Disaster Tourists; Birds Of War; Perfume Capital Of The World | 60 Minutes Full Episodes
In a Nutshell
Extremist groups like Active Club and Patriot Front exploit U.S. natural disasters such as Hurricane Helene as "disaster tourists," offering aid to recruit white nationalists, spread anti-government conspiracies, and soften their image via social media, complicating official rescues. Colombia's post-2016 FARC peace deal has sparked a birding ecotourism boom in Tatama National Park, where diverse species thrive amid former war zones, providing livelihoods for ex-guerrillas and healing through nature. Grasse, France, revives as the perfume capital via luxury brands like Chanel investing in local rose and jasmine fields for iconic scents like No. 5, preserving traditions against synthetic dominance and urban sprawl.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
After natural disasters, anti-government conspiracists and white nationalists descend on hard-hit communities with offers to help. Their motive: recruit, soften their image. "Going to a disaster relief is directly helping our people. You're going to help white people? Yeah."
A surge of over 200 tornadoes hit over 20 states in April. Hurricane season is approaching. Militias, conspiracists, and white supremacists show up offering help, as in Texas last week. Called disaster tourists, they sow doubt in government, soften their image, gain followers.
September 2024: Hurricane Helene barreled through North Carolina, nearly wiping out Bat Cave, lifting homes, toppling trees. Sheriff Lowell Griffin: "Imagine taking in a box of toothpicks and dumping them on your kitchen counter." Faced days of heavy rain then hurricane: "Like a triple whammy."
Outsiders poured in, including anti-government far-right groups. Sheriff: "They were in the minority. However, that minority can create chaos." Some launched own rescue operations, acted as militia to bring self-deployed law and order, with weapons. This diverted time from real rescues.
Among groups: members of white nationalist Active Club. Robert Rundow co-founded Active Club in 2020 for disgruntled young white men to work out and share ideology. Nearly 90 chapters; described by watchdogs as one of country's fastest growing white supremacist networks: anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-democracy. Hold mixed martial arts tournaments.
"We get together with the boys, we box, we travel. Do you think of it as fun? Of course. You know, there's fun in fascism. Fun in fascism? I'm a nationalist. What does that mean? A nationalist? Yeah. It means I put my people first. Would you say white supremacist? No. I think that's a slanderous term. But my people are white people. European white people. Right. And there's plenty of organizations that are geared towards other ethnic groups, right? If we don't look out for ourselves, who is?"
Active Club goes to floods, fires, hurricanes. "What if you came upon someone who wasn't white but is suffering because of the flood? Like, if there was a guy on fire, would I give him water? Yeah, I'd probably give him water." They hand out flyers: "If somebody wants to contact us later, that's fine. But just us showing up changes somebody's opinion, someone's mind. So the next time when they put something out and they say these evil guys, they say, wait a second, that's the guy who came when my house was on fire and helped me out."
Want to build pro-white parallel system: "We claim America!" Patriot Front showed up in North Carolina, cut down trees, handed out bread: "Are you sure just one loaf?"
Freddy Cruz, Western States Center hate group watchdog: Groups show up to generate social media content, dubbed disaster tourism. They hand out water, help clean debris, then leave. Unlike Team Rubicon or Samaritan's Purse, which coordinate with authorities and stay.
Active Club does not coordinate with local law enforcement: "Absolutely not. They would probably do everything they can to prevent us."
"What do you say to people who argue that you go in, the purpose is to have some video shot of you handing out some water, and then you leave? And the whole point was to get that video so that you could post it. That kind of sounds like what everyone does, right? That's what a president does. When he goes into a community, they have the cameras there. So is that bottle of water actually being handed out? Absolutely it is. Does our guys actually care and feel for the people they're helping out? Absolutely. Do we also video it and put it out there to show another side of us? Absolutely."
Groups put out videos after floods: "Patriot Front is here, continuing efforts in central Texas." During fires: "We are here in Santa Monica Pier, collecting donations for victims of the wildfires."
