Shasta County recall effort funded by former local who wanted revenge; other efforts can't count on such money

Reverge Anselmo in 2012 (Redding
Record Searchlight photo by Greg Barnette)

In February, a far-right militia successfully ousted a Republican county supervisor in Shasta County, California. A Los Angeles Times deep dive profiles the man whose wealth funded their efforts: Reverge Anselmo, 59, "a quixotic Connecticut-bred cowboy with a grudge and bottomless pockets with which to fund his political revenge," Jessica Garrison reports.

Anselmo, a former U.S. Marine, novelist, and filmmaker, left Hollywood for Shasta County in 2005 after critics panned one of his movies. He started over as a rancher and vineyard owner, but left the county in 2014 after several land-use disputes with county authorities. When he learned in 2021 about the militia's efforts to oust three county supervisors, he decided to provide financial backing, Garrison reports.

The article notes that Anselmo's deep pockets were critical to the militia's success, and that he spent more than $550,000 into Shasta County races since 2020. He also admits to helping fund a documentary about the effort that aims to encourage far-right efforts elsewhere to replicate what happened in Shasta County.

The recalled supervisor warned others about copy-cat efforts in a recent CNN article, saying "Don't think this can't happen to you." However, the LA Times article insinuates that other efforts might not be as successful since they probably wouldn't have the kind of money Anselmo brought to the table.