Gettysburg 'flag-burning hoax' sees armed far-right groups assemble
Source: BBC News
5 hours ago
Far-right groups, some armed, arrived at the historic grounds at Gettysburg
Rumours that anti-fascist protesters planned to burn American flags on the Gettysburg Civil War battleground site led to armed far-right groups turning up in numbers on US Independence Day.
Posts on social media by supposed antifa leaders urged members to meet at the Pennsylvania site on 4 July.
In response, far-right groups assembled on the historic grounds on Saturday - but no adversaries showed up.
The holiday marks the US declaration of independence from Britain in 1776.
The posts that appeared on social media ahead of the Independence Day celebrations reportedly called for people to flock to the site in face paint.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53299847
Judi Lynn
(160,621 posts)By Jackie Salo
July 5, 2020 | 4:56pm
Members of a militia walk past a tourist as they patrol the area surrounding the Gettysburg National Cemetery at Gettysburg National Military Park in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Armed militias descended on Gettysburg on July 4 to protect the town from a flag-burning protest that wound up being an apparent social media hoax, according to reports.
Hundreds of counterprotesters were drawn by a Facebook event Saturday that called for people to show up to the historic battlefield in Pennsylvania for a peaceful flag burning to resist police, the Hanover Evening Sun reported.
Lets get together and burn flags in protest of thugs and animals in blue, the Facebook page Left Behind USA wrote, according to the Washington Post.
Rumored to be organized by Antifa, the event was then shared on social media by various alt-right groups including militias, the Oath Keepers and confederate flag advocates.
More:
https://nypost.com/2020/07/05/militias-descend-on-gettysburg-over-july-4th-social-media-hoax/
SergeStorms
(19,204 posts)Judi Lynn
(160,621 posts)He has disgraced himself.
Botany
(70,581 posts)Last edited Sun Jul 5, 2020, 11:46 PM - Edit history (2)
.... yahoo's collective chains. Just like the idiots in Brandenburg, KY who took their tactical gear, ARs,
and/or AKs to protect a monument to the southern soldiers from the civil war because ATIFA was coming
to their town to attack that monument.
PerceptionManagement
(464 posts)You know these deplorable assholes haven't been up to any good
keithbvadu2
(36,906 posts)Who is the non-believer wearing the mask? Better take him to Militia HQ for interrogation.
Must be a plant?
His gun probably isn't even loaded.
The Wizard
(12,547 posts)TomCADem
(17,390 posts)Since Facebook has once again adopted a policy of anything goes, you have to watch out for these hoaxes that are designed to stir up divisions.
PSPS
(13,614 posts)The Small-Town Antifa Invasion That Never Came
Hundreds of people in Klamath Falls, Oregon, rallied with guns and bulletproof vests in response to a Facebook rumor.
The antifa myth has gotten amazing traction in neighborhoods across the countryand, notably, in the Trump administration. Misinformation about antifa circulates in closed Facebook groups, but it doesnt stay online: When some people get scared antifa is coming to their own town, they start girding themselves for battle.
NBC News reporter Brandy Zadrozny saw it unfold in the small town of Klamath Falls, Oregon. A bunch of locals decided to plan a Black Lives Matter protestbut unbeknownst to them, other people in the region were gearing up for an antifa invasion. Two hundred people came armed, ready to fight this antifa rumor that they had heard on Facebook, Zadrozny says. But antifa never showed up. A white nationalist group posing as antifa had sent a message out claiming it was going to target white communities, that it was going there to take whats ours.
On Thursdays episode of What Next, I spoke with Zadrozny about what happened next, why misinformation spreads so quickly online, and what can be done to rein it in. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
The interview is at the link.
Judi Lynn
(160,621 posts)In Klamath Falls, Oregon, victory declared over antifa, which never showed up
Towns from Washington state to Indiana have seen armed groups begin patrolling the streets after rumors spread on social media about an antifa invasion.
