On Wednesday, Enrique's White House petition to label “Antifa a domestic terrorist organization” expired, failing to meet even half the requirement of gaining 100,000 signatures. H/T @jgcOCANADApic.twitter.com/nnzK6Rk8ad
You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more
On Wednesday, Enrique's White House petition to label “Antifa a domestic terrorist organization” expired, failing to meet even half the requirement of gaining 100,000 signatures. H/T @jgcOCANADApic.twitter.com/nnzK6Rk8ad
Tarrio took credit for creating the petition over the Proud Boys' Telegram account, famously used to harass and coordinate campaigns against journalists, activists, and those critical of the far-Right group. The petition is also signed, ET. H/T @AntiFashGordonpic.twitter.com/WD1kvFIQEa
Tarrio stated the petition was co-authored by Jacob Engels, described by @willsommer as "Roger Stone's mini me." Engels is Proud Boy leader who worked closely with Stone in Florida to organize against vote recount efforts during midterm elections in 2018.https://itsgoingdown.org/florida-proud-boys/ …
Ironically, Tarrio's petition is the second antifa = terrorist petition to be put forward in the last two years. A similar petition was started by white nationalist troll "Microchip," which received three times the signatures + was released right after the Unite the Right rally.pic.twitter.com/LLrBKqVjfh
Being that this petition got over 100,000 signatures, it garnered a response from the Trump White House. The response was brief, simply stating that the State does not police ideology and that people who break the law will be prosecuted under the existing legal framework.pic.twitter.com/P85BDujchn
Tarrio's petition is also largely a re-write of a 2016 petition to label the #BlackLivesMatter
a terrorist organization. Both petitions make false claim that both movements are involved in “influenc[ing] in the killings of multiple police officers."https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article196423174.html …
Despite a similar petition already having been answered by the Trump White House in 2017 and a leader of the Proud Boys having authored the latest incarnation, it was endorsed by Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.pic.twitter.com/k73n5nu4rZ
Together, both Senators used the Proud Boy produced petition to draft a non-binding resolution. As @transform6789 pointed out: "The resolution is wildly inconsistent...[it] refers interchangeably to “antifa,” those “affiliated with Antifa,” and “left wing activists.”pic.twitter.com/aQxsXcyXEt
As National Observer reporter @RVAwonk stated: “They’re trying to criminalize dissent. They want to call you a terrorist for opposing the Trump administration too strongly or loudly.”pic.twitter.com/XdOSsAhFh7
At Daily Kos, @DavidNeiwert wrote, "[The anti-antifa resolution is] so loosely written that it could readily be misdirected to bring about the arrests of any kind of anti-Trump protester, as well as any journalists who objectively report on the activities of these groups."pic.twitter.com/ZBbL9g61Ir
Always an opportunist, Cruz doubled down at a Senate Judiciary Committee while speaking to the director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, demanding that ‘antifa’ be prosecuted under RICO charges, using ironically a petition created by a violent far-Right group as his baseline.pic.twitter.com/k8aded7SMv
Sticking to FBI talking points, Wray stated that the FBI does not police ideology but as @DavidNeiwert wrote, "Warned his agency was seeing a dramatic upsurge in white supremacist criminal activity—having recorded nearly 100 cases related to the [far-Right’s]…violent acolytes."pic.twitter.com/wm2W6w1p62
Libertarian outlet @reason wrote of the hearing: "None of us, no matter our ideologies, will be better off with more demands for corrupt and partisan investigations, nor from increasing pressure to make guilty-by-association the rule of law."pic.twitter.com/sgusFe1Xy8
Cruz ended hearing by stating he would send out letters demanding RICO investigation. @transform6789 wrote: "The letter itself, which Cruz posted on Twitter, is filled with wild inaccuracies...paints the far right as the real victims..."pic.twitter.com/58IQOHxJBi
That weekend, Trump amplified Cruz’s push to label antifa along with MS-13 as domestic terrorists by tweeting he was “looking into” it along with such nonsense as the claim antifascists, not those on the far-Right, beat defenseless people over the head with baseball bats.pic.twitter.com/Sy2OtuxArK
