Occupy Atlanta man in the crowd holding a loaded AK-47 rifle

[RamboLiberal]

One immediate change protesters wanted was to distance themselves from a man in the crowd holding a loaded AK-47 rifle.

"We have nothing to do with this. We did our job and informed police and police are watching," Ron Allen with Occupy Atlanta said.

The man told Stouffer his name was Porch and it was completely legal to walk around with his gun.

Porch told Stouffer he was there, "to support the people that deserve to be in the park. They shouldn't be thrown out for peacefully protesting. They've got a right to be here just like anybody else."

One protester said, "That's sabotaging the message, we're nonviolent."

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/occupy-atlanta-stand-firm-woodruff-park/nFMmb/

Also Tuesday, a man was seen walking around the park with a loaded AK-47, which, since he has a permit to carry, is legal though was unsettling to many. Police watched him closely as he circled the park, which was filling up with more protesters as the sun began to set. The man, who identified himself as "Porch," said he supported the demonstrators' right to assemble and was making a point about both the First and Second amendments.

The man, who said he was a 29-year-old accountant from East Point, invited his conservative friends to join him in the park.

"I'd welcome more of them to come down here and support the right of this movement to be here," he said.

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/occupy-atlanta-police-arrest-1209963.html

[pnwmom]

1. Ugh. The potential here is so scary. n/t

[Fire Walk With Me]

2. A "concerned citizen" just showed up to a notoriously peaceful protest with a loaded rifle in plain

sight...sure, right. Yeah, uh-huh.

[peace frog]

12. Careful there,,,the RW debunk squad will appear

in 3,2,1 to denounce your paranoid delusional ravings. Doesn't matter one whit that you are right on the money.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

24. The only paranoia here seems to be yours

[peace frog]

63. Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!

You may already be a weiner. :rofl:

[Junkdrawer]

13. +1

[Electric Monk]

3. This is why OWS doesn't want the teabaggers, even though they're part of the 99% as well.

They're good at making things worse.

[LAGC]

8. Sounds like the guy attended and open-carried without incident.

No bloodshed, no dead cops.

How exactly are things worse?

:shrug:

If anything, by keeping the cops focused on him, they are less likely to try anything against the crowd.

[msongs]

9. protect yourself from open carry nuts, carry your own gun better safe than sorry nt

[flamingdem]

70. This is CLEAR - puts cops on edge - keeps families away, etc!

I wouldn't go if there were guns being carried, just ups the ante for problems.

GUNS are not the right symbol for OWS, think Black Panthers at best, think stupid teabaggers at worst

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Don't like the gun

But that's some conservatives waking up.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. He is not the only odd one at the encampments but he has as much right to be there as others

Having a weapon present does not contaminate the movement

Unarmed does not mean non-violent

[burrowowl]

6. With an automatic weapon!?

Are you kidding!?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

7. Its not an automatic weapon...

If carrying it as he is in public was illegal, it would have been dragged off already by the cops.

What this really means is that the local site has more than rogue drummers to worry about. Welcome to an intentionally non-structured event/movement. At one site the Ron Paul supporters are prominent. Here we have a guy carrying openly. All of the encampments have their outliers.

[Fumesucker]

10. That's not how the M$M is going to portray it..

ZOMG!!11 Communists with machine guns! Weathermen! SDS! Patty Hearst!! Black Panthers! Scary!!

Now I've exaggerated (I hope) a little for dramatic effect but some version of that is going to play out in the M$M if people start showing up conspicuously armed at OWS events.

[Phentex]

16. On a local new station this morning, they said he was a protester...

and made it sound like the park was now unsafe because of the protesters. Of course, they talked about all the trash that was left and the damage to the park (kinda hard to pick up your stuff as you are being arrested.) They would LOVE it if any violence actually occurred. It's better news for them.

[Fumesucker]

18. Well, that didn't take long..

After a while you get the cut of the media's jib, it's fairly easy to predict how they're going to react a lot of the time.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

31. He was a protester because he said he was...does OWS had membership cards?

Outliers are to be expected in an open and unstructured movement.

[Fumesucker]

33. The media reaction to the outlier is what I was talking about..

I figured eventually some armed ratfucker would mosey into an OWS event, naively or deliberately the result will be the same.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

34. Apparently this was not the only one and somehow the movement survived

This is a non issue. This changes nothing. The hand wringing is completely unnecessary

[Fumesucker]

36. They're already using tear gas and rubber bullets on unarmed and non-violent protesters..

Let someone in the crowd have an "AK47" and the cops will have a license to go even further and the M$M will gleefully cosign that license.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

38. The cops will pull anyone open carrying before they move in

The cops already assume there is a mix of weapons in the encampments as it is

[Fumesucker]

40. The point is how the media is going to treat it..

A point you keep ignoring.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

46. OWS media relations are so FUBAR, that it really doesn't matter

The media normally gets their undies in a twist anytime they see a legal weapon.

