Trump's comments were "a huge win for the Proud Boys, which we should remember is a group who views its mission as literally ‘fighting Antifa’ as part of its ’defense of the West,'" @MeganSquire0, who tracks data on the group, tells TIME. time.com/5894497/donald…
Members of the far-right group "are even debating whether to go ‘back to Portland,’ and how to proceed."
“They’ve now been blessed by the President on the world stage and the data shows they are extremely excited by this." time.com/5894497/donald…
Scott, the lone Black Republican in the Senate, says Trump "misspoke" when he told far-right extremist group to "stand back and stand by"
"I think the president misspoke, and he needs to correct it. If he doesn’t correct it, I guess he didn’t misspeak.” postandcourier.com/news/tim-scott…
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Frank Carillo, a 66-year-old from Virginia, has been arrested & charged with threatening online to kill Vice President Kamala Harris along with a series of other violent threats against her and others (including President Biden & FBI Director Wray)
Amazing: When the feds showed up to arrest him (after threatening to kill VP Kamala Harris, "personally pluck out her eyes" and light her on fire), Carillo seems surprised.
"This is ridiculous, for a comment. I guess I'm gonna need a lawyer."
This is part of a recent pattern—online violent rhetoric against public officials has become so normalized that people are shocked (shocked!) when the feds show up at their door for threatening to murder politicians
New: How Prigozhin used Telegram to build an online platform that in just seven months allowed him to morph from an unofficial extension of the Kremlin to a prominent figure with his own online audience & direct channel to the Russian public time.com/6290378/yevgen…
Prigozhin built Wagner in the shadows for almost a decade and was rarely seen in public, denying his connection to the group and even suing news outlets for correctly linking him to Wagner. That all changed abruptly last September. time.com/6290378/yevgen…
Prigozhin used Telegram to circumvent the Kremlin’s state media apparatus, meeting Russians on the platform where they sought uncensored news from the war in Ukraine. https://t.co/7nWs5ojYyytime.com/6290378/yevgen…
The CIA launched a new Telegram channel today to recruit Russians who might be willing to provide state info, complete with a cinematic video in the gray tones of a Cold War thriller.
The video “goes from grainy sad life in Russia to what–grainy, sad life on the CIA side? Most Russians are suspicious of America & CIA in particular. So associating this with the CIA is only likely to reinforce the belief they’re the ones doing the lying.” time.com/6280190/cia-re…
“Are you a military officer? Do you work in intelligence, diplomacy, science, high technology or deal with people who do?” reads a message in the new CIA video, which ends with both Russian characters deciding to contact the agency on their phones. time.com/6280190/cia-re…
In 2021, I investigated how America’s Frontline Doctors, which despite its name is actually a right-wing political org created to support the Trump admin's reopening push, was making $$ off bogus Covid cures & anti-vax conspiracies. It only got worse.
As the US officially closes the book on the pandemic, many families have remained silent about this aspect of their loved ones’ deaths. Some are embarrassed or reluctant to tarnish their relatives’ memories.
FWIW, all the facts contradict the emerging whistleblower narrative.
- Teixeira didn’t actually do any whistleblowing - he didn’t expose docs to the public/the press
- He posted docs in group & told them not to share
- His friends in group vehemently deny he’s a whistleblower
"Two U.S. officials confirmed that investigators want to talk to Airman Teixeira about the leak of the government documents to the private online group. One official said Airman Teixeira might have information relevant to the investigation." nytimes.com/2023/04/13/wor…
"Members of Thug Shaker Central who spoke to The Times...who came together over a shared love of guns, racist online memes and video games" is both an incredible and completely predictable line re: a classified intel leak in 2023 nytimes.com/2023/04/13/wor…
"When asked if Airman Teixeira was there and willing to speak, the man said: “He needs to get an attorney if things are flowing the way they are going right now. The Feds will be around soon, I’m sure.” nytimes.com/2023/04/13/wor…