Advice to Trump Supporters Considering Protesting His Expected Arrest Next Week, from an Experienced Conservative Street Activist

gateway pundit ^ | 3/18/2023 | KRISTINN TAYLOR

[bitt]

President Trump has called on supporters to protest his expected arrest next week by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on bogus charges arising out of the alleged 2016 Stormy Daniels hush money arrangement. Several so-called influencers are warning supporters to stay home to avoid being entrapped by the feds into another January 6 riot.

As one of the most experienced conservative street activists who was active in our Nation’s Capital for over a decade, I want to offer my advice on whether to go out and protest (yes) and how to do it.

First, some background. I was active in the D.C. Chapter of FreeRepublic.com from 1998 into the early 2010s, but mostly through the end of 2007 when I left the area and returned a few times a year. I organized hundreds of street protests and counter-protests against President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore and other corrupt Democrat politicians. I organized an annual protest of liberal media bias outside the White House Correspondents Dinner for about fifteen years. Through Free Republic, Move America Forward and the Gathering of Eagles, we organized several rallies and counter-rallies supporting our troops in the war on terror in the years after 9/11. On a few occasions, we acted as human shields against the violent left and radical Islamists, protecting The White House, the Danish Embassy, Armed Forces Recruiting stations and even the Washington Post. I also helped organize the FReeper inaugural ball in 2005 attended by nearly 1,000 guests or so.

We dealt with D.C. Police, Capitol Police, Park Police, Secret Service, various other federal law enforcement agencies and the military in demonstrations at the White House, Capitol, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, the National Mall, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Arlington Cemetery, the old Walter Reed Army Hospital, the Vice President’s Residence, aka “Cheney’s House”, and many locales in and around D.C.

We faced off against communists, anarchists, Black Bloc (pre-Antifa), Code Pink, ANSWER, radical Islamists, Democrats, RINOs, dishonest media and the Westboro Baptist Church extremists.

We did all that by being peaceful and behaving in a civilized manner at all times. We hade a code of conduct that served us well.

Briefly, it read, “No violence, no racism, no profanity, no provocations, obey the law and treat all law enforcement officers with respect.”

...more

[kenmcg]

Be aware the protest could be staffed by fed undercover agents attempting to incite a riot, as J6. Protestors should wear masks as there are no longer first amendment protections, banana republic are we. Cameras will be everywhere.

[rlmorel]

"Kristinn's Rules" are on the money and worthy of our cause. Those guidelines are tried and true, and allow us to protest in a way consistent with our values as conservatives.

kristinn was my real introduction to Free Republic. I had just created an account, and saw the threads about the DC Chapter protesting down in Washington DC, so I asked him about what was going on.

He encouraged me to come down, and I have always appreciated that. I learned a lot about the Left as I stood with the DC Chapter in the weekly Freeps at Walter Reed and Olney, as well as the Gathering of Eagles, Taxpayer March on Washington, and so on, but I also learned a lot about who we are as Conservatives.

None of it good about them. And almost all of it good about us.

I learned they were vile. I saw and heard shouted profanity from them. They grabbed our signs once and threw them onto the Walter Reed property. As a matter of fact, that is kristinn in this picture talking to the Police on his phone with the signs on the ground the Code Pinkos threw over the fence onto the property.

They held signs outside Walter Reed (with wounded troops inside) that said "Enlist to die for Enron" and so on. Once, I saw a skinny, bony older woman shuffling along our lines of parked cars, and she looked like she was completely lost and confused. This was her:

When I mentioned that we should ask if she needed help and pointed her out, somone said "Nah. She is one of the Code Pinkos." She was wearing a pink t-shirt, and when I asked why she was behaving oddly, they said she was taking pictures of all of our license plates to post online.

So, Iearned a lot about the Left that fit exactly what our estimation of them was.

But I did learn about us as well.

I learned we had people from all backgrounds in life that still cared about this country and its freedoms.

I learned that we were as dedicated to our own rights as we were dedicated to the thought that those vile people up the street had those same rights, as much as I came to detest their employment of those rights.

I learned that we respect the rule of law. By the way, every single protest I ever attended with that group where the police were present, the police clearly never, ever viewed us as a threat. We treated them with courtesy and respect, and if they told us we had to stay behind a line or do whatever, we did what they asked of us. We didn't want to make their job harder.

I learned that we largely opposed the use of profanity and vulgarity in public, although we did use the word "Hell" painted a foot or two high on a large banner when counter-protesting outside Arlington National Cemetery:

I also learned that the nature of our protests came from the grass roots, individual citizens deciding to act, rather than an orchestration of the group that was done by the Left, who made a practice of bringing their protesters in on buses, handing them pre-made signs and box lunches, and telling them what to chant.

