I’d like to remind you all of a little trick in the dictator’s playbook that has enabled many a dictator to expand & seize power.
Because I believe Trump is at it & he’s got a dictator for whom it worked - Putin - almost certainly advising him.
He’s already inciting his base.
Because I believe Trump is at it & he’s got a dictator for whom it worked - Putin - almost certainly advising him.
He’s already inciting his base.
Trump is not only refusing to defuse the racial tension in America right now, he’s intentionally amping it up by sending out some tweets designed to rile his white supremacist base & other tweets intended to rile protesters.
Tweets like “when the looting shoots, the shooting starts” & calling those who kneel for BlackLivesMatter “cowards.” Tweets like lying about Antifa causing violence when no evidence exists at all that’s the case.
Our intelligence services have warned us twice now that Putin is trying to initiate a race war in the US. It’s what white supremacists want. It’s what Putin wants. Therefore, it’s what Trump wants. nytimes.com/2020/03/10/us/…
Trump’s inciting his base to go out & confront protesters violently. It’s why he proclaimed “MAGA night" at WH last week, hoping his guys would show up as protesters were outside. It's why he had his weird biker parade around WH.
It’s why he sent out an email inviting supporters to join his “Trump army” & get their camo Keep America Great hat “to have something to identify yourselves with & to let everyone know you are the president’s first line of defense when it comes to fighting off the liberal mob.” 
That's more than a marketing gimmick. His supporters are already out there with AK-47s to terrorize. Vigilante groups w/ guns & bats were roaming protests in Philly days ago. Here's a threatening line of Chicago MAGA terrorizing black protesters.
Several incidents involving MAGA threatening/attacking protesters have already occurred - Utah man shot arrows at protesters, TX man went after protesters w/ chainsaw, several cars drove through protesters. Hours ago man drove through barricade in Seattle, got out w/ gun.
No deaths yet, but there will be.
Meanwhile, Trump, Barr, GOP & Fox “News” are pushing idea Antifa “terrorists” are destroying cities. No evidence of that. In fact, most guys arrested so far for starting fires & looting are white supremacists. courthousenews.com/minnesota-offi…
Meanwhile, Trump, Barr, GOP & Fox “News” are pushing idea Antifa “terrorists” are destroying cities. No evidence of that. In fact, most guys arrested so far for starting fires & looting are white supremacists. courthousenews.com/minnesota-offi…
Protesters have captured videos of white men, faces covered, often wearing all black (a popular perception of how “Antifa” dresses) calmly breaking windows with hammers in an apparent effort to kickstart actual protesters into engaging in violence. independent.co.uk/news/world/ame…
Some allegedly Antifa vandals were caught giving white power symbol (which left-wing Antifa wouldn't do). Others were seen getting out of vans similar to police vans. They’re clearly not protesters, refuse to identify themselves & walk away quickly when real protesters approach.
“Antifa” is a term meaning “anti-Fascist" & while some Resisters identify as Antifa, they're no terrorists. After Heather Heyer was killed in Charlottesville, Resisters calling themselves Antifa showed up at subsequent protests to protect protesters from white supremacist attacks
Antifa is not an organized group w/ leaders & structure like white supremacist groups. Antifa hasn't killed anyone or carried out any terrorist attacks. White supremacists, on the other hand, have killed many & planned or carried out multiple attacks. motherjones.com/politics/2019/…
Antifa is not running around burning down cities during these protests, but Barr & Trump want us very badly to believe they are. Why do they want us to believe this? Why don’t they present any evidence, if they have it? washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/…
Fox “News” has white GOP so terrified of imaginary Antifa people are going out in vigilante groups to “defend” towns. In OR, residents felled trees & lined up w/ guns to prepare to fight, believing busloads of Antifa terrorists were coming. (None came.)
Disinformation being pushed on social media has GOP convinced Antifa terrorists are on a nationwide mission to destroy. Of course, Antifa never shows up. That disinformation is almost certainly being pushed by Russia.
Yet Barr & Trump are simultaneously pushing the same lies.
Yet Barr & Trump are simultaneously pushing the same lies.
Know how dictators seize or expand their powers? They create an imaginary enemy & convince people that enemy is doing vile things. They use an imaginary enemy to stoke mass fear. That’s Phase 1. Next phase is actually doing something vile & blaming it on that imaginary enemy.
