Tag Archives: Trump

J20 reportbacks: Elon Musk’s Nazi salute, Proud Boys roam DC, and Trump protesters deploy in DC, Orlando, and Tampa

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On Jan 20 2025, Trump was inaugurated into his second (and much more dangerous) term in DC. Elon Musk gave a Nazi salute from a Presidential podium and dangerous Proud Boys thugs roamed parts of DC. Fortunately there are no reports of them finding the anti-Trump protestes. Protesters deployed against Trump in DC, Orlando FL, and Tampa FL plus a great many other cities. The much smaller numbers than in 2017 and lack of any use of force may reflect a belief that peaceful protest is not effective against hard Fascists like the current Trump team. Hopefully people are preparing other means of resistance. With luck, ICE will find many unpleasant surprises waiting for them when they attempt to assault urban neighborhoods such as Chicago where they are expected

Note that speakers at both the Orlando and Tampa protests stressed the role of local police and sheriff’s departments in implementing Trump’s planned anti-migrant pogrom. This is NOT just ICE, it is bigoted, racist cops and sheriffs deputies throughout the US. Even in so-called “sanctuary cities” the cops are usually the same racist slavecatcher descendents they are everywhere else. One speaker reminded Tampa protesters that DeSantis is backing Trump by making participation in ICE’s 297(g) program mandatory for all police and sheriff’s departments in the state of Florida. If Trump intends to embed ICE in every activity and phase of life in the so-called “United” states, that is textbook totalitarianism, a key hallmark of capitol-F Fascism

In DC a guillotine was displayed in the march and rally, this full height French-style guillotine was even marched down the hill on 16th st from Malcolm X Park!

A guiillotine at a protest of a GOP Inauguration is a traditon that goes back to the lead banner at the 2005 Counterinaugural against GW Bush’s second inauguration. It was just an image on the lead banner that year but it still made the point.

Elsewhere in DC, protesters heckled the MAGA meatheads entering the Arena to watch Trump’s coronation ON TV since the ceremony was moved into the US Capitol. Meanwhile a dangerous pack of Proud Boys in their trademark black and gold/black and yellow roamed the streets. This was BEFORE Trump pardoned all but 14 J6 defendents and commuted the sentences of the remaining 14.

Since leaving the Inauguration, Trump has issued a flood of dangerous executive orders, it appears he may be trying to do as much as possible essentially by decree.

Code Pink disrupts Marco Rubio’s Senate confirmation hearing to become Sec of State

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On the 15th of January, the US Senate held a confirmation hearing to consider FL Senator Marco Rubio’s appointment by Trump as Secretary of State. Code Pink got into the hearing and disrupted it, at the price that the Capitol Police were very rough in removing them. Unknown at the moment whether they were arrested or just detained and expelled, but they were searched and cuffed so assuming this was arrests.

This was with five days to go until J20. To engage in civil disobedience at this point against anything related to Trump is to take a very considerable personal risk, and this speaks highly of Code Pink’s courage under fire,

2024 in activism-and in war

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Video of protests and direct actions through the year against genocide in Gaza, against both political parties, and against Trump. Intercut in places with a few clips of war footage from Occupied Palestine and Lebanon. Much but not all of the DC and Florida stuff I “saw with my own hands.”

Three big DC Palestine protests in this, including the humiliating defeat for the Park Police when Netanyahu showed up in DC. Both of the police attacks on protesters near Lake Eola in Orlando, FL and the leadup to them. The wave of university encampments and the fighting to defend them is also here.

War footage includes a drone bombing near the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, the pager explosions in Lebanon, and the Oct 1 storm of warheads raining on an Israeli airbase that destroyed much of the IOF’s F-35 fighter jets. That clip is followed by Palestine Action’s successful direct action strike on a UK Elbit plant’s clean room. That strike disable the manufacture of at least one component without which no new F-35’s to replace the ones the Iranian missile strike blew up.

As the year comes to a close, Trump becomes President-elect and open street protests slow down as people prepare for the brutal times ahead. Other things start to happen though.

Closing with two inspirational scenes: Cops being bonked with water jugs at a University protest for Palestine, and protesters outside the US firing a multi-barreled Roman candle at riot cops and a water cannon as though it was a Vulcan revolving cannon.

Black Friday protest against genocide, repression, and Trump held outside Tampa shopping mall

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On Black Friday (AKA Buy Nothing Day) 2024, protesters showed up outside the International Plaza shopping mall in Tampa near the airport.

The protest called out US bipartisan support for the genocide in Gaza, and pointed out that on that issue and several others, Trump will be continuing and intensifying Biden’s policies. That said, Trump’s larger agenda was then called out by speakers as “a declaration of war on the working class.”

One speaker emphasized the success of abolitionist Vigilance Committees after passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, notably in Springfield, Ohio, the town later slandered by Trump. There, vigilance committee members successfully blocked all of the slaveowners by force of arms from recapturing their escaped workers once they got up and running.(This portion not on the video as it is long and it can take many hours to cover all faces on a long video segment).

