Category Archives: Antifa

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) says that anyone who would harm a person, their property, or police officers needs to stay out of the state or face "swift" and "severe" consequences.

DeSantis warned that if rioters begin demonstrating in Florida as they do in various places in Oregon they will be met with severe consequences.

During last week's press conference revealing that the state would apportion $1,000 bonuses to first responders, the Republican governor vowed to protect police officers and residents from rioting, vandalism, and violence.

"I think if you look around the country, what happens is, like in Portland, these people riot every night," he said. "They go, they get their mug shot, and then they get put right back on the street to do it again. That's what we don't want."

He added, "The minute you harm somebody else or you harm somebody's property, you do those types of things, the only way we're going to put a stop to it is to have very swift penalties for it."

Pointing to areas such as Portland, Oregon, DeSantis added that crime is spiking in areas across America due to a lack of support for police.

"There's a lot of places around this country that have not stood by law enforcement, and the tragedy of it is, you're seeing crime spike in certain parts of our country like we haven't seen in decades," he explained. "The people that are going to be most affected by that are the most vulnerable members of our society."

He also added that he is issuing the statewide bonuses because it is imperative for law enforcement and first responders to function and serve the country as they always have.

"One of the reasons we are here today with the bonuses is because we know just how important that is. It tells people, 'Hey, if you are in Portland and you think you can come down to Florida and do this, stay out of our state!' We don't want you coming down here and causing problems," DeSantis insisted. "If anyone does cause these problems, if you try to burn something down, try harm anybody, but particularly a police officer during one these violent assemblies, there will be consequences. They will be swift and they will be severe. They will be such that people who see that happening will know that's not something that we want to do going forward."

"Stay out of our state!" Gov. DeSantis warns protesters NOT to come to FL or face consequences http://www.youtube.com

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Gov. Ron DeSantis warns Antifa to stay out of Florida: Consequences will be swift and they will be severe - TheBlaze

(TNS) If you need another example of how disinformation can actually hurt people and turn an emergency into a crisis, go back to the wildfires that consumed portions of California, Oregon and Washington last September.

The fires, historic in scale, burned some 5 million acres and thousands of homes and structures. Drought-like conditions throughout the Northwest allowed them to rage, and the resulting smoke cast a pall over the entire region. Officials and emergency responders had enough on their hands without having to convince people the threat was real.

But in Oregon, the situation was made worse by a stream of disinformation rumors, really on social media. As the fires spread, so did false claims that they had been deliberately set by antifa, a loosely organized group of far-left activists that clashes with right-wing organizations and has been labeled by conservatives as the source of all violence and disruption.

Soon, police departments and 9-1-1 dispatchers were being bombarded by calls from Oregon homeowners who had heard that roving gangs of antifa members were setting fires. Some neighborhoods set up armed checkpoints, as they mobilized to guard their homes.

The phone calls, rumors and checkpoints all interfered with fire, police and rescue personnel trying to compile accurate information about the numerous fires and effectively dispatch resources to fight them, save lives and property, and evacuate as many residents as possible.

It took two to three days of media saturation by state and local officials to finally quell the antifa conspiracy. That is the power of social media to propel a set of lies.

Last month, Glenn S. Gerstell, a former general counsel for the National Security Agency, cited the Oregon saga in testimony before the House Armed Services subcommittee on cybersecurity, innovative technologies and information systems during a hearing on disinformation and what to do about it.

It reached a point because of what Russia was doing that civilians actually set up roadblocks in Oregon in an effort to stop these perceived but erroneous protesters who, of course, werent there, Gerstell continued. It actually hurt people who were trying to flee the fire so much so that the Douglas County sheriff and the FBI pleaded with the public to stop circulating these falsehoods.

Disinformation campaigns are sophisticated, but amazingly cheap. And all of the Pentagons bombs and bullets, fighter jets, Navy destroyers and nuclear weapons cant do much about them.

So, what would work?

For a long time, experts have talked about a whole of government approach to the problem a phrase reporters tend to dismiss when we hear it in Washington, which is often. But this time, they might be right. Gerstell and his fellow witnesses had numerous suggestions for lawmakers.

First, regulate social media by changing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, or somehow convince them to regulate themselves with an aim, as Gerstell testified, to limit the virality of falsehoods, to check them before they get spread too widely.