June 6, 2020, 3:56 PM CDT
By Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins
About 200 protesters came to Sugarmans Corner, the local hotspot in downtown Klamath Falls, Oregon, last Sunday night to protest the killing of George Floyd.
Like in many of the protests that have recently sprung up in cities across the United States, the group was made up of white, black and Latino people, members of the Native American Klamath Tribes and people in the LGBTQ communities: a diverse coalition in a county of 68,000 where 9 out of every 10 residents are white, according to Census estimates. They held signs, many of which have become common during recent protests: "Black Lives Matter" and "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Though it was a small gathering, they had company.
Just across the street, hundreds of their mostly white neighbors were there for decidedly different reasons. They leaned in front of local businesses The Daily Bagel and Rick's Smoke Shop wearing military fatigues and bulletproof vests, with blue bands tied around their arms. Most everyone seemed to be carrying something: flags, baseball bats, hammers and axes. But mostly, they carried guns.
They said they came with shotguns, rifles and pistols to protect their downtown businesses from outsiders. They had heard that antifa, paid by billionaire philanthropist George Soros, were being bused in from neighboring cities, hellbent on razing their idyllic town.
More:
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/klamath-falls-oregon-victory-declared-over-antifa-which-never-showed-n1226681
What could have been funnier than a sudden arrival of UFO's?
keithbvadu2
(36,906 posts)Soros must be as broke as Trump now with all that he has supposedly paid out.
Conservatives will believe any lie, especially if it involves Soros.
This guy claims he has gotten rich from Soros.
And the Congressman 'believes' him.
Runningdawg
(4,522 posts)because ANTIFA was going to burn it. Did anyone catch how that Rick rolled?
yellowcanine
(35,701 posts)And doing a good job of it.
johnnyfins
(829 posts)They just want to tote their guns and MAYBE get to shoot them sum libruls...fucking psycho dirtballs
zanana1
(6,127 posts)Guns have become security blankets for Trumpers.
paleotn
(17,956 posts)What ignoramases! The Moron Militia on parade.
And what if protesters did burn the US flag at Gettysburg? What are they going to do? Shoot them? Burning the flat in protest is settled law. Oh..I guess Constimatutional raghts only apply to the Moron Militia.
Judi Lynn
(160,621 posts)and enjoy itself gaping at the patients, with the difference being that grumpy, ignorant, unbalanced people are packing heat and sauntering around in fully public settings, bristling for the stray chance they can attack someone.
cstanleytech
(26,319 posts)13°36'10.0"N 40°39'49.5"E
Hekate
(90,793 posts)Also, with all that firepower combined with all that idiocy, someones going to get hurt.
AllaN01Bear
(18,384 posts)were flying all over the place (10 busloads of antifa were comming up to sack the town. an outfit called the state of jefferson( a california want to split off group) had a meeting w police the nite before and they were going to "defend " downtown core with their guns , but ca has been a no open carry state since the black panther incidence years ago. police chief and sheriff showed up and took a knee while the self described patriots chanted the pledge of allegiance . when names were read a idiot revved his harley (ugh) and a police man walked over and told him to knock it off. ended peacefully.
Sapient Donkey
(1,568 posts)While I am not a fan of burning flags (or anything) for a political statement, if this were real, then those people would have every legal right to burn their own property. Were they planning on shooting them?
I wonder if the people behind the event were hoping some people would show up to burn some flags, and that these idiots would get violent.
Judi Lynn
(160,621 posts)or whatever else they could pull out of thin air, running on the dirty fumes of Trump speeches, feeling Trump would surely defend them.
LiberalLovinLug
(14,176 posts)Fool a few of the more radical anarchists that always seem to latch onto any left wing protest movement. All it would have taken was a few of them. Get a shot of flag burning to post on SM as portraying Anti-Fascists in a bad light. Show how big and tough they are by intimidating them off the property with their big guns, or worse.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,494 posts)Take away their guns and you have couch potatoes.......