Have you been saying stupid things about Antifa?

Some of these may surprise you.  And you may not believe them all, but it looks pretty well researched.

An excellent suggestion

Republicans won't, because of the very reason suggested.  But the rest of us should.  Just like they won't say No Kings protests, but instead call it hate America rallies.

Jesus Christ

 Is she a member?  A plant?  OK, I know, you can't be a member of an organization that doesn't exist.  WTF?

Effing insane.

Antifa is short for anti-fascist.  So...we don't want anti-fascists in America?  We want fascists, apparently.

Seems to me the intent is to classify the DSA a terrorist group.

Foreign?

Antifa terrorist organization designation

“I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating Antifa, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” Trump wrote on social media. “I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

[...]

Because antifa — short for “anti-fascist” — refers to a decentralized and largely underground subculture of leftists dedicated to combating the far right, most of whom conceal their identities, there are no official leaders or spokespeople to go on cable news to refute Trump’s lies.

[...]

Antifa isn’t an organization. There is no legal statute with which to declare antifa a “major terrorist organization.” Nor does antifa have a network of rich, shadowy benefactors who can be unmasked. (What little money antifa’s practitioners do have typically comes from their own pockets.)

  MSNBC

Doesn't matter. The important thing is that MAGA fools believe there's an organized leftist terror group and that Trump is going to nail them.

The blowback begins

Ohio's Nazi education

The Ohio Department of Education [...] is “actively reviewing compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements,” an official with the state agency told The Washington Post, after reports emerged last week about the homeschooling network known as “Dissident Homeschool.”

The network, which distributes pro-Nazi curriculum via a Telegram channel, has more than 2,400 subscribers, according to Vice News.

The Ohio couple who run the channel, known there as Mr. and Mrs. Saxon, have been identified as Katja and Logan Lawrence of Upper Sandusky.

The homeschooling network and the Lawrences’ identities were initially reported by an anti-fascist research group known as the Anonymous Comrades Collective.

[...]

The couple reportedly created the network because they were “having a rough time finding Nazi-approved school material” for their children, Katja Lawrence told the neo-Nazi podcast “Achtung Amerikaner” in a November 2021 episode.

  The Hill

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Task Force Butler

IRAQ WAR VETERAN Kris Goldsmith believes “patriot” and “anti-fascist” should be synonymous — and he’s turning that belief into action with the new Task Force Butler. The nonprofit’s tagline gets right to the point: “We are American veterans who hunt neo-Nazis.”

Goldsmith has seen first hand how fascist and militia groups subvert the trappings of patriotism to ensare veterans in right-wing extremism, and he stood up Task Force Butler as a competing force for good. The group draws its name and inspiration from a larger-than-life Marine, Maj. Gen Smedley Butler, who foiled an attempted fascist coup against the New Deal government of FDR in the 1930s.

[...]

[T]he horrors of the Iraq War left him with crippling, undiagnosed PTSD. A suicide attempt on the eve of being re-deployed in 2007 got Goldsmith booted from the service with a less-than-honorable discharge.

  Rolling Stone

And don't think that isn't used to discredit him by the right wing.

Goldsmith has been sued, and doxxed by white supremacists. On the day of his interview with Rolling Stone, he called to move our phone call up by several hours. “I have to fly to Asheville to deal with a little Nazi problem,” Goldsmith told me. A local fascist, having identified the home where Goldsmith grew up, has been dropping hate packages on his mother’s porch, including “gift bag” containing a printout of Mein Kampf.

[...]

Goldsmith entered a dark spiral, which included sinking down rabbit holes of online extremism. With his one remaining lifeline — healthcare through the V.A. — Goldsmith clawed his way back to the surface. He became a veterans advocate, earned a degree from Columbia, and (four appeals later) finally got an upgrade to an honorable discharge. Along the way, helped secure congressional reforms in 2017 that enable thousands of other vets get medical help and challenge their own “bad paper.”

During the Trump years, Goldsmith worked as chief investigator for Vietnam Veterans of America where he exposed a sophisticated Russian op that targeted U.S. veterans on Facebook to sow racial and political division.