Second, establish a bipartisan, agreed-upon campaign of civic education and digital literacy to teach people young and old the differences between falsehood and truth and how to recognize the differences online. Nina Jankowicz, the disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center, suggested such a campaign be based in our public library system, one of the most trusted institutions in America.

Next, the Pentagon must elevate the fight against disinformation, with high-level civilians and officers making it a key part of their strategy portfolios. After all, undermining confidence in our democracy and institutions is a strategy, not just tactics, used by our enemies to weaken, divide and conquer.

The Pentagon should also examine and strengthen its psychological operations and perhaps marry them to its cybersecurity teams and reconsider how spies, the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command carry out their intelligence missions to protect the United States without interfering in free and unfettered domestic debate.

Finally and this is the hardest Rubicon to cross there must be a consideration of the extent to which the U.S. should fight fire with fire: Do we engage in falsehoods abroad to weaken our enemies, as they do to us? Agencies like the CIA have done so in the past, but most of the witnesses before Armed Services were reluctant to offer support for such activities.

One of them, Herbert Lin, the senior research scholar at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, put it this way: Do we want to adopt the tactics of the Russians in this? Im very uncomfortable about that as an American citizen.

On the other hand, Lin continued, its pretty clear that speaking the truth, just the truth, doesnt work very well.

And we, the Americans, believe in speaking the truth that the truth will eventually win, he said. Maybe eventually. But theres good evidence that it doesnt always win in the short term. And how far are we willing to go down that path? Thats a very tough policy question.

But thats why we elect members of Congress and presidents. To answer the tough questions. With disinformation spreading like wildfire, its time they do.

(c)2021 CQ Roll Call. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Disinformation Isnt Just a National Problem; Its Local, Too - Governing

TODD: You know the two-tier justice system? This is a play right now in New York. A New York judge has dismissed the NRAs bankruptcy case, meaning that they want the NRA to be stuck there forever. Rush talked about this case last year, and he asked us a question about Antifa and Black Lives Matter, Inc., whether those two domestic terror groups make the case for a strong NRA.

RUSH: This New York state attorney general, whats her name? Letitia James. So shes been hyping this press conference all day today, at 11:30, but she didnt tell anybody what it was gonna be about. So at 11:30 the thing starts, the Drive-Bys the whole morning are thinking that this is it. How many times have they thought this? This is it. Today we nail Trump. This is it. Today we find out Trumps been lying about his financials. This is where we find out that Trump is a criminal. This where we find out this, that, and the other thing. So she starts her press conference, you know what it is? Just listen. You want to talk about a Drive-By Media letdown. Try this.

JAMES: They used millions upon millions of dollars from the NRA for personal use, including for lavish trips for themselves and their families, private jets, expensive meals and other private travel. Wayne LaPierre, Woody Phillips, Joshua Powell and John Frazier instituted a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement and negligent oversight at the NRA that was illegal, oppressive and fraudulent.

RUSH: Thats right. With gun sales at a record, gun sales are a record high right now, and it makes perfectly understandable sense with all the rioting and lawlessness and the Democrats talking about defunding the police, here comes Letitia James announcing a lawsuit against the NRA in New York state. Whens the last time you heard anybody talk about the NRA, even the Democrats? Its not on their radar. The Second Amendments always there but they got some distractions in their way.

This was a huge letdown for the Drive-By Media.

They were convinced that she was gonna announce some case against Trump. I think as usual were being played, were being manipulated by the Democrats and their friends, their buddies in media. So I think this going after the NRA has something other than going after the NRA to it. Theyre serious, I mean the babe is serious about going after the NRA cause they hate the NRA, but its not gonna stop people from buying guns.

But the bottom line is they didnt go after Trump, did they? She let everybody think thats what was gonna be announced, and not a word was said about it. By the way, wouldnt you say that Antifa, the rioters, Black Lives Matter, are they not making a case for the NRA? Why do you think people are arming up? Why do you think people are buying guns left and right? Democrats want to defund the cops, and people believe they mean it.

Democrats, youd better figure something out fast. You start talking about this nonsense, you know, you think youre just playing to your Twitter base, but Twitter is not America. Twitter is not even close to being America in terms of majority. And you think a majority of Americans want to get rid of the cops? How does that jibe with people going out and buying guns left and right and right? We got more people buying guns for the first time than ever before in this country.

TODD: Hence, its going to continue, because the destabilization of America continues.

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Rush Always Said There Are No Coincidences: As BLM and Antifa Threat Rises, the Left Targets the NRA - Rush Limbaugh

YouTubeScreenshot from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"

The Maquis were first introduced to the Star Trek universe in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The episode Journeys End depicted the beginning of the resistance movement.

