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Reporters fall into the alt-right trap with Julius Caesar stunt Media Matters for America (blog) Ever since President Donald Trump hired then-Breitbart.com chief executive Stephen Bannon to run his presidential campaign, the press has been struggling to comprehend the alt-right movement that his website helped promote. While many journalists ... Critics allege alt-right activists are attempting to profit from Shakespeare in the Park protestsTheBlaze.com 'Julius Caesar' interrupted again by pro-Trump protestersNew York Post Two Protesters Disrupt 'Julius Caesar' in Central ParkNew York Times New York Times -Los Angeles Times -New York Times all 153 news articles »

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Reporters fall into the alt-right trap with Julius Caesar stunt - Media Matters for America (blog)

Tim 'Baked Alaska' Gionet posted a meme aimed at the 'alt light' rally.

Although the alt-right presents itself as a new kind of white male nationalism rewired for the 21st century, it is proving in practice to have many of the same qualities as its old 20th-century forebears: Riddled with infighting and internecine quarrels, the product of a movement whose sociopathic agenda attracts similar personalities, ego-driven and contentious.

The infighting, which first erupted last week between far-right Oath Keepers and whitenationalist alt-righters, deepened this week when two factions outright white nationalists and committed racists on one hand, and alt-righters (dismissed as the "alt-light") who disavow them and their politics while embracing the movement agenda squared off on social media over a series of free speech events aimed at provoking left-wing counter-protests and, potentially violence.

The result is that there will be two competing free speech events this Sunday in Washington, D.C.;one a Rally Against Political Violence hosted by alt-right provocateur Jack Posobiec, planned for noon at the White House; the other a Freedom of Speech Rally hosted by Colton Merwin at the Lincoln Memorial, and featuring such whitenationalist figures as Richard Spencer, Nathan Damigo of Identity Evropa, far-right neo-Pagan Augustus Invictus, blogger Jason Kessler, and social-media celebrity Tim Baked Alaska Gionet.

The White House rally will feature alt-right figures such as Laura Loomer (who recently made headlines by taking the stage during a performance of Julius Caesar in New York City), Kekistan fan Cassandra Fairbanks, and Kyle Prescott of the alt-right fight club Proud Boys. It apparently was organized by alt-right figure Mike Cernovich and Posobiec in response to the roster of speakers invited to the Lincoln Memorial rally; speakers such as Loomer (whose background included a stint as a writer for hate-group leader Pamela Gellers Islamophobia operation) had originally been scheduled to speak there but then canceled.

Organizers explained the rally is intended to condemn political violence such as the attack on Steve Scalise and US Congress recently, as well as depictions of gruesome displays of brutality against sitting US national leaders. All sides must join together to condemn violence and the violent rhetoric that inspires it!

The Lincoln Memorial rally organizers expressed their regrets: I'm sure some of you have already heard by now, but several speakers have dropped out due to the confirmation of Richard Spencer as a speaker. Now, not only is this horribly hypocritical, but is also bordering on an Antifa principle. By not sharing the platform with someone you disagree with you are therefore not supporting their right to speak.

I don't know Spencer, I have been famously ambivalent toward the man, but I am looking forward to meeting with him and to defending his right to say whatever the hell he's going to say on Sunday, chimed in Augustus Invictus. That is where I stand.

The two sides began sniping at each other on social media. All of you guys pulling out of the Freedom of Speech Rally are cucks, posted a critic on the Facebook page of the Political Violence rally. It's flat out hypocritical to be speaking at a Freedom of Speech rally only to pull out of the event because someone you disagree with is speaking. That makes you a hypocrite with no balls and no conviction. Grow a pair.

On Twitter, Spencer labeled Posobiec a cuck, and taunted him: Oooosh... Jack Posobiec is a great war hero. No one can criticize him. He dismissed the rally as the "Alt Light," and called them "a collection of liars ... perverts ... and Zionist fanatics."He also made fun of them for changing the focus of their rally: Apparently, these dorks blushed at the idea of calling their little meet-up a free speech rally. He added: The Tea Party, at least at its inception, was an authentic expression of American nationalism. These people total zeros.

Jason Kessler posted a video demonstrating that Posobiec had plagiarized his work while he was employed at the Canadian alt-right website The Rebel; in response, Posobiec blocked him. Posobiec also apparently blocked Baked Alaska for criticizing one of his media stunts.

Baked Alaska also got into a Twitter war with Loomer after he posted a meme with her face Photoshopped into a gas chamber, outside which stood Donald Trump in a Nazi uniform, ready to pull the switch: Et tu, brute? it read.

Loomer responded in shock: Wow. I'm calling on @bakedalaska to fully condemn anti-Semitism after posting this pic of me inside a gas chamber.