John Kelly, Grafica: White nationalists interested because everyone is; natural disasters focus public attention. Groups use them to change image to wholesome, leave triggering iconography like swastikas behind to appeal mainstream.
"A lot of mainstream media, how they depict us, they like to show guys in camo, trucker hat, maybe overweight, face tattoos, something like this. What I wanted to do was to create something positive for young guys like myself."
More macho, wholesome image gives young men permission to adopt fascist philosophy.
Online influencer Dan Bilzerian, nearly 30 million Instagram followers, peddles anti-Semitism: "I believe that Jewish supremacy is the greatest threat to America. And I think it's the greatest threat to the world today. I truly believe that." Running for Congress in Florida.
In group chat, young Republican leaders praised Hitler. Nick Fuentes: "And I was thinking, what is it about Hitler that's cool? Why does it tickle? Because kids love Hitler. Kids love Hitler. Young men."
Active Club young men hide faces in disaster posts. Rundow spokesman, hasn't gone to disasters. Was in prison twice: first as teen for gang fight ("Did you stab somebody? Allegedly. Well, yeah, you know. Well, he had a weapon, too."), second for 2017 fights with anti-Trump protesters at rallies.
On the lam, got idea for clean-cut white pride group: "We're ultra-nationalists, far right, fascists, you know, I mean, this is... I'll lean a little bit into these terms, you know. Is your ultimate goal to turn America into a completely white Christian nation? I would also add, like, a more militant nation as well, you know, military rule. Like having a military person run the country? Well, just, you know, again, based more of democracy. What did you mean, democracy? Like, it's terrible. Oh, because it's just such a... It's such a scam democracy, I believe. It's politicians that get lobbied. They never have the interest. Anything that's important, do they ever ask us? No. But if you have a military... You'll never decide anything. We don't decide anything right now."
Disasters give opportunity to slam government: "Government didn't help whatsoever." Videos claim chaotic, clueless, corrupt rescues. Got more outsiders: militiamen from Virginia to clear houses ("When the government fails, the people come together."), Veterans on Patrol from Arizona to organize supplies, but created chaos per law enforcement.
Sheriff Griffin: Disaster tourists spread conspiracies, misinformation complicated situation. "They're coming in because they think the government isn't doing anything. So what I would say for all of these outside folks that are really wanting to help, they need to get their information from official sources and not from TikTok or Facebook or whatever the flavor of the day is with social media."
Misinformation: people still stranded, bodies floating in river, FEMA rationing/seizing supplies. None true.
FEMA main target; during Helene, rescuers backed away days due to militia fears. Rumor: government created Helene using weather monitoring towers as weather weapon ("Now, this is a directed energy weapon utilized to manipulate the weather. These are weapons of mass destruction."). Rumor: government controls weather, direct attack.
Sheriff: This will be the new normal for false rumors/conspiracies and outside groups streaming in complicating law enforcement.
China exploits U.S. disasters by boosting narratives of ineffective U.S. government.
Western Colombia's pristine forest was no-go for decades due to armed conflict, allowing hundreds of bird species to thrive. Colombia has some 2,000 bird species, more than anywhere else, due to diverse geography and war.
Since 2016 peace deal with FARC, safer to travel; ecotourism brings millions to economy. Birders flock for species unique to Earth.
Tatama National Park, western Andes slope, few roads, lush rainforest, powerful rivers, delicate flowers, humid bird sounds, one of wettest places on Earth.
Pre-dawn four-wheel drive through untouched forest. Birds: blue-gray tanager, cinnamon flycatcher, purple-throated woodstar. Diego Calderon Franco, top Colombian birding guide: "Go above the light. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The violet tells you this is the female. This little one right there. The little one. Oh, that's the seal. Look at the tail. That tail is so beautiful. This is the star here. This thing. Velvet, purple, coronet. There you are. Wow. This color is incredible."
Drama: two empress brilliants (males) fighting over territory. "Hummingbirds, you know, they look cute, but they are real warriors. They will fight for resources. All day long."
Diego does bird calls. Like Victorian explorer: isolated mountains may yield new species. "We tend to think that we have explored it all, that we know every corner of the planet, and it's not the case."
Armed groups prevented habitat destruction. Over 450,000 killed (mostly unarmed civilians), 50,000 kidnapped in decades of fighting.
Diego kidnapped 2004 by FARC as graduate student; held 88 days (3 months). Didn't believe they were biologists. Global birders called for release; ransom to families, father paid ~$30,000. Stayed sane via birds: saw slaty bristlefinch first time, drew on cigarette paper ("wow, this is my first slaty bristlefinch kidnapped up there in the Perija Mountains.").
Started birding tours 3 years post-release. Favorite stay: Montezuma Rainforest Eco Lodge at Tatama entrance, owned by Michelle Tapasco family. Moved 1990s to escape right-wing militias, found FARC active. 2008: FARC kidnapped/killed her partner. Stayed, built lodging business despite being called crazy, no funding.
Now thriving via birders. Grows food on premises. Colombia: 160+ hummingbird species. "These guys are the very only group of birds in the world that can fly not only forward, normal, but up, down, and backwards. How fast are they moving their wings? How fast you think? How many times per second? Per second? Ten? Eighty times per second."
2016 peace: ~10,000 FARC fighters disarmed, needed new livelihoods. Diego introduced former captors to birding.
"What was it like to go birding with people who had been in FARC, who had been combatants? We totally forgot who we were. They weren't thinking, oh, this is the guy we kidnapped, you know, 15 years ago. Birds connect you so much, and I think that's why they have this healing power."
Marcos Guevara, ex-FARC guerrilla, now photographer; Diego got him first job. Captured green and black fruiteater nesting. "Did you know anything about birding before you met Diego? No, I didn't know anything at all. That was really my introduction to birds. Diego gave us the chance to attend workshops and training sessions. Bird watching became a doorway for us, not just into conservation and preservation, but also as a way to generate income for ourselves."
Colombia issues persist: bombs in Cali, presidential candidate assassinated Bogota. 8 days ago, 20 killed in FARC faction explosion.
Birders Gary George and Joseph Brooks from Los Angeles: life list near 8,000 species (four-fifths of world's ~11,000). "Some people collect salt and pepper shakers, but we collect bird sightings." Brooks has ~50 bird tattoos: satin bowerbird (Australia), red-crowned crane (Japan).
Sought Chami antpitta; heard call, darted past too fast for camera. "It's like finding a jewel, like a prize. And being in that moment, everything else goes away."
Worldwide, 60% bird species declining due to logging, agriculture, development.
Michelle buying more land for preservation; daughters in biology, forestry, birding, conservation. "When you think about it, I mean, did the birds save you? Yes. They have given me everything I have, everything I am, everything my daughters are today. Two of your daughters got married. Are they married to birders? Si. I never thought of birds as matchmakers, but it seems like here maybe they are. I believe so."
Last day: gold-ringed tanager, Andes endemic, seed disperser (chews berries, defecates seeds). "That's the bird of this place. That's what birders come to see. This type of bird is like a keystone for dispersing of seeds, you know. They will chew on the berries, they will travel away from the parental plants, and they will defecate, and they plant those seeds." Felt like accomplishment. "Now you belong to a higher cult of mortals, for you have seen the gold-ringed tanager."
15th century Grasse, France: reeked of dead animals from leather trade. Idea: gloves infused with local flowers to mask stench, sparking industry. Flowers planted, techniques invented; grew into art form, establishing Grasse as perfume capital of the world.
1921: Coco Chanel went to Grasse for signature scent. Fields bloomed abundantly but faded over decades; now revival.
Rose centifolia (May rose, blooms spring), cultivated in pink rows, worthy of serenade. Piano notes over speakers; vibrations help buds bloom evenly. Twelve roses per bottle of Chanel No. 5, grown in Grasse. Century-old traditions develop scents for world's most famous perfumes. "How do you know when it's right? It's instinct. It's like music."
Piano notes play over speakers. Farmers say the vibrations help the buds bloom evenly. Twelve roses go into a bottle of Chanel No. 5. The real star is jasmine, a tiny white flower that opens at night and is harvested as the sun comes up. One thousand jasmine flowers go into a bottle of No. 5, giving it the floral scent that has sat on grandmother's dressers for generations.
At Chanel's annual jasmine harvest, met Olivier Polge, who spends many working days in the fields of Grasse sourcing flowers. He is Chanel's master perfumer, known in the fragrance world simply as a nose.
What should I call you? A perfumer? A nose? I prefer perfumer because people always think that my nose is very special. Is it not? And I don't smell things that you don't. The work of perfumer is not to smell things that nobody smells, but it is to identify the scents.
His job is to create new fragrances for Chanel and make sure the classics smell as they always have. It is part art, part science. A sommelier of scent, Polge can detect thousands of smells with a sniff.
Do you have a favorite smell? I love the scent of iris. Mm. Violet, powder, slightly woody.
Grasse jasmine is grassy and fruity with a note of green tea, delicate like the flower itself. According to Chanel, five bottles of No. 5 are sold somewhere in the world every minute, fitting since it's named after Coco Chanel's lucky number. The iconic designer came to Grasse during its golden age, searching for the world's finest and most expensive perfume ingredients.
Over decades, farms began to shut down as the French Riviera became a luxe real estate market. Cheaper flowers were grown abroad in places such as India and Egypt.
Would Chanel No. 5 really smell that differently if you sourced the jasmine from elsewhere? Yes, it would definitely have an impact. Far from me the idea to say one is better than the other, but you have to recognize their differences.
In the early 1900s, Grasse had about 12,000 acres of flower fields. Today, only 124 acres remain. Where nearly 2,000 tons of jasmine were once harvested each year, now fewer than 15 tons, grown mostly by one family.
Since the 1800s, for six generations, the Moules have farmed this land. Joseph Moule, 87-year-old patriarch.
What has it been like to watch the decline here in Grasse? It's very sad. It was a pity to see this evolution, but we couldn't do anything about it. It's how it went. So we had to hang in there for many years.
How often are you in the fields? Every morning, 7 a.m. Is he still the boss? Yes. He'll always be the boss.
Joseph's daughter Colette runs the office. Her husband Fabrice oversees the fields.
Who's done the most picking here? We all picked jasmine. We had to help. In my case, it was my grandparents. And they would tell us, if you wish to go and swim in the sea, first you have to help us pick flowers. So every morning... No fun. Pick first. That's exactly what we did.
Their jasmine has a distinct scent, because like grapes used in wine, it matters where it's grown. Here in the hills, where the Mediterranean meets the Southern Alps, in a cool climate and rich soil.
You can't put burgundy in a bottle of Bordeaux, because people will tell you, no, that's not Bordeaux. For the fragrances we do, it's exactly the same thing.
In 1987, Chanel offered the Moules a deal to grow and sell flowers exclusively to them. The first time a luxury brand partnered directly with Grasse farmers.
Grasse mayor Jérôme Viau says the partnership helped revive the region. A lot of people thought the perfume industry here was over.
Why did you think you could make a difference? Because we have the knowledge and we have the weather and we have everything to get success. So we think it's possible and we are working on it every day.
Since taking office in 2014, the mayor has filled the streets with thousands of pink umbrellas, a tribute to the rose, and a picture-perfect backdrop for the two million tourists who visit Grasse each year. He helped designate Grasse a United Nations cultural heritage site, recognizing its centuries-old perfume-making traditions. Blocked development on 170 acres of land so new flower fields can be cultivated.
A lot of mayors want the development to come to their town. What was your fear with that development? We want development, but we want to choose our development. You wanted to be specific to the perfume industry. Definitely, yes. Is there a renaissance in the perfume business underway right now? I think so.
Over the past decade, major luxury houses have invested in Grasse by tying their brand to its reputation. Lancôme built what looks like a Barbie dream house on a farm where it grows roses for its fragrance. Downtown, an abandoned perfumery became a workshop for Louis Vuitton. Christian Dior's former estate was restored, preserving the gardens that inspired the designer's first scent.
Honorine Blanc is a master nose for one of the world's largest fragrance companies, creating perfumes for brands such as Valentino and Gucci.
Everywhere I go, I put my nose. You do? I smell everything.
People don't realize how much work there is behind creating a fragrance. Sometimes I need 20,000 trials. 20,000 is how long it's taking you sometimes? How do you know when it's right? I would say there's two ways. Your clients, they stop. This is practical. Or it's instinct. It's like music.
As part of the Grasse revival, her company DSM Firmenich opened Villa Botanica five years ago, a private retreat for its top perfumers to discover new smells.
It's very clean. What can you do with this? It smells like feet. Feet.
There's an undiscovered world of scent out there still? I believe so. I think there are plenty of new odors to discover, plenty of new plants to discover. For a perfumer, it's heaven. Does Grasse still hold the same significance? Yes, and I think even more than ever. You know why? Because we're going back to authenticity. What does that mean when you're talking about perfume authenticity? For me, when I come to Grasse, it's a place where I can slow down and smell the value of an ingredient. Because, you know, everything is speed, speed, speed, speed.
Today, fine fragrance is a more than $20 billion a year industry, largely built on synthetics bottled in a lab. Lank says man-made scents are essential to modern perfumery.
You create perfection by balancing notes that are unpleasant with notes that are pleasant. If your apple is too perfect, you say, oh, my God, it's not organic, it's not natural. So the imperfection and this off note are very important for your fragrance. It's kind of like baking. You have to put a little bit of salt in the cake mix.
Chanel also uses synthetic scents created in a lab. Can't tell exactly what's in a bottle of No. 5. Olivier Polge said the secret formula is kept in a safe in Paris. Chanel No. 5 has more than 80 separate scents. The most important are from Grasse.
Starting at dawn, when jasmine flowers are at their most fragrant, each one is picked by hand, too delicate for machines. Harvest ends before midday heat damages petals, kept covered in wet cloth to stay cool. Workers line up to weigh what they've picked. 4,000 jasmine flowers equal just one pound. Blooms rushed to on-site factory where fragrance extracted using a 150-year-old technique developed in Grasse.
You have to work really fast. Yes. Because what happens when they get brown? The smell changes? Yes. It smells bad fruit, like a ripe fruit.
Crate after crate of jasmine layered into vat and steeped overnight like tea. Flowers removed, leaving withered petals and liquid that cools into thick wax. Took 35 million jasmine flowers to get this 22-pound tub. Wax turned back into liquid and filtered into most concentrated form of jasmine. Sent to factory near Paris; few drops go in each bottle of No. 5.
Does the jasmine today smell like the jasmine originally used in No. 5? I think so. I think this is why we are very careful in maintaining the way we harvest the jasmine, the way we extract the jasmine, and we do it exactly as it was at the beginning.
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The summer will see many celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of American independence, but historian Jill Lepore reflecting on another breakthrough in 1776.
Our very system of law is founded on what I think of as the philosophy of amendment, the idea that we can always make things better.
We amend state constitutions all the time, mostly by referendums on Election Day. Federal constitution hasn't been amended in any meaningful way since 1971, when voting age lowered from 21 to 18.
It was in 1776, even before the United States declared independence, that written constitutions were invented in the states where the people said, we govern ourselves. They did that by writing down the rules and making sure descendants could change those rules.
Some people might say, oh, the U.S. Constitution doesn't need to be amended because it's perfect. But you'd have to concede that the U.S. Constitution is being amended all the time, not by the people, but by the Supreme Court. Is that what Americans want?
I think the 250th anniversary of the first constitutions in the United States, those state constitutions from 1776, is an excellent time to ask that question.
I'm Anderson Cooper. We'll be back next week with another edition of 60 Minutes.
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