When the Cardassians signed a peace treaty with the Federation, scores of Federation colonists on multiple planets were displaced to accommodate the Cardassian occupation. The colonists that did remain suffered at the hands of their Cardassian overlords. Many of them decided to fight back by forming a resistance group called the Maquis.

The Maquis | Star TrekWith the stroke of a pen, tens of thousands of Federation citizens found their colonies on the wrong side of a border. Rather than submit to the brutality of the Cardassian Union, these people would fight for their freedom under the banner of the Maquis. The Templin Institute investigates the nations, factions, and organizations of2018-04-09T19:00:00Z

Colonists in the Cardassian Demilitarized Zone, the area of space that separated Cardassian and Federation space, formed the core of the Maquis. In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine two-parter, The Maquis, members of the resistance group destroyed a Cardassian freighter. As Commander Benjamin Sisko investigated the incident, he discovered that the Cardassians had been engaging in acts of aggression against the Federation colonists in the Demilitarized Zone for years. Many of the colonists, including a Federation commander, joined the Maquis to fight back.

The Maquis garnered a lot of support from the Bajorans, who had dealt with decades of Cardassian occupation. The crew of Deep Space Nine often encountered Maquis resistance fighters while mitigating the situation between Bajor and Cardassia.

The Maquis also played a major role in Star Trek: Voyager. As the resistance group grew, it recruited several Starfleet officers. Voyager was sent to apprehend the members of a Maquis cell. Shortly after they did, the ship was pulled into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker. Stranded with the Starfleet crew, the Maquis resistance fighters chose to become members of the crew to help get the ship home.

Men Of The Maquis (1944)Item title reads Men of the Maquis the story of the underground army of France with an exclusive personal narrative by the eminent French actress Francoise Rosay (by courtesy of Ealing studios). Various shots at a Paris railway station during the occupation, a train pulls in carrying German A.A. gun and German troops.2014-04-13T13:53:05Z

According to The Next Generation Companion, the writers and producers of the Star Trek shows based the Trekverse Maquis on a real-life anti-fascist group of the same name. The original Maquis was a French resistance group that fought the Nazis.

When the Nazis occupied France during World War II, small resistance groups began to form in secret. According to The Archive, in cities like Paris and Lyon, the resistance groups were highly organized and had strong leadership. The resistance groups that formed in the country were the exact opposite. They rarely worked together and there was no formal leadership. These bands of resistance fighters were often small groups of farmers and working-class men and women who decided to fight the Nazis on their own.

Eventually, the resistance groups in the city heard about the groups popping up in the countryside. Agents visited these groups and discovered that the French countryside was the perfect place to hide from German soldiers. So, the city resistance groups joined forces with the groups called The Maquis, which was French for underbrush, a reference to the landscapes in which they would hide.

The goal of the Maquis was to disrupt the German occupation in whatever way they could. They often attacked German encampments in the countryside, causing as much chaos as possible. Though the Maquis never managed any major tactical victories over the Germans, they fought nonetheless. More importantly, the existence of the Maquis brought hope to the French citizens who were suffering under the Nazi occupation.

The decision to name the Trek Maquis after the real-life anti-fascist group was a nod to the brave men and women who opposed the Nazi occupation, just like the Federation colonists opposing the Cardassian occupation.

Follow the Heavy on Star Trek Facebook page for the latest breaking news, rumors and content!

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The Maquis Were Inspired by Real French Nazi Fighters - Heavy.com

House GOP Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy insisted he won't support House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's calls for a bipartisan commission that focuses on the January 6 Capitol Riot without including a probe into Black Lives Matter and Antifa.

Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace repeatedly pressed McCarthy to clearly state whether he would support a probe that hones in on the deadly riot, noting that Republicans vehemently supported a tightly-focused probe into the 2012 Benghazi, Libya murder of four Americans. McCarthy repeatedly claimed he was the first congressional member to ask for a "9/11-style" commission on the riot, but he and GOP lawmakers want to see it broadly expanded to include unfounded ties to BLM and Antifa.

McCarthy's interview also saw him repeatedly avoid then ultimate deny reports that former President Donald Trump engaged in "witness tampering" during tense January 6 phone calls about the riot.

