Academia, Free Speech

This is Antifa: Journalist and Others Attacked at UW Event
The University of Washington became the latest scene of Antifa violence this week with an attack on a conservative reporter and several other people. Antifa often attacks reporters who are critical of their actions and the videotape shows at least one person bleeding after the attack on reporter, Jonathan Choe, and his team.

The attack came before an event Tuesday at the University of Washington featuring Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, which released the video.

The University of Washington issued a statement that campus police “are busy keeping the Turning Point USA event and other areas of campus as safe as possible. We take any assault seriously, and UWPD will be investigating these incidents, gathering statements and video footage that may be available.”

Despite the denial of its existence by figures like Rep. Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.), I have long written and spoken about the threat of Antifa to free speech on our campuses and in our communities. This includes testimony before Congress on Antifa’s central role in the anti-free speech movement nationally.

As I have written, it has long been the “Keyser Söze” of the anti-free speech movement, a loosely aligned group that employs measures to avoid easy detection or association.  Yet, FBI Director Chris Wray has repeatedly pushed back on the denials of Antifa’s work or violence. In one hearing, Wray stated “And we have quite a number” — and “Antifa is a real thing. It’s not a fiction.”

We have continued to follow the attacks and arrests of Antifa followers across the country.

Some Democrats have played a dangerous game in supporting or excusing the work of Antifa. Former Democratic National Committee deputy chair Keith Ellison, now the Minnesota attorney general, once said Antifa would “strike fear in the heart” of Trump. This was after Antifa had been involved in numerous acts of violence and its website was banned in Germany. His own son, Minneapolis City Council member Jeremiah Ellison, declared his allegiance to Antifa in the heat of the protests this summer. During a prior hearing, Democratic senators refused to clearly denounce Antifa and falsely suggested that the far right was the primary cause of recent violence. Likewise, Joe Biden has dismissed objections to Antifa as just “an idea.”

It is at its base a movement at war with free speech, defining the right itself as a tool of oppression. That purpose is evident in what is called the “bible” of the Antifa movement: Rutgers Professor Mark Bray’s Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook.

Bray emphasizes the struggle of the movement against free speech: “At the heart of the anti-fascist outlook is a rejection of the classical liberal phrase that says, ‘I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’”

Bray admits that “most Americans in Antifa have been anarchists or antiauthoritarian communists…  From that standpoint, ‘free speech’ as such is merely a bourgeois fantasy unworthy of consideration.” It is an illusion designed to promote what Antifa is resisting “white supremacy, hetero-patriarchy, ultra-nationalism, authoritarianism, and genocide.” Thus, all of these opposing figures are deemed fascistic and thus unworthy of being heard.

Bray quotes one Antifa member as summing up their approach to free speech as a “nonargument . . . you have the right to speak but you also have the right to be shut up.”

We previously discussed the case involving another Antifa member who was convicted after taking an ax to the door of Sen. John Hoeven’s office in Fargo. He was given no jail time, and the FBI even returned his ax. He later mocked the government by posting on social media “Look what the FBI were kind enough to give back to me!”

For those who have sought to deny the existence of Antifa, this is Antifa.

176 thoughts on “This is Antifa: Journalist and Others Attacked at UW Event”

  3. The answer is….they get a cheap thrill out of acting like barbarians and berzerkers, so they will use any reason/excuse/pretext to act that way. Making sense and being rational doesn’t enter into it.

  4. Are Antifa members part of a tyrannical government, or are they free people acting tyrannically?

  5. “The University of Washington issued a statement that campus police “are busy keeping the Turning Point USA event and other areas of campus as safe as possible. We take any assault seriously, and UWPD will be investigating these incidents, gathering statements and video footage that may be available.”
    ******************************
    To quote Queen Victoria’s quip to PM Benjamin Disraeli: ” It is pure folly to believe that we can rule over lands that we cannot hold.”

    We’re now the “Pure Folly Society.”