[slackmaster]

39. OTOH maybe the presence of that man standing there peacefully with his rifle will make the police...

...think twice about using any type of weapon against the peaceful crowd.

[Fumesucker]

43. What's he going to do with that weapon?

If he actually opens fire it will be a monstrous setback for OWS, it really doesn't matter what the hell the cops do at that point because all you will hear from the M$M is about someone opening fire with an "AK47"..

ETA: That Marine who confronted the cops at OWS was far more morally intimidating than some dweeb running around with an assault rifle, those cops didn't like what he was doing one damn bit.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

47. He is making a statement and causing the elites pause and think

[Fumesucker]

48. He's going to give the elites the excuse they are desperate for to really crack down..

Personally I think the guy with the assault weapon was a knowing ratfucker.

Hippies with guns are terrorists, wingnuts with guns are Real 'Murkins' (tm).

[ProgressiveProfessor]

51. What assault weapon?

By definition a semi auto rifle is not an assault weapon

[Fumesucker]

56. Sorry, I forgot the scare quotes..

I meant "assault weapon", aka "AK47"..



Damn this gets tedious.

[Erose999]

65. "By definition". But by the original design that was a military assault rifle. And could be

converted to one again very easily in any decently outfitted home garage.

My friend has a co-worker who does this at their company workshop off the clock. He modifies the receivers and innards for high capacity magazines and full auto.

Even at SEMI-auto, a carbine loaded with 30 7.62x39 rounds is still a fucking dangerous weapon. He's outgunning ALL of the protesters and MOST of the cops.

[Erose999]

62. Agree'd. This guy was a troll. It looks like he was by himself and from what I've read other protest

protesters were keeping their distance. He's a ratfucker just like the guy they caught up in Tennessee. I live in GA. That birther guy they busted at the courthouse in TN lived about 5 miles from where I grew up. I know these people and how they act and how they think. I know a troll when I see one, and that "Porch" guy is definitely a troll.

[slackmaster]

49. I don't know

Why don't you ask him?

[redqueen]

61. DUers can read minds, didn't you know?

This place is nuts.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

11. while this is pretty bad

it isn't nearly as bad as the 200+ who gathered together chanting trying to levitate the GE building...gad, what a fuckup that was.

sP

[snooper2]

22. Is there some entertaining video of that

Please say yes :)

[ProdigalJunkMail]

26. First, I listed the GE building for some reason KNOWING it was the GP Building

secondly, I have not seen video. I am sure there is some out there somewhere that would likely appear in the next few days. I am pretty sure the whole thing was tongue-in-cheek reference to the 60's era Vietnam War protest that tried to levitate the Pentagon.

sP

OnEdit: this is the only thing I can find on it for now...interviewing some of the participants :

http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2011/10/25/it%E2%80%99s-official-occupy-atlanta-just-got-strange/

[onethatcares]

14. as our morning news said,

"THEY were creating an unsafe condition in the park"

That was in reference to the Oakland beatings.

It would have been much worse if the Oakland protesters were carrying firearms.

Damn, it didn't take long for every sector of Occupy to become violent now, has it?:sarcasm:

[Tsiyu]

15. Wonder if he's related to Ludlow? n/t

*Ludlow Porch :longtime Atlanta talk host

[Atypical Liberal]

17. Mostly I am not in favor, but I will say this:

This man has just as much right and is just as lawful as the rest of the OWS protestors.

And frankly, I think the police would be A LOT more hesitant to abuse the protesters if every single one of them had a loaded AK-47.

[Aerows]

21. Exactly.

Bullies only act against those they can intimidate.

[Ganja Ninja]

64. Yup. I'm not happy to see it either but ...

People are dreaming if they think the people in power are going to give in to peaceful demands. While non-violence is preferred perhaps the best way to be taken seriously and to insure it is to show up loaded for bear. At least the media might not be so quick to laugh off the protesters.

[Shagbark Hickory]

19. Can't wait to see how this plays out.

:popcorn:

I'm anti-gun but the Occupy Atlanta is practically a "hippie" commune. These occupiers are such an easy target for police brutality and abuse of power. Having some heavily armed wackos in the crowd might just help keep the cops from being too excessive with their abuses.

