Earlier in the month, a small band of white supremacists organized in Washington, D.C. to hold a second “Unite the Right” rally (which the organizer admits isn’t “right wing” in the American sense of the word). Only 20 or-so racists actually showed up, compared to hundreds of counter-protesters, including Antifa-affiliated groups.
With a shortage of “Nazis” to attack, Antifa quickly began attacking journalists and other members of the press that share their own ideology. Is it any surprise that such a violent group would find an excuse to be violence? There’s no shortage of past examples, such as:
- Threatening to murder President Donald Trump, which resulted in Secret Service involvement.
- Attempting to storm the stage at an event held by conservative commentator Lauren Southern. Luckily, security prevented it.
- Assaulting a 56-year old man spotted leaving a pro-Trump party, knocking him unconscious and sending him to the hospital.
- Attempting to set police officers on fire.
Indeed, while Antifa-like groups claim to only be for violence against “Nazis,” you have to remember how loose their definition of that word is. Anyone even remotely perceived to be a threat is lumped into the “Nazi” category. Hence, that’s why a progressive Bernie Sanders supporter can show up to protest with them – and be savagely beaten as a result. Why? Because they were carrying an American flag.
As Reason Magazine reported, Bernie supporter Even Welch attended a counter-protest at another “tacitly fascist event” (in Welch’s words) this month, but he only suffered at the hands of the so-called anti-fascists.” One of the masked militants attacked Welch, striking him over and over again with some kind of metal rod concealed in black cloth. One blow landed on his head, which caused Welch to immediately crumple to the ground. He would eventually need four staples to close up the gaping wound. How did Antifa misidentify Welch? He had brought an American flag.”
The Antifa thugs who attached Welch demanded that he hand over the “fascist symbol” before attacking him after he resisted. Welch was in the hospital for two days, as a result of being clubbed in the head and beaten.
Earlier in the summer, Welch had been helping his local “Occupy ICE” camp by providing them with supplies, as they called for the abolition of the agency.
While Maxine Waters, Cory Booker, and others in Congress have defended calls of violence against Donald Trump’s administration and his supporters, we appear to be seeing some “trickle down” violence here.
“I didn’t come as a part of any one group,” Welch would later say “I was just protesting outsiders coming here for their tacitly fascist event.”
In a painful lesson, he finally learned who the real fascists are.