He laughed at her: It's a fucking meme. You're an SJW [Social Justice Warrior] now and it's hilarious.

The poster for Kessler's Aug. 12 event.

A similar feud threatened to break out over another free speech event, this one an Aug. 12 Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., organized by Kessler as part of his ongoing protest against the threatened removal of a Confederate monument to Gen. Robert E. Lee.

The lineup for that event includes Spencer, Augustus Invictus, white nationalist Matthew Heimbach, and League of the South president Michael Hill.

Infighting is part of every movement - but it doesn't have to be, posted Augustus Invictus on his Facebook page, along with a poster for the event.

A white nationalist commented: Very happy to see that Based Stickman, the anti-white civic nationalist cuck and shameless mountebank, has apparently been removed from the line-up. Good. He would've been fundamentally at odds with the other speakers.

Responded Kessler: He's planning to be here in a non-speaking role to back-up our attendees in the event of Antifa violence. For that, he is a friend to the event and to the First Amendment rights of our speakers.

In the meantime, another would-be participant posted: "Will the Oath Cucks be there?"

It might be time to stock up on the popcorn.

Read more:
Competing Alt-Right 'Free Speech' Rallies Reveal Infighting Over White Nationalism - Southern Poverty Law Center

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

You may have mocked claims about the existence of paid protesters as just another lie from the right. As it turns out, at least on this one issue, theyre actually telling the truth. The problem is, the right neglected to mention those paid protesters are part of the right wing apparatus.

The story starts last week, when the right wing decided to aim its collective outrage at a free staging of Shakespeares play Julius Caesar held in New York Citys Central Park. Mike Cernovich, a self-described member of the alt-right whothinksthe U.S. should give immigrants IQ tests, put up a YouTube video in which he offered cash to any protesters willing to disrupt the play for pay.

Ill give up to 10 people $1,000, Cernovich says in thefootage. I need you to get up with either a CNN is ISIS or Bill Clintons a rapist or The media is terrorism [sign]. And if youre able to get up and be escorted out by security, then I will give you $1,000.

In other words, Cernovich was actively and openly looking to recruit paid protesters. You know how conservatives made up that ridiculous myth about George Soros sending checks to liberals who march in protests? This is the real version of that, only sponsored by Cernovich.

The story actually gets richer, so to speak, as it continues. The night after Cernovichs offer, two protesters went to see Julius Caesar in the park. Semi-notorious right-wing media figure Laura Loomer snagged a ticket for a second-row seat that definitely should have gone to someone who actually wanted to see the play. Alt-right provocateur Jack Posobiec, whose greatest hits includepizzagateand the Seth Richconspiracy lie, also showed up. The two Trumpites told theNew Yorkerthey hadnt planned to meetwhich may or may not be trueand once they spotted each other, they sat apart so as not to arouse suspicion. Are you here for the Cernovich contest? Posobiec reportedly texted Loomer, according to the New Yorker. She responded, Just stay tuned.

In the middle of the production, Loomer stormed the stage, briefly halting the action and earning a chorus of boos from an audience that just wanted to see some Shakespeare. Theresfootageof the whole thing, including Loomer being removed from the stage as she shouts CNN is ISISthe exact phrase Cernovich suggestedover and over. As Loomer was escorted out, Posobiec stood up and began yelling Nazis and Goebbels at the audience, until he was removed. He alsorecordedhis outburst, possibly because Cernovich wants proof before hell pay out.

Loomer continued yelling even once she was put outside the venue, and police finally showed up at some point to arrest her. She was then led away, upright and intact, like a human being who does not also happen to be an unarmed black kid.

Its important to note that Loomer works for right-wing Canadian media outlet Rebel Media, and untillate May, so did Posobiec. The blogCanadalanddescribes it as a Breitbart-esque site filled with contributors who have called for a new Crusade to expel Muslims from the Holy Land, outlined what they hate about the Jews, and most recently, said thatBritish Muslims are enemy combatants, at least some of whom should beplaced into camps.

Loomer was released hours after her arrest. Rebel Media put up a Free Laura page on its website, including a link to afundraising sectionfor her legal defense fund. Loomer herself alsotweeted a request to support [her] legal defense fund. The link in the message leads to a campaign on WeSearchr, a crowdfunding site thats like a Go Fund Me for hard-right causes. As of this writing, Loomers page has banked more than $12,000. Josh Jordan, whos written for both Forbes and the conservative National Review, poined out that Loomers page previously noted she had a fundraising goal of $25,000, complete with screengrab. That target number has been erased, but the total intake keeps climbing. And presumably, while the Rebel Media Free Laura page doesnt display tallies, thereve been contributions via that site as well.