  6. RE: “Some Democrats have played a dangerous game in supporting or excusing the work of Antifa.” Those wretched, useless piles of rotting flesh, as well as they who raise and continue to maintain them in high office, spit on the graves of the heroes, perhaps their very own kin, who gave their lives to rescue the world from the grip of the fascistic disease which threatened to subsume the nations of the world during the 20th Century.

  7. Breaking news just now.

    Georgia court has granted Trumps defense teams appeal of the Judge allowing Willis to stay on the case.

    The appeals court will hear arguments seeking removal of Willis from the case.

    1. This will cause a significant delay, and whoever loses at the appeals court level will almost certainly petition the Georgia Supreme Court to review that decision.

    2. None of these court cases will prevail. Trump will be exonerated. Independent Bob.

      1. Even though there’s damning evidence Trump cheated, he will be exonerated. Worked for OJ.

        1. damning evidence Trump cheated

          Damning???

          First we need evidence, still waiting for the first bit of evidence.

            1. You would support his prosecution for rape of my mother, She passed away 15 years ago. But you would fully support the charge of rape against Trump even though the named victim has bee confined to a casket at the alleged time.

      1. Something about the way that this postponement is being framed seems just a bit off to me, in that adding the word “indefinitely” is doing heavy work. It makes it seems as though something odd is being done and that the court is just willy-nilly letting the case disappear into the ether.

        Instead, the court has to postpone trial because it simply cannot address the multiple, complicated motions before the May trial date. In my experience as a prosecutor, there are multiple circumstances under which a hearing or a trial would be “CFN” or continued further notice, pending the outcome of necessary developments in the case.

        To postpone until further notice is reasonable and leaves open the mechanism to set a firm trial date in the shortest possible period of time.

        1. , in that adding the word “indefinitely” is doing heavy work.

          Andrew McCarthy has said since the indictment landed, there was little chance of the case being heard before the election. He explained this is a documents case, and the protocols incorporated into the code requiring special procedures that gobble up time. Jack Smith, being the mobs (DNC) hit man, was hired because his super power is being conscience free, and immune from caring about his perceived legal acumen, or lack there of. He was overturned 9-0 the last time Obama hired him. Obama did not pick someone with experience in this area of the law. Timing was always going to be tight, but the FBI mishandling all those documents, has sank the case.
          This is a documents case, and now there is a real possibility the “evidence” is in danger of being denied.

      2. Essentially, Cannon wants off the case. She fell on sword for Trump and at least delayed the trial until after the election. If we wins, he can close the case. If he loses, she’s being replaced. And he’s almost certainly headed for prison. I can see him avoiding prison if convicted in the hush money case, the Georgia case, the fed election interference case. But blabbing military secrets? There’s no get-out-of-jail card for that one.

        1. I can see him avoiding prison if convicted in the hush money case,

          geesh, I spit water on my key board.

          There is NO hush money case. NDA, are a staple in the corporate world.
          Besides that fact, nothing like that is in the indictment.

          Hush money…lol

      3. Should be a mistrial. I never heard of “postponed indefinitely.” Fudging evidence and then admitting it means the government should just dismiss the case and be done with it. I think the judge is trying to give them the chance to do the smart thing. She may wait and dismiss it later if they dont.

        Sal Sar

  8. “. . . Antifa violence this week . . .”

    Why is Antifa (BLM, Occupy this-and-that) at a pro-Palestine protest? They certainly don’t care about Palestine, and can’t even spell the word correctly.

    So what explains those motley bedfellows?

    Those anarchist protests have nothing to do with Palestine, and very little to do with Israel. They are united by a virulent anti-American ideology. They seek to destroy every value America stands for: The rule of law, individualism, capitalism, material prosperity, personal happiness. That is why the deface and topple the statutes that symbolize those values.

    In a word, they detest Western culture. They are motivated by the nihilistic urge to destroy what took centuries to create.