Ironically, Alex Michael Ramos, a member of the Proud Boys, did participate in an attack against a young African-American man in Charlottesville, along with neo-Nazis who beat him with clubs. He stated, "Yeah, I'm glad I got to stomp some ass out there."pic.twitter.com/E09t74PIpN
As we speak, Proud Boys are facing charges for attacks on random members of the public in Portland and against anti-racist protesters in New York. Of course, you won't hear about this actual violence in Right/pro-Trump media.https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2019/07/19/26831845/proud-boy-gets-8-days-in-jail-for-june-2018-assault …
Moreover, as @RightsDissent pointed out, there physically no list of "domestic terrorist groups." Meaning, those on the Right are calling for something to be put into place that simply, does not exist.https://rightsanddissent.org/news/no-donald-trump-cant-declare-antifa-terrorist-group/ …
An attorney that worked on the J20 trial that talked to IGD stated: "In short, when the government bans beliefs and political views, rather than focusing on specific criminal acts, it violates our rights to free speech."pic.twitter.com/tmB4g8dXnJ
Cruz's resolution comes at a time when the GOP and the Trump administration are solidifying its connection to the far-Right - especially groups like the Proud Boys. This is coupled with a denial and downplaying of the rising threat of far-Right and white nationalist violence.pic.twitter.com/CaSJkbvhHF
The same weekend Trump tweeted about antifa, a #Sikh temple + priest near Modesto were attacked, a white nationalist shot up the #GilroyGarlicFestival killing three, a drive by shooting happened outside of a #Florida synagogue + another received violent anti-Semitic threats.pic.twitter.com/bHaoZUfFY2
As @DavidNeiwert wrote: "This week a report by the Center for the Study of Hate + Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, titled Report to the Nation: 2019, underscored how deep the incoming tide of white supremacism has become, along with the horror of its terroristic violence."pic.twitter.com/D1psUZAkY8
Another recent study found: "US counties where President Trump held a campaign rally saw a 226% increase in reported hate crimes over similar counties that did not hold, political scientists at the University of North Texas said in an analysis published in The Washington Post."pic.twitter.com/5QDpA3PL2E
In Washington State, a hotbed of Proud Boy, militia, and white nationalist activity: "The number of hate crimes...is skyrocketing...a 78% rise over the past four years."pic.twitter.com/o5rRJDNQlD
This is why far-Right and social media grifters like Andy Ngo, Candace Owens, and Tim Pool are so important for the larger Right. They help push the line that such violence doesn’t exist and more importantly, point the finger back at anyone who stands up to oppose it.pic.twitter.com/jeMXzlEgIJ
This is also happening while Trump invites far-Right talking heads to the White House, gives front row seats at rallies to militia members, shares white nationalist content on social media, pardons far-Right figures, and makes common cause with authoritarians around the world.pic.twitter.com/Ndrj9GsgAl
Just this week, it was announced that Sarah "Huckster" Sanders will speak at a pro-Trump conference alongside conspiracy theorists, far-Right media personalities, Qanon die-hards, and even flat earth proponents in #Florida at a Trump hotel.https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-ultimate-fringe-trumpworld-conference?ref=author …
Some of strongest links are those that aren't always seen, as the GOP strives to develop a working relationship with the far-Right and pro-Trump street gang the Proud Boys, who have now filled the void left by the Alt-Right as the champions of violent street confrontations.pic.twitter.com/dOVetkKjhT
New York Times reporter @tripgabriel stated that: "From a disillusioned GOP operative: ‘The Trump campaign is well aware of the organized participation of Proud Boys rallies merging into Trump events. They dont care. Staff are to treat it like a coalition they can’t talk about.’"pic.twitter.com/hxjKePWE3U
But this unspoken coalition is coming more out into the open everyday. Last December in New York, then Proud Boys leader Gavin McInnes spoke at an official GOP event. Afterwards, Proud Boys beat protesters and now face charges.https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/07/30/proud-boys-trial-over-2018-clash-gavin-mcinnes-speech/1867922001/ …
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.