[Aerows]

20. Do you think the police are going to tear gas him without reason?

I don't think they will. Bullies attack people in wheelchairs, and wait for a crowd to gather around a fallen victim to throw a flash grenade. They don't needlessly take on citizens that can defend themselves and are acting lawfully.

I'm far from advocating violence - frankly, guys like this are going to prevent violence, imho - violence caused by the police who think they can brutalize peaceful people at the drop of a hat.

[hfojvt]

23. the porch lights are on

but nobody's home

What the hell kind of a name is "Porch"? Who calls themself that?

Who does he think he is? Madonna? Cher? The Great Unknown?

see the side note here http://books.google.com/books?id=WK3KHptGihwC&pg=PA61&lpg=PA61&dq=the+great+unknown+coxey&source=bl&ots=rqTsiwNbiy&sig=dwqLfd2j1_KtP-rVQ06hNcqwImg&hl=en#v=onepage&q=the%20great%20unknown%20coxey&f=false

[ProgressiveProfessor]

25. Ahhh demonize someone you do know over a trivial items

How very progressive of you...

[hfojvt]

28. okay Professor

I am knocking you down to a C- for leaving out the word "not". Second, for conflating a humorous jab with "demonizing" while ignoring the reference to Coxey's army. Also, for playing progressive purity games. And is carrying a loaded assault rifle really a "trivial item"?

Ribbit.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

29. The immaturity of some who cannot deal with outliers in OWS

is discouraging.

[hfojvt]

42. you are still feeling froggy, eh?

immaturity? I used to drive a Dodge Stratus, but I moved up to a porch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2uUDkMYtrQ

[Erose999]

27. The presence of this asshole is one of the reasons mayor Reed ordered the massive arrests last night

Fuck the AK-47 guy and everything he stands for. The occupy movements stand for non-violence, bringing a loaded fucking weapon to an Occupy event and parading it around is detrimental to the objective of the movement. As much as I hate to say it, image, especially the images reported by the media, means a lot.

Its hard to claim you have a non-violent movement when you have dicknucklefuckstainasstrolltaintsniffers like this guy toting guns in plain sight.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

30. Proof of that assertion?

Violence is actions, not objects.

The OWS already has serious "image" issues. Their handling of the media to date has been miserable. A photographer rights site which supports OWS has shown that any number of times. (carlosmiller.com)

An open and unstructured movement like OWS is going to have a lot of outliers. There have been minor scuffles at every encampment, but no one is saying it is a violent movement. That might change if/when Black Blocs show up, but the presence of open carry firearms is not really going to change things.

The police assume that there are weapons in every encampment, we should too.

[Erose999]

41. Here's the proof you asked for:

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Atlanta-police-arrest-Wall-Street-protesters-2236549.php

< mayor Reed >
Reed told reporters he had serious security concerns. They were heightened Tuesday when a man was seen in the park with an assault rifle, the mayor said. He said authorities could not determine whether the weapon was loaded, and were unable to get additional information about it.< / mayor Reed >



Seems to me like the police could have just gone up to the guy and asked if the thing was loaded. They certainly weren't at a shortage of backup...

Also, I had thought GA had a provision against firearms at "public gatherings," but I guess that must only apply to concealed carry or something.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

44. The security concerns were already there, this guy was afterthought

and the SPD would have stopped him before he got to the encampment. Its not like it was hidden. Per other posters, there have been other encampments with open carry

If by GA you mean General Assembly, it has no power other than that of persuasion.

[Erose999]

55. I mean GA as in Georgia.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

57. Apparently the cops let him continue, so I doubt he was doing anything illegal

[Southerner]

68. What I heard on local news this morning...

...was that between the guy with the loaded AK-47 and the loud rap concert organized by the protesters that had no permit, the mayor decided he had enough and moved the police in.

Was there actually a rap concert or was that just a convenient sound bite?

[Erose999]

71. There must have been a concert. I remember seeing posts about a concert on Facebook

and the article said that people were wrapping themselves around the generator or something like that.

[Phentex]

76. the original story was that a hip hop concert was going to take place...

and that "they" (the organizers) were fine with the protesters being there. The later version reported that the concert was organized *by* the protesters themselves and they had failed to get the permit. It's amazing the way the news is twisted each day.

[Atypical Liberal]

72. He was within his rights and obeying the law.

This protester was within his rights and obeying the law.