"Why not confine this committee to what happened on January 6 when there was an insurrection at the Capitol?" Wallace asked McCarthy, noting that in 2012 then-House GOP Leader John Boehner "set up the [Benghazi probe] and it was completely confined to the Benghazi murders."

"You've had political violence for the last year in this building, on Good Friday you had an officer killed for a political belief right on that Capitol as well, if you're now going to put a commission together, why wouldn't you look at all the problems to solve?" McCarthy said, referencing the April 2 killing of U.S. Capitol Police Officer William "Billy" Evans by a purported Nation of Islam member.

"I'm the one who asked for a commission, it's Speaker Pelosi who is trying to make it partisan. This is too important to negotiate in the press," McCarthy added, describing why he wants a broader probe that doesn't focus on the largely pro-Trump rioters who led the January 6 attacks.

Wallace also confronted McCarthy about his reported phone call with Trump during the January 6 insurrection, in which the then-president shamed him for not offering his support to the violent rioters. McCarthy dodged a direct answer several times before ultimately declining to relay exactly what was said between the two.

Trump reportedly said in the January 6 call, "Well Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are."

"Is that what President Trump said to you?" Wallace asked.

"What I talked to President Trump about, I was the first person to contact him when the riots were going on and he didn't see it, but he ended the call telling me he'll put something out to make sure to stop this. And that's what he did, he put a video out later. McCarthy said.

"Quite a lot later, and it was a very weak video," Wallace said, before pressing once again. "But I'm asking you specifically, did he say to you, 'I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are'?"

"No, listen, my conversations with the president are my conversations with the president," McCarthy said. "I engaged in the idea of making sure we could stop what was going on inside the Capitol at that moment in time and the president said he would help."

Wallace continued, "Has the president ever reached out to you, since that report came out, to discuss what you and he talked about in the January 6 phone call, and did you say to him, 'I can't, because we're under oath'?"

"That's never happened, never even close," McCarthy replied, acknowledging that such a conversation would be considered witness tampering. "We never had any conversation like that. I've never even heard that rumor until today."

Newsweek reached out to McCarthy's office for additional remarks about the Fox News Sunday interview.

Read more:

Fox Host Confronts Kevin McCarthy on Demand BLM, Antifa Be Included in Capitol Riot Probe - Newsweek

The Department of Justice says that a Forestburg, Texas couple was arrested on Wednesday, April 21 for allegedly assaulting cops who were dispatched to man barricades at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Mark Middleton, 52, and Jalise Middleton, 51, made their first appearances in federal court on Thursday in the Lone Star State.

According to the FBIs statement of facts, there was ample evidence that the couple participated in the Jan. 6 siege, and some of the evidence was provided by the suspects themselves on social media. Importantly, however, tipsters identified only as acquaintances who saw those Facebook posts agreed to FBI interviews and told the feds what they saw.

One of those tipsters was described as the parent of girl who is an acquaintance of defendant Jalise Middleton. Some of the tipsters are referred to in court documents only by the pronoun it in an apparent attempt to avoid identifying the tipsters gender.

The tipster reported that ITS daughter had seen numerous posts and photos on J MIDDLETONs Facebook page following the Capitol riots indicating that J MIDDLETON had participated in the riot, court documents say. Those posts and photos were not long for this world, however, because Jalise Middleton allegedly deleted them about two days after posting them, the feds said.

A second tipster reported that an acquaintance of ITS mother informed IT that ITS mother had travelled to Washington, DC on or about January 6, 2021, with a group of people including both Middletons. The tipster said the acquaintance of ITS mother believed the suspects had an altercation with a police officer at the Capitol.

The precise familial relationships are somewhat lost in the cloak of the translation, but the bottom line, prosecutors allege, is that people were talking about the defendants causing trouble in D.C. Plus, the tipsters suggested that witnesses could pinpoint the defendants travels.

The government says that Metropolitan Police officers identified only T.T. and R.C. were assaulted by a group of rioters at the barricades of the West Front of the Capitol building on Jan. 6. Mark Middleton and Jalise Middleton allegedly took part in the attack.

As the struggle ensues, a male individual wearing a red, white, and blue Trump beanie hat, red and white scarf, gray or silver jacket, blue jeans, red and white Nike shoes, and gray backpack with a red logo on the backlater identified as Mark Middleton (M MIDDLETON) pushes against the barricades and the police line with his body. As officers repeatedly order M MIDDLETON and other rioters to get back, M MIDDLETON is heard yelling fuck you! as he continues pushing against the barricade.

