Antifa members proved once again on August 14 that they are more anarchists than peaceful protesters. Rather than make a simple statement opposing the weekend march by KKK, neo-Nazis, and far right groups in Charlottesville, VA, they blocked transportation, destroyed county property, and aggressively intimidated reporters.
https://www.facebook.com/AlphaNewsMN/videos/1875723479355701/
These self-styled anti-fascist demonstrators started by rallying in Minneapolis in front of the MN GOP offices on Franklin Avenue. They protested the Republican Party’s support of President Donald Trump, who they accused of supporting racist behavior. They ignored statements issued earlier by MNGOP Chair Jennifer Carnahan and Republican Congressmen condemning racial hated and bigotry.
Republicans were not the only target of the anarchists’ ire. As reported by Alpha News, who also posted the video above, the demonstration was accompanied by chants of “Cops and the Klan go hand in hand.”
Not satisfied with disrupting the businesses that share the building with MN GOP state offices, about 100 of the demonstrators marched downtown. As they progressed, entrance and exit ramps to I-94 were blocked, and passage on the light rail line was shut down for an hour.
Reaching the Hennepin County Jail, a group of Antifa members lowered the Hennepin County flag and replaced it with the Antifa flag, cheering as it was raised. They went on to destroy the county flag.
Alpha News reporter Preya Samsundar wrote that she was harassed several times while covering the protest. One black clad Antifa member, face hidden by a black bandana, got in her face and shouted “Getit out! Get it out! We know what is up with you guys, get it outta here. Fascists!”
Samsundar went on to write that “a security officer hired by Alpha News felt the situation was dangerous enough to pull us back from coverage of the march.”
When asked if officers from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s office got involved, Samsundar responded,
“Officers are usually told to stand down in situations similar to these protests. I did reach out, but was not given an answer, but I'm expecting [that] they are told that unless something really bad happens, they are just going to let them do whatever they want.”
Was this an isolated moment of over-exerberance by a well-intentioned group? The opinion of Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor emeritus and self-proclaimed liberal, is enlighening. On August 22, in an appearance on Fox & Friends, Dershowitz warned that “Antifa is a radical anti-American, anti-free market, communist, socialist, hard, hard left censorial organization”. Going on to address their efforts to pull down Confederate and other statues, Dershowitz stated that they are really trying to “take America down with them.”
Echoing MN GOP Chair Jennifer Carnahan’s statement, we hold “[r]acism, hatred, violence and terrorism [as] unacceptable on any level.” We also reject disruption of public transportation, destruction of public property, and aggressive intimidation of the press.
Fascist tactics employed by masked individuals should be condemned by both conservative and liberal activists. Anarchy in pursuit of civil disobedience and peaceful protest is not acceptable