Speakers also emphasized that neither party has any intention of doing anything about issues like rising prices or anything else harming the general public. Thus we have the cop cities being built across the US after the Uprising, the RICO charges against protesters there, and all the rest of the recent and very heavy repression.

In my judgement, the true message sent by the repression is to “go big or go home” while they ensure fewer and fewer have a home to go back to.

This protest got heckled a couple times, in both cases by presumed Christian nationalists, who are quite common in Florida. Wasn’t nearly as bad though as at the Nov 9 anti-Trump protest at Tampa City hall though.

MAGA hecklers can’t stop Tampa anti-Trump protest

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On the 9th of November, anti-Trump protesters gathered in front of City Hall in Tampa, FL. This was as four huge commercial events flooded downtown with massive car and foot traffic.

This gave the protest unusually good visiblity, but also exposed it to a steady stream of pro-Trump hecklers. Even MAGA hats were visible within the supposedly civilian crowd on the street.

Speakers called out Project 2025 and the spread of abortion bans. Another said the Democrats were responsible for their own defeat by running candidates (not just this time around) who ignore the needs of their base and instead do things like funding and arming genocide.

Speaking of Project 2025, in DC today protesters marched on the Heritage Foundation, authors of Project 2025.

One speaker bluntly warned that Trump, Vance, and DeSantis and their extremist fanbase have “entered a war with us” without realizing what they are getting into.

Remember, unlike the IOF in Gaza, they cannot use their air power and artillery against us without hitting their own people and their own assets. If Gaza can hold out, so can we.

Heritage Foundation board member and Project 2025 coauthor Darryle Owens gets a home demo.

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On the 2nd of November, over 30 people with three pitchforks but no torches (due to Charlottesville) showed up at the Minneapolis home of Heritage board member and Project 2025 coauthor Darryle Owens.

Getting doxxed about being one of the Fascists behind Project 2025 isn’t something that just happens online anymore. It has real-world “pitchforks and torches” (well hold the torches after Cville…) consequences!

So it begins…

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Vancouver, WA’s KATU TV 2 reports one ballot box burned with hundreds of ballots damaged and an incendiary device found in a second ballot box.

The far-right has been discussing this online for MONTHS. If this is traced to pro-Trump operatives it is a declaration of war on democracy itself. If the election detonates into civil war, this attack might even be considered one of the opening shots of it by some historians.

Original report at
youtube(dot)com/watch?v=UaBmxv2VNSM
harvested via invidious

8 days to go…

Christian Nationlist/ MAGA events in DC and PA show Trump again able to mobilize street soldiers

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Two events one on the Mall in DC on Oct 12 and one at a warehouse-sized gun shop and shooting range in PA showcased Trump’s again rising ability to summon forth his street soldiers.

Update: NPR confirms DC event organizers Jenny Donnally and Lou Eagle are “connected” to NAR (New Apostolic Reformation).

The DC event was the “A Million Women” prayer event attacking abortion and the right of transgender folks to exist. Their “don’t mess with our kids” message is an explicit demand that the rights of trans kids NOT be recognized by school systems and heathcare providers.

Some pointed out that they missed their turnout goals big-time, filling only one panel of the Mall while their extra screens and speakers sat in empty panels. This is still thousands of Christian nationalists calling for genocide and for roundups over abortion though. Presumably all of these folks will be at least voting for trump and some of them fighting for him too. Lots of the fundamentalists on the Mass were videoed raising their arms in what sure looked like mass Nazi saluting.

An even more menacing event took place at Kahr Arms / TommyGun Warehouse in Greeley, PA:

www(dot)rodofironfreedomfestival.org

At this event, Rod of Iron pastor Sean Moon received what again sure looked like Nazi salutes from a crowded warehouse. Attendees included former US General Flynn, who called for military tribunals and even executions of officials who have stood against Trump. Ivan Railkin (who wants to be Trump’s “Minister of Retribution”) was videoed shooting a .308 rifle with an apparent suppressor, then talking about shooting the “deep state” in the heart.

This sort of talk and training has nothing to do with an electoral campaign and everything to do with a military one in the context of anything from a coup attempt to a civil war.

Speaking of civil war and secession, four days ago Frida Ghitis on threads (not linked from here as they are owned by Meta) predicted W Va would refuse to recognize the election results if Trump loses. I have received the same report from other sources.

We should assume Trump will be able to muster at least as many street soldiers this time around as in 2020, even with all those Proud Boys in prison.

On top of all else, at his Friday event in Aurora, Colorado, Trump brazenly invoked the laws used for internment of Japanese-Americans in WWII as legal grounds for mass roundups and mass deportations of migrants.

truthout(dot)org/articles/trump-pledges-to-use-law-behind-japanese-internment-to-conduct-mass-deportations/

There is nothing peaceful about any of this shit folks, and the election is still 24 days away.