    1. “…anti-American ideology. They seek to destroy every value America stands for…” You could be very well talking about the group at the opposite end of the spectrum: Evangelicals. Before the rise of the Moral Majority, born-agains eschewed politics for the most part. They saw themselves as different from “the world.” But since being highly politicized they’ve subverted the idea of American democracy with a fantasy that, in some ways, resembles how the Taliban sees the Middle East. In their perversion of historical fact, they believe Washington, Jefferson, et al., were all born again Christians, they were all anti-slavery and pro-life, and that the Constitution was inspired from the Bible, which was most certainly not. It was largely inspired by the writings of John Locke who was a fierce proponent of keeping the church out of politics. While Evangelicals aren’t going to be toppling statues and Judeo-Christian values, they are dead set on toppling perhaps the greatest value the Western mind has ever conceived: science. The process of objective inquiry conducted by subjective human beings, the 2 steps forward 1 step backward march toward understanding, is offensive to people who think all the answers lie in their interpretation of Bronze Age writings.

      1. “While Evangelicals aren’t going to be toppling statues . . .”

        But their progeny might.

        See, for example, the beautiful Greek and Roman statues, housed in the Forum of Constantinople, that were destroyed by the barbaric “Crusaders.”

      2. Anonymous said: “While Evangelicals aren’t going to be toppling statues and Judeo-Christian values, they are dead set on toppling perhaps the greatest value the Western mind has ever conceived: science.”

        If that is truly one of their objectives, they had better get a move on. Because the AGW greenie climate fascistas and the rest of their pathetic woke litter mates have already nearly accomplished that.

  9. History is a lesson to watch for Antifa. It is only a matter of time until they cross the Rubicon and then the Federal Government will pay close attention. This is not the first time nor do I suspect it will be the last time some extremist group oversteps. Proud Boys sound familiar?

    Bragging about a group that “is an idea” only as being real will not help you later in defense. I can only hope that more people do not get hurt before the hammer will fall.

    1. . Proud Boys sound familiar?

      I’ve heard the name. What exactly did they do, and when did they do it?

      1. I became aware of the existence of the Proud Boys around the time that they came together. To my knowledge, at least prior to Jan. 6, they didn’t initiate attacks on anyone; they were a direct response to left-wing violence such as that done by Antifa types.

        The typical pattern was that a person or a group considered to be on the Right would plan an event, and Antifa-types would show up and attack. Eventually the Proud Boys started to go to these events in order to push back/prevent violence. I’m not saying that I approve, at least not in terms of some of their actions, but they were not seeking out Left-wing events, wading in, and hitting people—which is exactly what Antfia et al were doing over and over again.

      2. You failed to read the indictments against Proud Boys leaders??? Dude, that’s your lazy problem. Don’t ask us to do your homework.

    2. The Quiet Man said: “It is only a matter of time until they cross the Rubicon and then the Federal Government will pay close attention. This is not the first time nor do I suspect it will be the last time some extremist group oversteps.”

      What makes you certain that Antifa is not a project of (at least part of) the Federal government?

      1. #6 makes a good point. How many informants and undercovers are there in Antifa? I believe someone asked Chris Wray and he would not anwer because pending investigation etc.

        And they are definitely doing the dirty work for someone, destabilization work, sabotage, disorder, etc.

        Sal Sar

    3. What isnt throwing firebombs at federal buildings and into cop cars not “crossing the Rubicon?”

      Where were you in 2021 all summer?

      Antifa are crazed Jacobin levelers. They’re worse than mujahadeen. At least the muj believe in some form of law albeit sharia

      Anarchists believe in none

      Sal Sar

  10. I note the use of “bourgeois”, evidently as an epithet.
    I spent the first 20 years of my life in WASP-dominated communities.
    There, the bourgeois, like the police, were invariably regarded in a positive light.

    Then, in 1967, I matriculated at Brandeis University.
    There, much to my surprise, “bourgeois” was an epithet.
    A difference in attitudes.

  11. I noted yesterday that Israel is now the leader of the free world. It is on the front lines against global jihad, which is just the current form taken by the forces of darkness and destruction in opposition to civilization and freedom. Unlike American, Israel does not suffer from moral confusion about what it is for and it opposes.

    As far as private organizations go, TPUSA is also on the front lines, which is why it’s no coincidence that it is being attacked by Antifa. Antifa = global jihad = fascism = Nazism = destruction of civilization.