[...]

Task Force Butler’s work centers on exposing the inner workings and public wrongdoing of neo-fascist groups through deep-dive intelligence reports that can give prosecutors the evidence they need go after the hatemongers in court.

From the interview...

My grandparent’s generation served in World War II. They were all anti-fascists. My grandmother’s brother, who died in France, he was an anti-fascist. And really, what the current “antifa panic” boils down to is a right-wing ecosystem that is trying to perpetuate fascism, and racism, and xenophobia and anti-semitism — who have an incentive to see these problems brew in the United States.

[...]

As veterans we have sworn an oath to our Constitution — and actually understand it; not like the Oath Keepers, right? We’re the real keepers of that oath.

[...]

Most of my guys are anonymous. I’m the only face of it, basically. So not everybody’s getting Nazis visiting their mom’s houses.

[...]

It’s only two dozen volunteers. It’s demanding job; it can be a stressful job: staring at the worst-of-the-worst on the Internet all day. But the veterans who have come to us gain a lot of satisfaction out of the mission. We share a bond — to counter fascism, which we all believe is the single greatest threat to Americans’ freedom, and lives, now in 2023.

Jesus Tapdancing Christ

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

More blowback please

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told members of his GOP conference on a call Monday that the riot at the Capitol was not caused by antifa, urging lawmakers not to further spread misinformation about the pro-Trump mob that stormed the House and Senate last week.

“McCarthy told all members on the call that he has been receiving FBI briefings and it is clear that antifa was not behind this,” one source familiar with the call said. “That it was in fact right-wing extremists and QAnon adherents, and he urged members to stop spreading false information to the contrary.”

  The Hill

McCarthy must be afraid of serious blowback, but it's a certainty that MAGAts aren't. They won't believe him. I'm not even sure they'd believe Trump if he told them the same thing, which he won't.

McCarthy’s comments come in the wake of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who made the unsubstantiated claim on the House floor that antifa was behind the violence that broke out at the Capitol on Wednesday after the riot took place in an attempt to delay the official count of Electoral College votes.

Other GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), doubled down on the claim on Twitter.

"Evidence growing that fascist ANTIFA orchestrated Capitol attack with clever mob control tactics," Brooks wrote at the start of a Twitter thread the day after the riot.

Shameless. They should be run out of town.

McCarthy told his members it was determined to be right-wing extremists and supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory, which revolves around the idea that President Trump is working to expose an elite group of Democrats and media who are running an international child trafficking ring and controlling the government to try to undermine the president.

The FBI said on Friday that it determined that no members of the left-wing movement antifa were involved in the storming of the Capitol.

Clearly a smarter group than the MAGAt insurrectionists.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) has been removed from an advisory committee to Harvard University's Institute of Politics as a result of her peddling false claims about voter fraud, the school announced on Tuesday.

"Over the past several days, [director] Mark Gearan and I have spent a good deal of time considering the role at the Institute of Politics of our colleague Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, whom I have included in this message," dean Douglas Elmendorf wrote to the committee. "Mark and I have read public materials, listened to students and alumni, and consulted with colleagues at Harvard on this important matter."

So sad. She was well on her way to being a bright star in the Trump orbit after the first impeachment.

Elmendorf asked Stefanik to resign from the advisory committee, which he said she refused to do.

[...]

After the riots, hundreds of Harvard students, faculty and alumni petitioned the school's Institute of Politics to disaffiliate with the congresswoman from New York's north country who graduated from Harvard in 2006.

[...]

"My request was not about political parties, political ideology, or her choice of candidate for president. Rather, in my assessment, Elise has made public assertions about voter fraud in November’s presidential election that have no basis in evidence, and she has made public statements about court actions related to the election that are incorrect," Elmendorf said. "Moreover, these assertions and statements do not reflect policy disagreements but bear on the foundations of the electoral process through which this country’s leaders are chosen."

In a statement to The Hill, Stefanik said the decision to remove her from the committee shows a willingness from Harvard to "cower and cave to the woke Left."