I did an analysis of their signs and our signs from pictures that I took, and the difference is stark as I describe in the pictures:

LEFTIST PROTESTERS AND THEIR SIGNS

CONSERVATIVE PROTESTERS AND THEIR SIGNS

NOTE: This is another reason I believe the January 6 rioters instigating violence were Leftist plants. In the thousands of times I saw Conservatives brandishing American Flags,at protests, those flags were always treated with the utmost respect. Many of those people I have seen in the January 6th videos were using them as props, tools, or even weapons, even letting them drag on the ground. I never, ever saw Conservatives treat a flag with disrespect or neglect. Ever.

One of the things that I found most interesting was that the people I met in person were largely consistent with their online personas. And that has influenced my decision over the years to stay on Free Republic and continue to contribute, since I believe this to be generally (but not universally) the case with people I have met on this forum.

But just as importantly, when I found myself encountering these vile people directly in real life, my negative impressions about the Left, their tactics, their values, and their acolytes, were validated. Spot on. And that had value too.

---

SHOULD WE AS CONSERVATIVES PROTEST IN THIS CURRENT ENVIRONMENT?

In short, YES. But kristinn's advice in this is sound and spot on. I saw it in practice for many years, and it was shown to be valid each and every time. It is a winning formula. People may not want to get out in front of the cameras and be seen. That is fair enough for people and their own personal reasons.

But to surrender that right is, and should be anathema to real Americans who value real freedom. If we surrender that right because we are afraid we will be set up and arrested unjustly as the vast bulk of the January 6th protesters were, then the other side wins, hands down, and the United States as a Constitutional Republic as we have known it is over.

It is important to keep in mind: On January 6, 2021, the goal of the people who would exercise tyranny over us as citizens WAS to have exactly this inhibiting effect. That was the whole point, cooked up by the likes of Pelosi, Schumer, McConnell, Graham, the corrupted FBI, and the execrable DOJ, and a host of others, to extinguish dissent.

Do we really want to hand them that on a silver platter, that which they explicitly planned for and strove for? Just hand that to them as a total victory to keep our mouths taped shut and our bodies hidden in faux anonymity?

And let's give it a break characterizing as idiots and dupes Conservatives who care enough to go out and be seen and heard. And it goes both ways. Many people have personal reasons other than abject cowardice for not going out to be seen and heard. So how about stopping with innuendo and outright insults to those who want to make their voices heard, and those same people should dampen their criticism of those who decide for whatever reason NOT to go out on the street. We should be able to do that, right>

If you care about your rights and liberties, you CAN and SHOULD protest. But it has to be done by OUR rules, by "Kristinn's Rules". If we play by their rules, we WILL lose. We will lose not just our liberty in unjust arrests by corrupted legal processes.

We will lose our reason for being if we become just like those Leftists in our quest to be heard.

We will also lose our reason for being if we shut up, surrender, and cloister ourselves in our homes, leaving the field to the Leftists.

So, to choose between the horns of a dilemma, to preserve our country, and to restore and strengthen our liberties, we should go between the horns of that dilemma and adopt "Kristinn's Rules".

[AuntB]

Great post. Thank you for the ping.

We were lucky when we were protesting land rights in Jarbige and Klamath falls because the local sheriff’s stood with us and the envirofreaks were mostly cowards who just left garbage for us to clean up.
Protesting illegal immigration was different. Those traitors wanted to kill us and people forget how many Patriots were assaulted by the open border junkies.

Take protests out of DC!
Take it to every mainstream media affiliate in every city. The left wouldn’t be able to keep track of which one!

Until the media is faced , nothing changes!
Contact your LOCAL AFFILIATES! Let them complain about it to their overlords.

We must be the media.

[Guenevere]

Agree!…Thanks Jane!,

[lee martell]

Thank you for showing us those photographs.
Your chronicalling of places and events was also very helpful. This was 14 years ago. Almost from a different America. Before most of The Troubles.

Today, the conservatives would need some sort of plan on all the Antifa and BLM who run up to your group and verbally provoke or plain out attack with street fighting weapons. At very least, the conservatives would need a few team members filming everything and dodging those trying to knock their phones away.

[Lazamataz]

Great post. You put some real effort into it. It is appreciated.

[Candor7]

Is Inspector Clouseau in charge?

Mais non, Cleuseau is in charge of Avoiding national security logarithm driven bot scanners.