At the same time, a female individual wearing a red, white, and blue Trump 2020 beanie hat, red, white, and blue scarf, gray jacket, red shirt, and gold ring with what appears to be diamondslater identified as Jalise Middleton (J MIDDLETON)repeatedly grabs and strikes T.T. over the barricade with her hand.

From here, the statement of facts discussed the Facebook posts the couple allegedly posted to their respective accounts. Mark Middleton allegedly recorded himself saying something incriminating.

We are on the front lines. We helped push down the barriers. Jalise and I got pepper sprayed, clubbed, and tear gassed. We had to retreat, but more patriots pushed forward, and theyre taking back our house, Middleton was quoted as saying. Theyve got the giant flag up on the upper terrace up there. No more fooling around! Jalise and I gotta go back to the hotel and try to recoup and change, get dry clothes on. Make America great again! Freedom!

Additional comments attributed to Mark Middleton do not appear to be exculpatory.

Jalise Middleton allegedly admitted in Facebook comments that she and her husband fought cops, were on the front lines, and ultimately got bruised and pepper sprayed.

Patriots busted through barrierers [sic] to get in Capital [sic]. Best I know there was no looting or rioting,' Jalise Middleton allegedly said on the evening of Jan. 6. We just sent a warning that we are serious.

Patriots dont stoop low like Antifa, she went on. The fixation on Antifa continued on Jan. 7:Patriots surged, just to show strength, Antifa went in to make ya look bad.

The Middletons each face the following seven charges: (1) assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers; (2) obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder; (3) obstruction of justice/congress; (4) knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; (5) disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; (6) engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; (7) violent entry and disorderly conduct on capitol grounds.

[Images via FBI]

Have a tip we should know? [emailprotected]

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Patriots Dont Stoop Low Like Antifa: Texas Woman Admits Online that She and Her Husband Fought Cops at U.S. Capitol, Feds Say - Law & Crime

It appears that Antifa militants you know, those figments of conservatives' collective imagination, those black-clad, violent leftists who are at best "an idea, not an organization" and at worst a "myth" have miraculously exited the pages of storybooks and landed in apparent real life.

Conservative radio host Jason Rantz of KTTH-AM posted cellphone video seemingly recorded on the sly showing a group of "radical activists, including Antifa" holding an outdoor meeting in Seattle Friday night following their usual street hijinks.

During their chat, the "comrades" a term actually uttered by one freedom fighter discuss strategy, pat themselves on the back after they "fought with the pigs," and emphasize not to discuss with anyone that they've met or their activities, as well as other methods to keep authorities at bay.

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @JasonRantz

Shockingly, one militant tells the group that "autonomous doesn't mean unorganized. So we do have to make decisions as a crew, as a team." Seriously, since when do myths and ideas band together like ... an organization?

Another militant suggests next time out they divide themselves into groups dressed as "black bloc" and "plain clothes" in order to prevent police from identifying members according to attire. In addition, another militant reminds members to look at the "Seattle [Black Lives Matter] calendar" and other groups' activities to keep informed.

Prior to departing, one militant adds, "Once we de-bloc and leave, you weren't at this autonomous action. So you don't go home and talk about it. You didn't see anything, you didn't talk to anybody." Another group member chimes in, "Our general policy is, 'I didn't see s**t or know s**t.' If somebody asks you what you did Friday night 'nothin'.'"

Others also offer tips about phones, primarily to keep them turned off, to "get a burner if you can," nont to have phones "tied to you personally," and to make them password-protected with "no bio, no face, no thumb."

Toward the end, another woman tells the group, "While we're not necessarily out in the streets every night, we are doing actions every night. We're sharing information, we're watching livestreams, we're educating ourselves, we're educating our peers, our families, our friends. So keep that momentum up." She adds that there's plenty to be done to aid the "revolution."

The militants also express a desire for "more organization" as well as concerns about being "infiltrated," especially since they're in a "vulnerable location" and "the longer we stay here, the easier it is for them to start picking out people as they walk out."

Content warning: Language:

Last July, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler (N.Y.), chairman of House Judiciary Committee, was caught on video stating that Antifa violence in Portland, Oregon, taking place night after night and documented in numerous videos and news reports is a "myth that's being spread only in Washington, D.C."

Last September, then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in a debate with then-President Donald Trump parroted the words of FBI Director Christopher Wray, saying that "Antifa's an idea, not an organization."