The evergreen excuse. 

 ...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

I know, I know, the FBI is part of the deep state out to get Trump

Matt Gaetz should be thrown out of Congress

If Trump were still allowed to post on Facebook, this would be on his account, too.  Perhaps he'll tweet it when Twitter allows him back on.

The "antifa" killer

Here's what really happened in Denver.

MAGAnuts

This is what they're doing now because Trump has told them Antifa is trying to invade their communities.  Imagine what they'll do when he tells them the election was stolen from him.

Thank you president Trump

FOUR POLICE DEPARTMENTS in parts of Oregon ravaged by wildfires — propelled by high winds across parched land during hot, dry weather in a changing climate — are pleading with the public to stop calling 911 to pass on unfounded rumors that antifascist political activists have intentionally set the blazes.

[...]

“Rumors spread just like wildfire and now our 9-1-1 dispatchers and professional staff are being overrun with requests for information and inquiries on an UNTRUE rumor that 6 Antifa members have been arrested for setting fires,” the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in Roseburg, Oregon wrote on Facebook on Thursday. “THIS IS NOT TRUE! Unfortunately, people are spreading this rumor and it is causing problems.”

[...]

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in southwestern Oregon was also forced to respond to the spread of rumors on Thursday. “One increasingly problematic issue related to the disastrous fires in Jackson County is the spreading of false information,” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook. “We are inundated with questions about things that are FAKE stories. One example is a story circulating that varies about what group is involved as to setting fires and arrests being made. THIS IS NOT TRUE!”

While the authorities in Jackson County have opened an arson investigation into the Almeda Fire, which has caused at least two deaths and destroyed hundreds of homes, Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara told The Oregonian, a Portland newspaper, that there was no evidence of any link to antifascist activists.

[...]

Police officers in the badly hit city of Medford also had to take time away from responding to the crisis to debunk a hoax Facebook post, mocked up to look like it had come from their department, which claimed that they had arrested five arsonists “based on anonymous tips.”

“This is a made up graphic and story,” the department wrote on its real Facebook page next to an image of the fake one. “We did not arrest this person for arson, nor anyone affiliated with Antifa or ‘Proud Boys’ as we’ve heard throughout the day. Also, no confirmed gatherings of Antifa which has also been reported.”

[...]

On Wednesday, police officers in Molalla, a city in Clackamas County which was evacuated on Thursday, asked residents who remained in town to report possible suspicious activity by thieves amid what the department called a spate of “rumors” about looters spreading on Facebook.

[...]

“This is about possible looters, not antifa or setting of fires. There has been NO antifa in town as of this posting at 02:00 am. Please, folks, stay calm and use common sense.”

[...]

As Christopher Miller and Jane Lytvynenko reported for Buzzfeed News, the paranoia in Molalla led some locals to wrongly identify Gabriel Trumbly, a Portland video journalist and his partner, Jennifer Paulsen, as arsonists while they were filming some of the fires there on Wednesday.

[...]

Three freelance journalists based in Portland — Justin Yau, Sergio Olmos and Alissa Azar – reported on Twitter on Thursday that they were threatened while reporting on the fires at one location in Molalla by armed men on the lookout for antifascist arsonists.

[...]

One prominent Trump supporter who spread the false information about arrests in Douglas County and has refused to retract it is Paul Romero, who finished second in the Oregon Republican primary for the U.S. Senate in May, with more than 100,000 votes.

  The Intercept

Jesus wept.

JFC

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Who needs Russia, Part 2

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Antifa scare tatics

An NPR review of court documents for 51 individuals who are facing federal charges related to the demonstrations found no alleged connections to the anti-fascist movement.

The lack of alleged links seemingly contradicts comments by Attorney General William Barr and President Trump singling out of anti-fascists for inciting violence during the protests.

Out of the 51 cases brought to the department so far, 20 involve allegations relating to arson, typically of government property or buildings, 16 involve allegations relating to illegal possession of a firearm, usually by a felon, and eight involve allegedly inciting a riot or civil disorder, according to NPR.