There are a few things that are curious here, that brought out the social media detectives. The first is that Rebel Media creator Ezra Levant made the Free Laura page at 6pm UTC or 2pm Eastern time, a fullfour hoursbefore Loomer was actually arrested. Its safe to assume that Levant doesnt have the power to see into the future, but that he and the team at Rebel hoped shed get arrested and planned to use the fabricated injustice to raise funds.

Theres also the matter of Loomers hefty request for donations. She faces charges of disorderly conduct and criminal trespass in the third degree. The latter is a class B misdemeanor, while the former is merely a violation, meaning its even less serious. I spoke to Matthew Galluzzo, a New York City criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor for the Manhattan District Attorneys office. He isnt representing Loomer, so he cant speak specifically to her case.

Most people charged with trespass with no criminal record are unlikely to be convicted of a crime or serve jail time, he noted, or have to pay a fine in excess of $120.

In fact, based on the charges she faces, theres no outcome that could account for the funds being requested, unless Loomer has a rap sheet as a serial killer thats been kept hush-hush. So why is Loomer raising so much money? Its unclear, and no one aside from Loomer and Rebel Media know. However, it is worth noting that Levant recently lost a libel case on appeal, which keeps him on the hook foran $80,000fine. Its also true that a company that targeted Breitbart for a boycott has done the same with Rebel Media, which has resulted in the loss of at least one majorcompanypulling ads from the site.

If it seemed incongruous that the new rightwhose members have declared themselves the defenders of free speech and conservationists of Western cultureclaimed to be so outraged by the recent staging of a Shakespeare play, this might explain why. And when the right talks about paid protesters, just assume they personally know whence they speak.

KaliHolloway is a senior writer and the associate editor of media and culture at AlterNet.

This article was made possible by the readers and supporters of AlterNet.

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Paid Protesters? Yes, Sent By The 'Alt-Right' - The National Memo (blog)

Police said the altercation began at a pay station inside a Santa Monica parking garage Saturday night.

Edgar Khodzhasaryan and Arsen Bekverdyan sat in one vehicle. Behind them, Antonio Foreman a bodyguard for an alt-right figure with ties to the Oath Keepers sat in another. At some point, as the men attempted to exit the garage, an argument began, which was followed by a minor traffic collision, a Santa Monica Police Department spokesman said.

The vehicles continued down the street near each other until Foremans vehicle stopped abruptly in front of the other vehicle, police said.

The victim and suspects exited their vehicles and confront[ed] each other in the roadway, police said. One of the suspects stabbed the victim and a fight ensued during which the victim [was] stabbed multiple times. The suspects returned to their vehicle and fled the location.

[The unhinged Oregon protester that the FBI has been tracking for months]

Just after 11 p.m., police discovered Foreman lying on the sidewalk. He was rushed to a hospital for treatment and remains in stable condition, police said.

Minutes later, about 11:23 p.m., police received a report that suspects involved in the stabbing may be at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. Police found the suspects vehicle in an Emergency Room parking area and located Khodzhasaryan, 30, of Glendale, andBekverdyan, 31, of Burbank, at the hospital.

Both men have been accused of attempted murder and remain in custody on $1 million bail, Lt. Saul Rodriguez, a Santa Monica police spokesman, told The Washington Post. Information about each mans legal representation was not immediately available, and there have been no public comments from either man or an attorney.

Police declined to release Foremans name and offered an account that included no details to suggest that the attack was motivated by the victims connections to the alt-right. Rodriguez said police have no reason to think at this point that the stabbing was a hate crime.

ButTim Gionet a well-known alt-right figure who is known as Baked Alaska on Twitter and calls Foreman one of his best friends suggested on social media that Foremans race played a role in the attack. He also said that Foreman was leaving a Trump event when the incident occurred and that he was stabbed nine times.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Foreman sometimes works for the alt-right figure as his bodyguard. At the time of the attack, Foreman was not working as a bodyguard he was alone, police said.

Foreman has no health insurance, and a crowdfunding effort to help him pay for his medical bills has raised more than $8,000. The page says its goal is to raise $150,000.

Despite police claims to the contrary, the page says Foreman is the victim of an anti-white hate crime. Police did not identify the suspects race.

Anti-Trump and anti-white violence is escalating in the United States of America, the page says. From eggs, to fists, to bike locks, and now knives, everyday Trump supporters seem to be in real danger in their own country.

The page adds: Tony Foreman needs our help. Lets give it to him.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Foreman is a member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia group.The national group presents itself as nonpartisan, but its concerns have echoed conspiratorial warnings about rigged elections and the alleged threat posed by the New Black Panther Party that are often found on the far-right fringes of the Web.

[Race riots, terrorist attacks and martial law: Oath Keepers warn of post-election chaos]

The Oath Keepers did not respond to a request for comment about Foremans association with the group.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors anti-government groups nationwide, calls the Oath Keepers one of the largest radical anti-government groups in the country.