But speaking to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence last week, Wray was willing to concede that Antifa is "more of a movement. There are certainly local and regional nodes, individuals who self-identify with Antifa who commit violent attacks, citing that as their motivation. And we have a number of predicated investigations into such individuals."

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Antifa 'a myth,' 'an idea, not an organization' meets after street 'action' to discuss strategy, warns each other to keep things secret - TheBlaze

The graffiti on a port-a-potty in a gravel pit was, in the opinion of one Washington state resident, a sign that anti-fascists might blow up a nearby dam. Another local was convinced that a young man reading signs was actually an Antifa or BLM scout. A third person warned, via an anonymous email tip, that her ex-husband was part of an anti-fascist group that was coming to burn down the town.

All these complaints were forwarded throughout police ranks in Washington, where officials urged vigilance against the leftist threat.

As racial justice protests flared across the country in summer 2020, so did conservative fears of leftist protesters. From Oregon to Virginia, social media lit up with rumors about anti-fascists (antifa) or Black Lives Matter participants, who were allegedly coming to terrorize small towns.

Anacortes, a scenic city of 17,000 in coastal Washington, was no exception. From June to August 2020, the citys police department received repeated tips about supposed antifa threats, according to police documents obtained by the government transparency nonprofit Property of the People and shared with The Daily Beast. Even some of the most absurd claims found their way up to state-level law enforcement, those documents show.

Ryan Shapiro, executive director of Property of the People, reiterated that the complaints came amid a summer of rumors and innuendo about antifa and Black Lives Matter. After fresh fears circulated in some conservative channels and law enforcement warned about the potential for mass unrest in the wake of the verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder case in Minnesota, its safe to say that chatter has not subsided.

Conservative and law enforcement panic about antifa and BLM hasnt gone anywhere, Shapiro told The Daily Beast. These documents arent even a year old, and weve had an attempted coup in the interim. Its not like tensions have cooled. We now have tens of millions of people collectively consumed by manufactured paranoia about social justice movements, who also believe the presidential election was stolen with the aid of antifa and BLM. Were likely to see a new round of mass protests against police violence, and I expect the right-wing response will in some ways be even more ferocious than last year.

The documents, obtained via Freedom of Information request, reveal the absurdity of some of last years complaints.

In mid-June, an Anacortes resident contacted the local Skagit County Sheriffs Office via the neighborhood-based social network NextDoor. She and her neighbors often held tailgates where we all fly the American Flag. We are very peaceful. We have signs like Support your Local Police, Support our Troops, Defend the Police, Proud to be an American, Home of the Free Because of the Brave etc, she wrote.

But on a recent weekend, she continued, there was a young man with very short bleached blond hair who walked around in the street right in front of us and read every one of our signs. Paticularly [sic] the Support your Local Police. He had a mean look on his face and looked inside my Jeep where the tail gate was up and he could see more of our signs and American Flags.

Then he ran across the street and got in a car with someone else and drove off. I have never seen him before. I thought it was odd but one of our group is a retired school principal and very astute. He, with all confidence said that the young man was an Antifa or BLM scout. When he said that to me it immediately rang true and I was quite sure he was right.

Do you know something we should about the far right, or how police respond to the left? Email Kelly.Weill@TheDailyBeast.com or securely at kellyweill@protonmail.com from a non-work device.

She said she hoped Antifa or BLM does not come to Anacortes to harass us or put people in danger. Is there any way you can check up on their plans?

The Skagit County Sheriff forwarded the message to the Anacortes Police Department. The sheriffs office told The Daily Beast theyd forwarded the message because the tipster lived in Anacortes.

Mid-June was a popular time for rumors about the left. The following day, the Anacortes Police Department received its own tip, this one anonymous, from someone who claimed that my ex husband is in a group with antifa. He called me and said do not go anywhere. stay home on Sunday because they are coming to Anacortes to break up a group on Commmercial [sic] street on sunday. I love Anacortes. I left Seattle to live a better life here with my kids. And I do not want anacorte burned up and people hurt and cops hurt.

Anacortes Police Chief John Small then forwarded both tips to sheriffs, chiefs, and detectives at five local law enforcement agencies, plus a commander and a sergeant with the Washington State Patrol.

I received the below e-mail from Undersheriff Clark yesterday which was interesting, Small wrote, adding, Today I received the attached anonymous letter alluding to Antifa coming to Anacortes this Sunday to wreak their havoc... We will be increasing our staffing on Sunday, but in reality its still not many people. If we start to yell for help on the radio I didnt want it to be a surprise.