The only mention of an extremist group in court documents is in a case against three Nevada men who allegedly belong to the right-wing "Boogaloo" movement, which aims to incite a civil war. These three were charged with plotting violence in the demonstrations in Las Vegas.

Former federal prosecutors told NPR that if the government had a sign that individuals had alleged ties or an interest in an extremist movement, it would be included in the charging documents used during a bail hearing.

[...]

Barr has vowed to prosecute the “extremist agitators” involved in the recent protests, pointing specifically at those connected with antifa.

Trump has also blamed antifa activists for the violence that erupted within the demonstrations, saying on May 31 that he would designate antifa as a terrorist organization.

But experts say the antifa movement is not a solidified group and is more a liquid movement of people opposing fascism without central leadership.

When asked about the alleged lack of leadership, Barr said "there are people who could be characterized as leaders in any given situation."

  The Hill

Jesus that asshat is a weasel.

Also, thanks to the Trumpalos...

Antifa, short for anti-fascist, is not an actual organization controlling protesters and inciting to violence. But you may have heard that’s the case from social media in the wake of the protests against racism and police brutality that have swept the United States.

[...]

You also may have heard that “Antifa buses” are heading to your city to wreak havoc with their violence, but it’s nothing more than a hoax that went viral on social media.

[...]

Antifa chatter spiked online, with false rumors spreading with the help of fake social media accounts. In one such case, a Twitter account was created by a white nationalist group to spread fear, per NBC News.

The new Antifa bus hoaxes are tailored to specific regions to spread panic and misinformation locally, even though they’ve already been confirmed to be fake news. A family riding in a bus while camping was even harassed on Friday as people thought they were members of Antifa, via PeninsulaDailyNews:

Later that day in Forks, a multi-racial family of four from Spokane was followed by at least four vehicles — some with people with guns, they told deputies — as they left Forks Outfitters in a full-sized school bus. The family was trapped when they tried to leave their campsite after trees were felled to block the road, Clallam County Sheriff’s deputies said.

They were able to leave after four high school students cut the trees with chainsaws, said Sgt. Ed Anderson in a press release issued late Thursday.

[...]

Even a bus fleet owner in the region had to reach out on Facebook, inviting people to flag posts that may contain false information about his busses. “If anyone sees a post about my bus. Please flag it and get it taken down,” the person said, adding that a driver “was driving home from work, and someone posted it saying it’s full of Antifa.” His post was shared 38 times, but a far more popular post warned people to prepare for an imminent Antifa attack in the region.

[...]

Some police officers fell for the Antifa hoax, such as Curry County Sheriff John Ward, who posted a warning on a Facebook page he manages. “I don’t know if the rumors are true or not just yet, but I got information about 3 (busloads) of ANTIFA protestors (who) are making their way from Douglas County headed for Coquille then to Coos Bay,” the post read on the now-deleted Facebook page. Ward told KTVL that the information was forwarded to him by the county attorney, who got it from a “kind of” private attorney.

  BGR

Might be expected that a sheriff would validate a rumor like that before spreading it. But not this one:

“Without asking, I am sure we have a lot of local boys too with guns that will protect our citizens and their property,” the message read.

That's why they get called pigs.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Fascist?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Twitter "restricts" Matt Gaetz' incitement tweet

Twitter has restricted a Monday tweet from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), saying it glorifies violence, a move that comes after also cracking down on some of President Trump's tweets last week.

The Florida lawmaker and vocal Trump ally tweeted in response to Trump’s Sunday announcement on Twitter that anti-facist activists, or antifa, would be formally designated as a terrorist organization.

“Now that we clearly see Antifa as terrorists, can we hunt them down like we do those in the Middle East?” Gaetz posted.

Twitter restricted the tweet, preventing it from being liked, replied to or retweeted. Before the social media platform’s action, the tweet had been retweeted more than 12,000 times.

  The Hill

And Republicans will be screaming liberal bias.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

The Tom Cottons of this country are orgasming

And we are dangerously close to an "emergency" takeover by the Trump cabal.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE: