When Fascists Steal Our Fallen: The Dangerous Game of Political Martyrdom
You've seen it before—the carefully choreographed ceremonies, the borrowed military symbolism, the way extremists wrap themselves in the flag while perverting everything it actually stands for. What you're witnessing isn't just political theater. It's a calculated strategy that fascist movements have perfected over nearly a century: the weaponization of martyrdom.
How They Hijack Sacred Ground
Fascists understand something that many of us in uniform learned the hard way: nothing motivates like honoring the fallen. But where we honor genuine sacrifice for democratic values and human dignity, fascists create a twisted mirror image—a "civic religion" that transforms political violence into holy martyrdom.
Take Mussolini's Italy. The regime didn't just commemorate fascist casualties; they built an entire infrastructure around them. "Shrines of Fascist Martyrs" sprouted across the country, complete with military honors, religious symbolism, and state-sponsored ceremonies. These weren't random memorials—they were strategic installations designed to compete directly with legitimate commemorative traditions.
The most insidious part? They hijacked existing military cemeteries and World War I memorials, claiming fallen soldiers as retroactive fascist martyrs. Imagine discovering that your grandfather's sacrifice in a just war had been posthumously claimed by authoritarians to legitimize their political violence.
The Playbook Remains the Same
The tactics haven't changed much since the 1920s. Modern fascist movements still follow the same strategic blueprint:
Claim legitimate sacrifice: They appropriate the deaths of real patriots who died defending democracy, reframing these sacrifices as endorsements of authoritarian ideology.
Elevate their own casualties: When fascists die in political violence—often violence they initiated—they're immediately transformed into sacred martyrs who "died for the nation".
Build competing narratives: They create alternative commemorative spaces and rituals that directly challenge democratic institutions and values.
Go international: Modern fascist martyrs become transnational symbols, with movements across borders adopting and promoting each other's fallen figures.
Why This Strategy Works
This isn't just propaganda—it's psychological warfare that exploits our deepest military values. The concept of honorable sacrifice resonates with anyone who's served. Fascists know this. They deliberately blur the lines between legitimate military honor and their political violence, making it harder for people to distinguish between genuine patriots and extremist agitators.
They also understand that martyrdom creates what researchers call "communion between the living and the dead". When done authentically, this connection honors real sacrifice and motivates continued service to democratic values. When fascists do it, they're manufacturing false legitimacy and encouraging further political violence.
History Repeating: The Ashli Babbitt Playbook
If you think this is all ancient history, consider what happened after January 6, 2021. Ashli Babbitt, who was shot while attempting to breach the Speaker's Lobby during the Capitol riot, was immediately transformed into a martyr by right-wing extremist groups. Her death became "a rallying cry that united the maze of factions and ideologies" involved in the insurrection.
Sound familiar? It should. This is the exact same pattern Mussolini used in the 1920s—taking casualties from political violence and transforming them into sacred symbols to rally the movement. Babbitt's death became "a rallying point for Trump loyalists and Capitol rioters who alleged police used unnecessary force", despite the fact that she was participating in a violent attempt to overturn a democratic election.
The parallels get more disturbing. The current administration recently settled with Babbitt's family for $5 million and reversed a previous decision to deny her military funeral honors. An Air Force veteran and trained military police officer who died while attacking the Capitol—attacking the very democratic institutions she once swore to defend—is now being honored with the same military rites reserved for those who genuinely served their country.
This isn't coincidence. It's the fascist martyrdom playbook in real time, using military symbolism and veteran status to legitimize anti-democratic violence. They're betting that people won't distinguish between dying for democracy and dying while attacking it.
The Current Threat
This isn't ancient history. Neo-fascist groups across Europe still gather annually to honor "fascist martyrs" from the 1920s and 30s. In Rome, hundreds still show up to give fascist salutes at commemorative events, using these historical figures as rallying points for contemporary extremism.
The pattern is spreading. Modern authoritarian movements worldwide are creating their own martyr narratives, appropriating military symbolism, and building alternative commemorative traditions designed to compete with democratic institutions.
Our Responsibility
As veterans, we have unique insight into how powerful these symbols can be—and unique responsibility to protect them from perversion. We understand the difference between dying for democracy and dying for authoritarianism. We know the difference between honoring genuine sacrifice and manufacturing false legitimacy through political violence.
When fascists steal our commemorative traditions, they're not just committing political theft—they're desecrating the memory of everyone who actually died defending freedom. They're betting that people won't be able to tell the difference between authentic military honor and their manufactured martyrdom.
That's where we come in. We know the difference. And we have the credibility to call it out.
The fight against fascism isn't just about opposing their policies—it's about protecting the integrity of sacrifice itself. Every time we let them appropriate our symbols, our traditions, and our fallen, we make it easier for them to recruit the next generation of extremists.
They're counting on our silence. Let's make sure they're disappointed.