By now it isn’t breaking news that Trump or his acolytes in Republican-controlled states are opposed to the Constitution, on myriad levels and regarding many, many topics. One of the Constitution’s provisions that has received a lot of Trump and Republican criticism as of late is the people’s “right to assemble” enshrined in the First Amendment. One ardently believes that if masses of people assembling were cheering and supporting Trump’s authoritarian regime, none of the anti-protest bills in Republican states would exist.
Since those assembly prohibitions are not yet in the law, Trump’s fascist supporters have taken it upon themselves to arm up and, in a frightening development, formed an “alt-right fight club” to “engage in street violence.” It is noteworthy that, as reported by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the “young white, pro-Trump” men are forming a small army to literally engage in violence against what they call “anti-fascists.”
This is a telling development when alt-right (Nazi) groups are forming an army to defend fascism. Just two years ago the idea of an “anti-fascist” movement in democratic American would have been absurd. Now it is a reality and the pro-Trump goons are ready and anxious to engage street fights to support their fascist in the White House.
The announcement of the formation of the “Fraternal Order of Alt Knights” (FOAK) preceded, by a couple of days, a confrontation in Pikeville, Kentucky between white supremacists and “anti-fascist” (Antifa) demonstrators. Likely the FOAK army is still being “formed up” or they would have descended on poor Pikeville and incited a street war. Still, with armed Nazis and angry demonstrators wanting the white supremacists out of town, it was only superb law enforcement planning that prevented what could have been a bloody confrontation.
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Approximately 70 representatives of the Traditionalist Workers Party, League of the South, and National Socialist Movement regarded as America’s “most-prominent” neo-Nazi organization held a rally for white people in or around Pikeville’s historic courthouse. The white supremacists were eventually “booed out of town” by protestors opposing fascism. The Nazis “screamed back and forth at anti-fascist demonstrators” who were easily kept apart by stellar police planning and execution.
The incident in Kentucky represents an on-going “war of words” between Trump’s alt-right (Nazi) supporters and demonstrators protesting the terrifying rise of fascism. But until the announcement of the FOAK street fighting fraternity, it appeared there would be little more than screaming matches. According to the FOAK founder and another “militant” arm of the alt-right fascists, screaming is going to give way to real violence.
The alt-right activist responsible for forming FOAK, Kyle Chapman, says his “new militant, highly-masculine group will be the tactical defensive arm of the Proud Boys.” The Proud Boys are a separate alt-right group that frequents pro-Trump rallies with the express intent of “looking to rumble with counter-protesters.” The Proud Boys will now have Chapman’s fraternal assistance in “rumbling with counter-protestors” because Chapman boastfully claimed:
“I’m proud to announce that my newly created Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights will be partnering with Proud Boys;” a partnership with the full-approval of Proud Boys’ founder Gavin McInnes. Chapman was also proud to announce that his fraternal order doesn’t “fear the fight. We are the fight.”
McInnes most recently has been a frequent guest on FOX News and a contributor to the overtly racist site VDARE. To get an idea of whether or not McInnes is a racist, he used VDARE to denigrate Muslims and call Asian Americans “slopes” and “riceballs.”
SPLC noted that McInnes’ Proud Boys are considered “neo-masculine reactionary.” McInnes calls his group “a pro-West fraternal organization,” while others call it the “military arm of the alt-right.” Any high-school student remotely familiar with world history would describe the Proud Boys and their tactics as Nazi brownshirts (Sturmabteilung).
Now the Proud Boys are joined by this “FOAK,” which Chapman describes as a “fraternal organization” whose emphasis will be on street activism, preparation, defense and confrontation.
“We will protect and defend our right wing brethren when the police and government fail to do so. This organization is for those that possess the Warrior Spirit. The weak or timid need not apply.”
He also wrote that the time for real action is now because Trump is in the White House. Chapman wrote:
“No more keyboard warrior sh*t. No more crying about the state of our country while you do nothing to change it. It’s all about action. President Trump has our back for the next 8 years. The timing couldn’t be better. Let’s do this!”
Chapman also boasts that his organization will be its own fraternal order, but still a staunch Proud Boys’ affiliate chapter “with its own bylaws, constitution, rituals and vetting processes.” It is yet unclear what the vetting and initiation process entails for the “street fighters” in FOAK, but if it follows its Proud Boys affiliate, the vetting process will be bizarre indeed.
However, it is the fourth-degree of the initiation and vetting process, brawling with antifascists at public rallies, that should provide a clue that Trump has a veritable street army preparing to put a violent halt to the people’s right to peaceably assemble. Trump’s fascist street armies will have to do the heavy lifting until Trump convinces Republicans to devise a means of abolishing that “archaic” document and its Bill of Rights once and for all; something Trump and his fascist supporters cannot allow to slow their march toward a fascist dictatorship.
Audio engineer and instructor for SAE. Writes op/ed commentary supporting Secular Humanist causes, and exposing suppression of women, the poor, and minorities. An advocate for freedom of religion and particularly, freedom of NO religion.
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn’t look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