Contacted by The Daily Beast, Small said none of those supposed threats were ever substantiated, but that it wasnt unusual for police to forward tips among law enforcement agencies.

I cant speak for all law enforcement in our state, but all the agencies in Skagit County are small agencies and we commonly share this type of information since we rely on each other for mutual aid in response to a significant event, Small told The Daily Beast.

Washington was not the only state to see law enforcement bombarded with antifa rumors online. In Coquille, Oregon, last summer, a sheriff helped fan antifa fears when he posted on Facebook that 3 buss [sic] loads of ANTIFA protestors are making their way from Douglas County headed for Coquille then to Coos Bay. The fabled buses never appeared. And when a hoaxer publicized a fake antifa flag-burning event in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in July, police arrived at the scene that was overrun with far-right groups who had come to oppose the left.

The following month, another alleged antifa threat, even wilder than the others, found its way to the Skagit County Sheriff, documents show. In this case, it involved two overturned port-a-potties in a gravel pit near a boat launch in Concrete, Washington.

One of the port-a-potties had been spray painted with the acronym ACAB, short for all cops are bastards. The other was tagged with an A in a circle, an anarchist symbol. But where some observers might have seen common vandalism symbols, the tipster who photographed the port-a-potties saw something more ominousmaybe even part of a plot to blow up a dam.

Looks like Antifa has been up to Lake Shannon, the tipster wrote in an email that was forwarded to the Skagit County Sheriff. Thats incredibly worrisome. The anarchy symbol, ACAB (all cops are bastards)... thats an Antifa signature. Too close to town, for sure... but really worrisome when you consider Antifa is now using explosives in cities, organizing with firearms, and... by being at the lake, they were right next to the dam. Just sayin. Can'tbe [sic] too careful, you know? Not in these times.

A sergeant ordered the area to be monitored, claiming that anti-fascists might have previously used the gravel pit as a training area.

Please be aware that there have been some antifa type graffiti at the Lake Shannon boat launch and surrounding area, the sergeant wrote. Please monitor the area and be careful. A few years ago we had information that some of them were using the pit for training purposes.

When reached for comment, a Skagit County Sheriff spokesperson told The Daily Beast the department did not have any information about incidents at the gravel pit.

Shapiro stressed that, while the complaints were far-fetched, they indicated a populace on edge about vague threats, and police departments receptive to those fears. And that has ominous implications as protesters once again take to the streets in large numbersand police show signs of harsh tactics.

When individuals and law enforcement have been whipped into such a paranoid frenzy that theyre primed to see antifa or BLM terrorist conspiracies literally in the toilet, the situation is a powder keg, Shapiro said. Theres a direct line from this sort of deliberately induced political hysteria to violent, repressive crackdowns on progressive dissent.

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Documents Reveal Cops Chasing Absurd Antifa and BLM Tips Kelly Weill - The Daily Beast

Despite the fact that Capitol insurrectionist William Robert Norwood III allegedly stole body armor, lied to the FBI, and led a pack of rioters through the inner sanctum of Speaker Pelosis office space where he lifted a paper coaster, he has been released pending his trial, according to Department of Justice documents seen by The Daily Beast. He is charged with two felonies: obstruction of an official proceeding and theft of government property.

Norwood, who goes by Robbie, boasted to family members about assaulting a law-enforcement officer, according to court documents. It worked, he wrote to family members. I got away with things that others were shot or arrested for. He went on to brag of his bounty. I got a nice helmet and body armor off a cop for Gods sake and i disarmed him, he wrote in messages to friends and family. Tell me how that works. In a text to his brother, he said he was among the ANTIFA Trump supporters at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Norwood petitioned the court last week to be released to home detention, which was granted Saturday, according to Department of Justice documents that lay out the extent of Norwoods involvement in the Jan. 6 riots. Defendant admitted to packing a green tactical vest, bear mace, and a knife in the vehicle he drove to Washington, D.C., the document states, before going on to say that he neither wore the vest, used the bear mace, nor wielded the knife while inside the Capitol building.

As a result of Norwoods lack of criminal history, the D.C. court determined that he is not a threat so society. Aside from the defendants messages boasting about disarming a law enforcement officer, the government does not have any evidence that defendant engaged in any physically violent or assaultive conduct inside or outside the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, government prosecutors stated, submitting that defendant should be released pending trial.

