My my, how the political pendulum has swung about the little darlings known as Antifa.
Antifa, as we documented, are the continuation of a long line of Anarchist-Marxist street thugs originally known as Black Bloc, then Occupy, then in the age of the Resistance to Trump, were rebranded as “Anti-Fascist,” hence, Antifa. The stripes changed, but not the violent tactics.
Just as Democrats embraced Occupy, so too they embraced Antifa when Trump rallies were disrupted and Trump supporters beaten. “Punch a Nazi” became a popular slogan, with “Nazi” having an expansive definition to include all Trump supporters. We explored this Democratic love affair with Antifa in Democrats own Antifa, just like they owned Occupy.
Remember when Elizabeth Warren claimed to provide the intellectual foundation for Occupy? We do.
“I created much of the intellectual foundation for what they do,” she says. “I support what they do.”
When Trump blamed both neo-Nazis/Klan types and Antifa for the Charlottesville violence he falsely was accused of drawing an “moral equivalence.” He never said that, he simply stated a fact that both sides were responsible for the violence, and both sides came ready to fight.
The Antifa role in Charlottesville violence was widely glorified among liberals, who posted memes on social media comparing Antifa to the American soldiers who stormed the beaches at Normandy:
(Image above from Hillary’s former Campaign Spokesman)
The tide began to turn after Boston Antifa riots in opposition to a free speech event, where it was clear to the cameras that Antifa didn’t need actual fascists in order to beat people up:
Antifa threw urine and rocks at police:
The tide turned, however, after Antifa ran wild in Berkeley, Journalist amid Antifa Berkeley Riots: “Police have completely disappeared … People getting beaten up”:
Hundreds of black-clad masked Antifa rioters descended on a park in Berkeley, California, after a “No to Marxism” rally was canceled.A few people showed up anyway, and were viciously beaten and attacked.Mainstream media journalists caught in the middle described the Antifa rioters arriving in battle formation armed with shields (which were specifically prohibited under published police rules) and the police appearing to stand down. Journalists who were filming were repeatedly attacked by Antifa.
(The Man in red in the video below was a reporter who tried to shield someone being attacked.)
When seconds counted, the police were nowhere to be found.
The visuals were pretty dramatic, and for the first time were covered by the mainstream media (though not immediately).
So much so that even Nancy Pelosi felt compelled to condemn Antifa:
“Our democracy has no room for inciting violence or endangering the public, no matter the ideology of those who commit such acts. The violent actions of people calling themselves antifa in Berkeley this weekend deserve unequivocal condemnation, and the perpetrators should be arrested and prosecuted.“In California, as across all of our great nation, we have deep reverence for the Constitutional right to peaceful dissent and free speech. Non-violence is fundamental to that right. Let us use this sad event to reaffirm that we must never fight hate with hate, and to remember the values of peace, openness and justice that represent the best of America.”
Since then, there has been increasing liberal condemnation of Antifa.
A Politico report today, however, should blow the lid off the notion that Antifa violence was just a reaction to Trump or Charlottesville. To the contrary, Homeland Security and FBI documents reveal internal warnings about Antifa violence and domestic terrorism going back to early 2016.
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….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.
What Democrats do from here on out could have electoral implications. They could continue to embrace Antifa the way they embraced Occupy. But the base still is and loves Antifa.
But running from Antifa won’t work. The election videos already are being cut.
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