Hitler did it w/ Reichstag fire. When Reichstag (parliament building) burned down, Hitler blamed Jews & socialists & invoked emergency powers, “temporarily” suspending constitution & rights. Historians believe Hitler’s men burned down Reichstag themselves. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag…
Putin did same w/ apartment bombings. In Sept 1999, a series of explosions killed 300+ & instilled mass fear. Putin blamed Chechen terrorists & rode to power playing strongman who could save Russia. Historians believe Putin’s men blew up those buildings.
businessinsider.com/how-the-1999-r…
businessinsider.com/how-the-1999-r…
Now we have Trump & Barr citing huge Antifa “terrorist” threat, yet refusing to provide a shred of evidence.
Meanwhile, white supremacists are being caught on video & arrested for shady shit in protests while, apparently, dressed to look like Antifa.
Meanwhile, white supremacists are being caught on video & arrested for shady shit in protests while, apparently, dressed to look like Antifa.
Trump previously stoked fear, before 2018 midterms, w/ rants about murderous immigrant caravans allegedly funded by Jews (Soros). That lie led directly to a gunman killing 11 at a Pittsburgh synagogue. vox.com/2018/10/29/180…
This Antifa effort, tho, feels far more sinister & now Trump has Barr to help him.
And also Putin. Trump has been talking frequently w/ Putin lately, often immediately before taking action.
And also Putin. Trump has been talking frequently w/ Putin lately, often immediately before taking action.
We also have a strange Trump military force assembled under Barr’s command, which is unprecedented. They refuse to identify agency they work for. Many don’t look official at all, sporting facial hair & no actual uniform.
A leaked document suggests some are from various legit agencies (prison guards, Coast Guard, ICE, CBP, possibly DEA or ATF), but why bring so many different groups together? Why not one unit from one agency instead of a few from here, a few from there?
How are they selected? Are they selected for white supremacist views? Are they all from legit agencies? Why no insignia? Why the refusal to identify their agencies?
Is their oath to the Constitution? Or to Trump personally?
Is their oath to the Constitution? Or to Trump personally?
In 2017, Blackwater founder Erik Prince (Betsy DeVos’s brother) proposed a private domestic spy service & privatizing the army. Trump’s administration hid it, then claimed they rejected it when media found out. Did they really? cnn.com/2017/12/05/pol…
Who are these men? Could some be mercenaries? Could some be white supremacists? Could some be Russian? And why did Erik Prince use spies to infiltrate liberal groups? Who is that for? slate.com/news-and-polit…
Then there's the Boogaloo guys, whose aim is actual Civil War. These guys WANT violence. Gun-toting Boogaloo members have appeared at George Floyd protests in Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Dallas, Atlanta and elsewhere, according to The Washington Post. cnn.com/2020/06/03/us/…
Shady shit is going on.
We like to think all we have to do is wait until Nov. & vote Trump out. That's the normal thing.
Things aren't normal. Trump is not a president. He's Putin's puppet & they're not going down that easily, in my opinion.
We like to think all we have to do is wait until Nov. & vote Trump out. That's the normal thing.
Things aren't normal. Trump is not a president. He's Putin's puppet & they're not going down that easily, in my opinion.
BTW, if anyone asks if you're ANTIFA, I hope every single one of you will proudly say, "Damn right I'm anti-Fascist. You're not?"
How do we defend against any possible shady shit to retain power on the part of Trump/Barr/Putin/GOP?
I don't know, but I do believe the more of us who are aware of it, the less likely it can work. If we expect a Reichstag fire, then when it happens they can't easily pull it off
I don't know, but I do believe the more of us who are aware of it, the less likely it can work. If we expect a Reichstag fire, then when it happens they can't easily pull it off
Most important thing is to be aware at all times how abnormal all of this is. Many of us have been predicting these things since Trump took office & have been called paranoid. Now former military generals & intel are sounding the same alarm. It's real.
I'll add this:
It's no coincidence that intel officials - who 1st sounded alarm about Putin using white supremacists to start a race war a year ago - are now sounding it AGAIN.
RIGHT NOW, as Trump dumps gasoline on protests & invents a terrorist threat. nytimes.com/2020/03/10/us/…
It's no coincidence that intel officials - who 1st sounded alarm about Putin using white supremacists to start a race war a year ago - are now sounding it AGAIN.
RIGHT NOW, as Trump dumps gasoline on protests & invents a terrorist threat. nytimes.com/2020/03/10/us/…
I know it's hard to believe a US president could conceivably incite or initiate violence to benefit himself, much less to please Russia. Yet dictators the world over have done it. Despite what we pretend, America is not exceptional.
It can happen here.
It is happening here.
It can happen here.
It is happening here.
