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Ted Cruz, who wants to label people who oppose fascism "terrorists," seen here at a rally with far-Right Oath Keepers militia. Group was part of armed occupation of Malheur in 2016. Participants threatened to kill FBI agents and one militia member was killed by law enforcement.pic.twitter.com/yiOEuzWciH
Should be noted, that there was wide support within some sections of the GOP for the Malheur occupation, and various GOP officials played a role in the armed occupation in various capacities.https://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/republican-gop-politicians-coalition-western-states/ …
One of the most well known is Nevada Republican state legislator, Michele Fiore, close with Cruz and also the far-Right Oath Keepers militia. Fiore supported the Bundys during their armed standoff and played the role as a negotiator between the FBI and the militia during Malheur.pic.twitter.com/rYj3B188I1
In 2014, when militia members took up arms against the government at the Bundy ranch, Fiore called the militia members “freedom fighters” and called on members of law enforcement agencies “not to obey your superiors..." https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/10/oregon-militia-standoff-michele-fiore-republican-nevada-assembly-fbi-deal-malheur-refuge …pic.twitter.com/2ofXAL2DkW
After the armed Malheur occupation, GOP insider, Proud Boy, Trump confidant, and InfoWars contributer Roger Stone also began a campaign to get pardon's for the Bundys and other militia supporters.https://stonecoldtruth.com/pardon-the-bundy-family-and-their-supporters/ …
The case against Bundy in relation to the armed standoff in Nevada in 2014 fell apart and no one was ever charged. It was seen as a victory by the militia movement, supported in part by segments of the GOP, over the federal government.https://www.thedailybeast.com/bundy-case-dismissed-and-the-angry-white-people-of-america-rejoice …
In 2018, Trump would go on to even pardon the two ranchers whose case, a dispute over allowing livestock to graze on federal land, set off the armed militia occupation of Malheur in the first place.https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/10/politics/hammonds-trump-pardon/index.html …
Today in the Pacific Northwest, there remains a strong link between the far-Right militia movement, deeply tied to groups like the Proud Boys and white nationalists, and the local GOP. This was seen clearly in recent militia rallies in Oregon.https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/06/22/threats-militia-provoke-shutdown-oregon-capitol-day-after-gop-lawmakers-fled/?utm_term=.e0d25098f90f …
Just this month, it was also revealed that the Multnomah County GOP chair would represent Joey Gibson, leader of the pan-far-Right group, Patriot Prayer, in court. Gibson is being sued for his role in a violent attack against patrons at a #Portland bar.https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2019/07/multnomah-county-gop-chair-will-represent-joey-gibson-in-1-million-lawsuit.html …
In Washington State, Republican State Rep Matt Shea was caught exchanging messages with members of the far-Right, discussing and planning to carry out confrontations and acts of violence against "communists" and "Antifa."https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/20/matt-shea-rightwing-messages-chat-records …
Trump himself has also gone out of his way to award the Oath Keepers militia for their support by featuring their members, including their leader, Stewart Rhodes, at his rallies. Other far-Right groups have also gotten the same honor, including Bikers for Trump + the Proud Boys.pic.twitter.com/mUcptZccu6
The Oath Keepers themselves are known for their violent rhetoric and calls for civil war about every 5 minutes. In Trump they see somehow a federal government worth defending and seem hell bent on protecting it from "internal enemies," which they see as waging a "cold civil war."pic.twitter.com/dEdAjg3pzT
Central to the Oath Keepers' worldview is the idea that "internal enemies" they see such as Black Lives Matter, "communists," Islam, "ANTIFA," etc, are all tied in a conspiracy to the the Democratic Party and are all linked in a common drive to "destroy America."pic.twitter.com/cvJzWnYCSP
These conspiracy theories on one hand allow the far-Right to appear to be waging a revolutionary war against "globalist elites," while on the other hand, act in concert with people in the actual government they claim to oppose.https://itsgoingdown.org/george-soros-globalism-far-right-explains-revolt/ …
For members of the GOP, they find that the baseline conspiracy that groups like the Oath Keepers puts out sells - that they can connect the Democrats to "communism" or popular social movements that they can demonize, as a way to attack both.pic.twitter.com/VcT8reogIO
Ultimately, this fear is designed to distract from real attacks that both political parties are waging on poor and working people and the looming global crisis of everything from climate change to automation. The goal above all, is to keep people distracted and afraid.pic.twitter.com/scgQm7bAMe
Antifascists are not killing people and slaughtering whole congregations - but the far-Right is and in record numbers. Everyone knows this, yet the GOP is willing to attack social movements in order to protect Trump and throw red meat to his base.https://www.adl.org/news/press-releases/right-wing-extremism-linked-to-every-2018-extremist-murder-in-the-us-adl-finds …
But people should understand how far these things can actually go. In 1919, the Palmer raids rounded up and deported hundreds of mostly immigrant working class radicals; anarchists, wobblies, communists, and union organizers.https://time.com/5625012/palmer-raids/ …
In 1950, Democratic Senator (sorry Dinesh D'Souza) helped pass the Internal Security Act, modeled after WWII internment, which pushed for the construction of 6 concentration camps to house communists, civil rights activists, and dissidents in the case of a State of Emergency.pic.twitter.com/jIosUBeT0B
The camps were never put into use, but again showed the degree to which the government is willing to engage in a 'state of exception when it comes to grassroots social movements and political radicals.pic.twitter.com/2UmCxXhnNx
Decades later, the State began secretly COINTELPRO (Counter-Intelligence Program), which sought to disrupt and destroy various social movements and groups, from the Black Panthers to the anti-war movement. The program resulted in assassinations, frame-ups, and imprisonment.pic.twitter.com/Nt745Hadnz
State tactics of infiltration, disruption + outright violence have continued even after COINTELPRO was exposed. From the Occupy movement to Black Lives Matter the State remains locked in a never ending campaign of counter-insurgency against the population.https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/29/fbi-coordinated-crackdown-occupy …
With the growth of the far-Right, the State has also been able to count on 'crowdsourcing' these tactics. 4chan + InfoWars are much better vehicles for disinformation than undercover FBI agents could ever dream and the Proud Boys can engage in violence when often cops can't.pic.twitter.com/5fqKQ6xOZR
This is exactly why for everyone opposed to the rise of fascism, white supremacy + authoritarian politics - who believes that a solution won't come from the State itself, but instead from human communities; most oppose the GOP and others attempting to label antifa as terrorists.pic.twitter.com/ewmvLAQwEz
Because if at your core, you know that at this point there isn't hope in the State reversing the current slide into authoritarianism - that instead people will have to put faith in themselves + those around them, not politicians, to build a better world - then you are antifa.pic.twitter.com/Zmep61dA7Z
Also, here's Ted Cruz snuggling up to Enrique Tarrio, the current leader of the #ProudBoys who fought alongside neo-Nazis at Unite the Right in Charlottesville as part of the "Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights," a group which is currently being sued following the neo-Nazi rally.pic.twitter.com/LmKlICvq1u
Here's what Lyin 'ANTEDFA' Cruz said right after Charlottesville. Guess nowdays he just takes photos with the people who attended the event.pic.twitter.com/RNh9Z0n3lX
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