As The Daily Beast previously reported, Norwood told his brother that he was part of ANTIFA Trump supporters and said he fought 4 cops at the riot, posting a selfie to a group chat in which he appeared to sport a Capitol Police vest. His brother texted back: What the actual fuck is wrong with you? Later, Norwoods sibling told a friend about the texts, according to an FBI warrant, and that pal tipped off the feds.

Norwood will be required to wear an electronic monitor and adhere to rules of home detention, which include a curfew and random drug testing.

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Capitol Rioter Who Pretended to Be Antifa and Ransacked Pelosi's Office Released From Jail - The Daily Beast

T.S. Eliot's prayer for this cargo ship in Elliott Bay: "Lady, whose shrine stands on the promontory, / Pray for all those who are in ships, those / Whose business has to do with fish, and / Those concerned with every lawful traffic / And those who conduct them." Charles Mudede

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Merriam-Webster's definition of mad props: US slang. Very enthusiastic praise. For example: "All of the performers deserve mad props."

Seafair this year? It will not be like 2019. Nor will it be like 2020. It will be like... 2021, which means it will be part 2019 and part 2020. If you're surprised to learn that's how we've been rolling this year, then go back to the sack. Seattle Times:

So, you are fucking surprised? Of course the UK strain is now the dominant variant in Washington state. There is nothing about this pandemic that, at this point, presents anything like mystery.

Ordering booze "to go" is given more life, fucker. You can do this kind of thing legally until the summer of 2023. At this point, why are we even pretending like we don't know what's what. The game is up. We can never go back to those old ways, which have about them the stuffy whiff of conservative Christianity. Legalize public drinking.

Rotten apples for rizzle. Life. It has to be this way. Make an opportunity, and something must take advantage of it. In this case, the opportunity is the Yakima apple, and the opportunist is the fly. It uses the apple to feed its eggs. And here is the bad economic news: "Yakima County ships around 72,000 semi-truck trailers worth of apples each year and if just one apple is found to have larvae in them it can destroy an entire shipment. That can be worth around $30,000."

Something something Loren Culp. Something something about him running for US House seat held by one of the the few Republicans who voted to impeach Trump. Something, something, something.

So, this old white man is under the impression he can run circles around this black woman. The old white man is Senator John Kennedy. The black woman is, of course, the superstar Stacey Abrams. He, perch-proud, asked her to name the racist provisions in the new Georgia voting law. He soon learned that she knew them, one by one. He also learned that she could go on and on about them. When he realized he had provided the black woman with a platform to educate the public about Georgia's state-authorized racism, he ordered her to stop talking with these words: "OK, that's enough. I get it."

Not long after former White House press secretary Kaleigh McEnany went on Fox News and said this about Joe Biden, "I think it's the role of the president of the United States to stay back, to not inflame the tensions." The left-run media complex went bananas. How can she even say such a thing? Does she think we are that stupid? Remember her boss? Donald Trump? But the left, I think, missed her point. McEnany very well knows Trump inflamed tensions and so on. But she also knows he wasn't really president, and so anything was free to fly out of his mouth at any time. But Biden is an actual president, and so it is incumbent on him to behave in a presidential manner.

What does Fortune have to say about Bitcoin? It is "a creature of fossil fuels." The whole bad business is so dependent on cheap power that it has "a carbon footprint bigger than Australia's." Though a lot of this cheap, carbon-liberating energy comes from China, "U.S. miners from New York State to Kentucky are repurposing obsolete facilities to supply the cheap power [to Bitcoin]." There is yet to be a market innovation/craze that does not make capitalism worse than it previously was.

Next on the black market? Human hands. Why? Read all about it in Seattle Times: "Starting Wednesday, customers at the Whole Foods store in Seattles Capitol Hill neighborhood can pay for their groceries with their palms." The palm-screening device, which is called Amazon One, transforms a human hand into a credit card. This, sadly, turns out to be the future we have been waiting for.

The cargo ship nightmare refuses to end. This time it's one carrying nickel ore and 2,000 liters of diesel. While trying to hide from rough seas, the ship's anchor broke, and it began to drift until the hard land it hit claimed the lives of four crew members, spared that of seven, and disappeared nine. The ship's name is Great Ocean.

The rest is here:

Slog PM: George Floyd's Brother Gives a Shout Out to Portland (A.K.A. Antifa), Kaleigh McEnany Accuses Biden of Inflaming BLM Tensions, Seafair Is...