Interesting how people who don't meet with your political approval are "dicknucklefuckstainasstrolltaintsniffers"

[flamingdem]

32. OccupyGunNuts?

ugh

[kenny blankenship]

67. Gun nuts have been running operation Occupy DU for years, naturally they will glom onto OWS too

They'll use anything to piggyback themselves to visibility and mainstream status.

[flamingdem]

69. You mean the guns forum?

I always wondered what was up with that group, lots of posts but I haven't followed the gist of the arguments.

[Junkdrawer]

81. +1

[redqueen]

35. I have no problem with this guy at all.

He was complying with the law and within his rights, just as those in the Tea Party protests.

I'd like to see some aggro cops try to mace some peaceful protestors with this guy around.

[Erose999]

45. He would probably point and laugh while they were maced. I know some of these types from around

Atlanta.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/25/darren-huff-birther-obama_n_1031352.html




Apparently this guy lives just across the mountain from the area where I grew up.

[redqueen]

50. Somehow I doubt it.

Some cops beat peaceful protestors, others refuse to carry out unfair orders against them.

Some "gun nuts" hate the protestors, and some support their rights as Americans to peaceably assemble.

[Erose999]

53. I'm thinking this guy and the rest of the Oathkeeper dicknuckles were nowhere to be found when the

cops were arresting people. They are only present as trolls and contribute nothing to the Occupy movement.

[Atypical Liberal]

73. I am ardently pro gun.

I am ardently pro gun and I have attended the Occupy Huntsville protests here.

Am I a troll and contributing nothing to the Occupy movement? Would I suddenly become one if I lawfully carried a gun?

[Erose999]

80. This guy was carrying a sign that said "I don't agree with the protesters".

[Atypical Liberal]

83. Yes, I know.

As I remember, he said he did not agree with the protesters but agreed with their right to protest.

[slackmaster]

37. Re: One protester said, "That's sabotaging the message, we're nonviolent."

I see no indication that the man with the rifle was anything other than non-violent as well.

[TwilightGardener]

52. What a lunatic. I wouldn't stand next to him.

[Blue_Tires]

54. I'm at least a little curious WHY he wanted to bring it...

especially since this wasn't exactly a 2nd amendment rally...

I dunno...The fact that he's an accountant and conservative and probably gave a fake name makes me suspicious...Maybe he was hoping the protestors would throw him out and he'd have his story about the 'exclusionary', closed-minded liberals, all on camera.

[Erose999]

58. These guys are trolls. They are trying to highjack the movement. Openly displaying guns gives them a

disproportionate amount of attention, especially from the media.

While the Oathkeepers are totally opposite of the message of the Occupy movements, these are the people the media are focusing on because apparently armed goons, much like public defecators, are more newsworthy than peaceful protesters.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

59. You are making any number of unwarranted assumptions

OWS is about the 99% and they are a broad and diverse crowd. The movement will not be endangered by the outliers. It is only in danger when those who think they define the movement try to force the outliers out.

[Erose999]

66. So NAMBLA is part of the 99% too, Will you defend them when they show up?

[Atypical Liberal]

75. Because exercising the constitutional right to bear arms is similar to pedophelia. n/t

[Erose999]

78. I would say that the Oathkeepers and other RW groups infiltrating the occupy movements are just as

bad as NAMBLA, yes.

But the second ammendment is neither here or there in that regard. They both promote evil agendas.

What I had meant to say was the presence of 2a supporters made about as much sense as the presence of well, you know.

[Atypical Liberal]

74. These people see the corruption JUST LIKE YOU DO.

These guys are trolls.

Bullshit. There are MANY pro-firearm people who ALSO see the corruption money is bringing to our government.

[Erose999]

77. Do they need to parade around with their loaded guns to protest that though? Why does the 2a crowd

constantly seek to make everything about the guns?

[Atypical Liberal]

85. Why not?

Do they need to parade around with their loaded guns to protest that though? Why does the 2a crowd
constantly seek to make everything about the guns?

Why not? It's completely legal, and apparently a good way to make sure you don't get rousted by the police.

[Erose999]

79. duplicate post please delete

[fascisthunter]

60. just plain dumb and irresponsible

[glinda]

82. Impotent.

[WilliamPitt]

84. Probably need a telescope to see this guy's dick.

He has the right to be there, but damn, what a sad tool.

[Atypical Liberal]

86. Ah. Penis jokes. How original. n/t.

[WilliamPitt]

89. Take my wife, please.

[ileus]

87. Good on him for setting an example for honest 99%er gun owners.

[Matariki]

88. I bet the Atlanta police will think twice before firing "non-lethal" weapons into the crowd anyway.