Long story short: A Patriot Prayer rally was organized for Saturday, August 4, in Portland, Oregon, called the Gibson For Senate Freedom March. Violent Antifa groups are mobilizing to "counter protest," the event. Almost every time an Antifa group shows up at a peaceful event, wearing black, in masks, to supposedly "counter-protest" an event held by any conservative group, violence follows.
Federal authorities have been warning state and local officials since early 2016 that leftist extremists known as “antifa” had become increasingly confrontational and dangerous, so much so that the Department of Homeland Security formally classified their activities as “domestic terrorist violence,” according to interviews and confidential law enforcement documents obtained by POLITICO.
Since well before the Aug. 12 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned deadly, DHS has been issuing warnings about the growing likelihood of lethal violence between the left-wing anarchists and right-wing white supremacist and nationalist groups.
Previously unreported documents disclose that by April 2016, authorities believed that “anarchist extremists” were the primary instigators of violence at public rallies against a range of targets. They were blamed by authorities for attacks on the police, government and political institutions, along with symbols of “the capitalist system,” racism, social injustice and fascism, according to a confidential 2016 joint intelligence assessment by DHS and the FBI.
Many different groups fall under the "antifa" label, as they call themselves "anti-fascists," yet use violence, which they are on record as stating is "justified," and "necessary," in order to suppress the free speech of those they disagree with, which in and of itself, is a fascist tactic.
As far as Antifa is concerned, if they disagree with an ideological position, those holding an opposing stance are automatically labeled fascist, therefore violence is justified. More about Antifa and the "Anti-Fascist handbook," at this link.
But as a result of this close-minded thinking, we’ve got a violent movement convinced it has the right to be judge, jury and executioner because it has identified a deserving enemy.
Now even if this worked in theory, we already know it doesn’t work in practice. Because the guardians of goodness who fill Antifa’s ranks don’t just shout down neo-Nazis and other racists who deserve total condemnation (but not the loss of their constitutional rights). They also disrupt and commit violence at mainstream Republicans rallies, and attack anyone they’ve deemed unacceptable.
In other words, Antifa gets to decide who the fascists are, and don’t look now, but it’s you.
Mind you, Bray does attempt to explain what fascism looks like. Its hallmarks include a preoccupation with victimhood, a cult of purity, abandonment of liberty and redemptive violence.
Just as a reminder of the violence that follows Antifa wherever they go, here is a compilation video from a number of events prior to April 2017 in which Antifa showed up at peaceful events, and chaos, violence and rioting followed.
AUGUST 4, 2018 - PATRIOT PRAYER RALLY
The Patriot Prayer group obtained permits to hold a campaign rally for the group's leader, Joey Gibson, who is running to represent Washington in the US Senate. Despite the fact that previous rallies had turned violent after Antifa groups showed up to "counter-protest," by violently attacking rally attendees, the city continues to issue them permits because of a 1996 ruling in the case of Collins v. Jordan it is unconstitutional to put a blanket ban on demonstrations.
According to the court: "The law is clear that First Amendment activity may not be banned simply because prior similar activity led to or involved instances of violence... Demonstrations can be expected when the government acts in highly controversial ways, or other events occur that excite or arouse the passions of the citizenry.... Some of these demonstrations may become violent," the decision reads.
AUGUST 4, 2018 - ANTIFA ORGANIZES TO CONFRONT PATRIOT PRAYER RALLY
A number of Antifa groups are planning to show up to protest the Patriot Prayer rally, as shown on the website Its Going Down. They have dubbed their protest #AllOutPDX mobilization in Portland.
They start by claiming the Patriot Prayer has been "terrorizing the West Coast," despite the fact that each Patriot Prayer rally had remained non-violent and peaceful events until Antifa groups showed up to confront them. They then label the Patriot Pray rallies as "far-right rallies with deep anti-immigrant, Islamophobic, homophobic, transphobic," without offering any proof of any of those assertions.
(Note - White Supremacists have invaded such events, and while their rhetoric can be offensive and abhorrent, it is free speech as long as they stay peaceful. which they did until Antifa attacked members of the rallies.)
Then they tell their followers the rallies, are "incredibly violent," without admitting it was Antifa that created that violence with open confrontation and physical attacks (re: with bike locks to the head, mace, wood with nails, etc...), claiming that the Patriot Prayer groups attacked them.
Making it very clear on their event page, that their sole goal is confrontation, they inform their readers "People are no longer meeting at Chapman Square, that was a placeholder location until Patriot Prayer revealed their actual location," in bold print.
Think about that for a minute. If this was just a protest, or counter-protest, they would meet where they planned to meet originally and conduct their protest, but this Antifa group deliberately changed the location of their intended meeting place in order to guarantee confrontation with Patriot Prayer rally group at the location they obtained a permit to hold their rally.
Portland Police are preparing to keep the two groups apart, but previous examples do not offer much hope they will be successful if the Antifa groups are hell-bent on causing a violent confrontation.
The Patriot Prayer rally is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. (PT), which is 3 p.m (ET) and the Antifa groups slated to converge at City Hall at 10:30 (PT), which is 1:30 p.m. (ET).
This article will be updated if events again spiral out of control, with live updates, videos, and images added below as they become available.
Readers are encouraged to provide any updates they find around the web as well, in the comment section below.
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