In April, Business Insider described Gionet a former BuzzFeed employee as a 29-year-old Internet troll who used to consider himself a libertarian before switching his allegiance to President Trump after becoming fed up with political correctness run amok.

BuzzFeed turned me into a monster, he told Business Insider, recalling the moment he decided he wasnt among his kind.I was talking about the new Justin Bieber album. And I was like, Dude, that new Justin Bieber album is dope. I have to admit, I love Justin Bieber. He is totally my spirit animal. And someone came up to me and was like, Hey, bro, you cant say spirit animal, thats culturally appropriating Native American culture and thats not cool.

I was like, What? What the f are you talking about? he added. I had heard about the dangers of political correctness, but I thought this was just exaggerated, Gionet said. I thought there was no way people in real life could be like this.

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Alt-right decries attack on bodyguard as a hate crime. Police say it wasn't. - Washington Post

Dave Rubin, the gay, liberal host of The Rubin Report, has become the Lefts latest victim of smearing-by-association, his character having been contorted in Josh Harkinsons recent Mother Jones article Cashing in on the Rise of the Alt-Right. After describing the funding models of a number of alt-right and neo-Nazi websites and podcasts, Harkinsons piece notes that Rubin has interviewed such personalities as Milo Yiannopoulos and Mike Cernovich, the self-described new right blogger who has argued that date rape does not exist and regularly peddles conspiracy theories. Originally, it also characterized Rubin as farright.

While the term farright probably does not merit the legal label of libel, its use in this context was at best lacking in intellectual honesty, and at worst a shoddy, malicious attempt to slime Rubin. Rubin is married to a man and favors marijuana legalization, pro-choice policies, and single-payer health care. He has publicly challenged the regressive Lefts increasingly illiberal attitude toward speech it finds objectionable, but that doesnt mean he can be characterized as further to the right than Breitbart in good faith. And Harkinson seems to know as much. After Rubin called the piece libelous and demanded a retraction on Twitter, the author backpedaled, claiming that Rubin merely host[s] softball interviews with lots of people who are to the right of Breitbart. Meanwhile, Mother Jones changed the sentence in question to remove the term farright, added Rubins response in parentheses, and highlighted both changes in a vague editorial note at the bottom of the page.

In digital journalism, such errors and retractions are inevitable. But the conflation of Rubin with literal white supremacists and separatists and the subsequent half-hearted retraction were no accident. Evidently, Mother Jones intended to equate Rubin who interviews and challenges personalities ranging from Margaret Cho and Hilary Rosen to Yiannopoulos and Paul Joseph Watson with the Internets most prominent alt-right extremists.

This is obviously quite problematic. Reasonable people can, of course, disagree about the propriety of giving a platform to those with views that engender wide, bipartisan disgust. But Harkinson isnt interested in having such a good-faith debate; his aim is to silence and de-legitimize those who attempt to air and understand extremist views. Indeed, when confronted with criticism from the likes of Ben Shapiro and Joe Rogan, he doubled down on his attack, retweeting clips of Rubin (rightly) arguing that non-mainstream voices are worth engaging with in part due to the failures of the media but also because entities with audiences as wide and engaged as, say, InfowarsAlex Jones, should be unpacked and understood.

Although this example is particularly egregious, it is by no means unique. The mass uproar over Megyn Kellys recent interview with Jones has, to a lesser extent, been informed by the same hostility toward interviews with controversial guests. Lost in the hubbub was that,given Kellys professional and prosecutorial credentials, her interview with Jones who has a massive audience and the ear of the president carried the potential to be an act of journalistic service.

Jack Shafer of Politico smartly lambasted the censorious power of the hecklers veto that was wielded against Kelly and threatens edgy, truth-telling journalism of the uncomfortable variety that explores how someone such as Jones could attract millions of followers. Under the veil of a moral panic, Kelly and Rubin have been stigmatized for the crime of heterodoxy, made to serve as a public warning to anyone else who threatens to deviate from a leftist agenda.

One wonders where this game ends. Back when the term alt-right was exclusively reserved for white supremacists with no regard for conservatism as it has traditionally been understood, it maintained a sort of incriminating implication. But every time the Left attempts to tar non-leftists with the same brush, it dilutes the label, just as it has done with every other pejorative that came before. The difference now, thankfully, is that the Internet gives victims such as Rubin a chance to fight back.

READ MORE: You Gotta Lie: The Tangled Progressive Web The Sickening Attack on Otto WarmbierIs Symbolic of the Lefts Hate Problem To Both Sides in Americas Dialogue War: Disarm

Tiana Lowe is an editorial intern at National Review.

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Mother Jones Smears Liberal Talk-Show Host Dave Rubin for Daring to Interview 'Alt-Right' Figures - National Review