    1. Oldmanfromkansas listening to too much Fox radio. Israel is a sometimes ally, sometimes not an ally, and always a drain on US resources. It presently embarrasses the US by slaughtering civilians kept penned up in Gaza that are the kids and grandkids of people thrown out of their homes 70 years ago by the IDF who never received a dime in eminent domain payments. They think they’re gonna solve the problem by exterminating them like yes the 1940s era Nazis themselves. Whom Israel never lets us forget about, but it does a great job of imitating. Yes I said it, is that illegal under the new law passed by the stooges in Congress?

      I wish you good hearted conservatives that think they are the good guys would wake up.

      Here get a little reading on Israel and its dirty tricks in Operation Susannah/ Lavon affair decades ago, false flag operations against American and British targets. Then of course they shot up the USS Liberty. Then in the 70s and 80s– i mean one could go on here ,but, you either want to be educated about this nuanced topic, or you dont.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavon_Affair

  12. Antifa should be kicked out if this Country. Send them over the borders!

  13. Antifa, BLM, LGBTQ for hamas, drag queens for story hour, environuts, radical university faculty and staff for DEI, etc. etc. etc. Pick a discontented and ill-informed group looking for a leader and you have the gamut of the progressive left. That true Americans who wish to continue what was established in 1776 are still on the sidelines shows that this cabal on the left is succeeding. Shame on us.

  14. I would personally pay for a one way ticket to Gaza for Nadler, Sanders, and of course Talib and Omar!

  15. Could antifa be the Sturmabteilung of the modern democrat party?

    1. Margot, I’ll admit to being light on all things German WWII era.

      I go a few decades forward in time.

      The Democrat Party formed the KKK to be their local terrorist group to keep things riled up and slow racial integration.
      The KKK were the masked antagonist, riling up the locals to attack the target. Blacks

      Antifa is also a Creation of the Democrat Party. Proven by the fact the donor lists DNC and Democrat politicians match to donor lists to Antifa

      1. What kind of history is this? Democrats did not form it, Nathan Bedford Forrest formed it. he may have been a Democrat but it was not an arm of the Democrat party. It was essentially an insurgency designed to alleviate the heavy handed tactics of the Yankee Occupation of the South at the time. And when Reconstruction ended, NBF disbanded it.

        Subsequent era klans were also not wedded to the Democrat party either. The 20s era kkk was not just segregationist but nativist, and had many supporters in both parties.

        The 60s era klan were aligned with Democrat party dissidents, at least after 1964, like George Wallace.

        The tv and internet era klans are a joke, they are not real, just mail order fraud outfits and performative exercises mostly populated by undercovers and informants and goofballs.

        Mr Ayak

  16. It is hard to believe that, given the level of modern technology, the organization and modus operandi of what is known as Antifa is beyond the ken of local, state and federal law enforcement. This black clad, obviously well organized and equipped 21st Century Sturmabteilung turns out and wreaks havoc with intent and without any definitive countervailing force brought against them or like prosecution. They should have been rendered an impotent non-entity by now but “No!” The obvious question to follow is ‘Why not!?!?”

  17. antifa? The Democrat Fascist Activist arm? Weird how uninterested the DOJ/FBI are in the BACKERS of professional Terrorists BLM, Antifa, Hamas lovers, etc
    where does all the money come from for these Conspiracies?
    While a peaceful walk(until the Fed back Agent Provocateurs) on january 6th gets you solitary confinement for YEARS!
    Time to #DefundDemocrats END all Federal Aid and loan backing to colleges, cities, states, non-profits!

  18. Antfifa are the Brown Shirts for the Democrat party.
    More and more the the parallels to 1930s Germany are frightening lead by the leftists Democrats.

    1. Democrats are the fascists of 1930’s Europe…and the Republicans are the Chamberlains.

  19. Antifa is just an idea.

    But the DOJ moved faster than the speed of light to form a team to target parents attending School Board meetings.

    The FBI cant move without evidence, except when they spend $millions infiltrating the Catholic Church.

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