-defense. Yamane noted a 2021 study in which new gun owners “tended to be younger, more female, more Black and Hispanic, more urban” than gun owners typical of previous generations.
The group’s founder is not new to the Madison protest scene, having been seen at a number of protests for left-wing causes over the last few years. Kievskaya was often sporting patches or badges with the Soviet and Palestinian flags and transgender pride symbols. (RELATED: Amid National Debate Over Foreign Nationals in Higher Ed, UW Reports Employing 500 Foreigners)
Earlier this year, Kievskaya was interviewed while attending a protest armed, telling The Daily Cardinal that she was there to make a “political statement, as our country descends further into fascism.”