YOu da BIMB Jane Long!

[StAnDeliver]

"Yes, I helped lead a contingent of Freepers to Tallahassee for several days in 2020, to protest the Bush/Gore recount."

Get your lies straight, bEaglololol...

[dforest]

GE is the kind of person that I would not want on my side. He is a fair weather friend and exactly the type person who backstabbed Trump.

Trump is not perfect and he has made some errors, but he certainly does not deserve to be treated like this over and over again by the left.

If they can do this to Trump, they can do it to any opposition candidate.

[usconservative]

We may be old, that just makes us more treacherous.

4 lower back surgeries, neuropathy in my feet and legs as a result; multiple eye surgeries, a hip surgery, elbow surgery (put it back together) right wrist broken off and screwed back on with 2 plates and 12 screws, ankylosing spondylitis, arthritis in my fingers from 30 years of keyboarding in I.T., inability to run and two bad shoulders needing surgery now to repair AC Joints and likely a left shoulder replacement.

At my age (60) all this just makes me meaner, more clear in my planning, more determined, knowledge of my own limits and my role in the coming battle. Make no mistake: there is a coming battle.

I'm completely good with that. A man's got to know his limitations and plan accordingly. Done.

IMO, shame on our generation for letting this happen. We need to take the lead on fixing it.

[usconservative]

Golden Eagle is nothing more than a cheerleader for soft tyranny that's happening. There are four steps to implementing tyranny in any country, and those who've lived it know this is true:

1. Redefine speech (hate crimes)

2. Squelch dissenting opinion

3. Arrest opposition political leaders

4. Arrest those who agree with them.

We're on #3. If we don't stop this now, we're all next.

If not now, when? If not us, who?

The meek and mealy-mouthed on here like him need a healthy bitch-slap of reality what's really happening here and how their calls to do nothing simply embolden those who seek to put us under their boot and keep us there.

The COWARDS!!! Our Founding Fathers would be ashamed of them, as am I.

[matt04]

Exactly. They need distractions and somehow decided on this.

[telescope115]

VIDEO these people! I’m sure there are FReepers who have cameras with telephoto lenses. Do surveillance on the crowd from a safe distance if possible.
Find the trouble makers, get clandestine photographs with pinhole cameras.
If they’re sneaky, BE SNEAKIER.

Then, you’ll have evidence….

Hang back, let them cause trouble, and document it.

[telescope115]

Everyone wear all black only and be peaceful. Black for mourning the country.

Well now, Boardwalk, if you’re going to tell everyone to wear black why don’t you also tell them to paint ANTIFA on their clothing as well.🙄

[Albion Wilde]

Awesome post, dear FRiend!

Other than the little tiny headline switcheroo, so glad to see those pix. How I wish I had saved more photos to hard drive from those incredible years in DC.

[Albion Wilde]

Hey, ’Pod. I’m having nostalgia. I agree, tho, times are different.

[Golden Eagle]

Golden Eagle is nothing more than a cheerleader for soft tyranny that's happening.

Wrong, I have defended Trump from unfair prosecutions for years on here. But as an uncompromising hard right conservative, I also don't like how Trump has continued to speak untruths himself, and defined deviancy down, which is damaging our long term ability to hold the high ground on important issues, both fiscal and social. He prohibits rational analysis by only ever speaking in absolutes, rather than trying to find the actual truth, which should be our goal.

I sincerely doubt he will even be arrested on Tuesday, as he's claiming, as well. His own lawyers have already come out today and said they've not been told that, or know anyone else who has. But if you're convinced he will be, and feel you should do what he's asking, then by all means go ahead and buy your tickets to fly to NY or Florida tomorrow and go protest on Tuesday. I won't stop you. I just won't be there, either.

I'll probably even take a few days off from here to see how this plays out, and people to settle down. I purposefully skipped the whole week of the J6 fiasco on here too, and was glad I did. We unfortunately lost SkyPilot over that fiasco, who was probably my favorite poster, but I understand and respect why he left. It's hard to sit here and debate with angry people who think Trump is the only answer to everything, when much of what he stands for is wrong.

[Albion Wilde]

There are four steps to implementing tyranny in any country, and those who've lived it know this is true:
1. Redefine speech (hate crimes)
2. Squelch dissenting opinion
3. Arrest opposition political leaders
4. Arrest those who agree with them.
We're on #3. If we don't stop this now, we're all next.

Can't argue.

[usconservative]

It's hard to sit here and debate with angry people who think Trump is the only answer to everything, when much of what he stands for is wrong.

Once again, you demonstrate that you continue to miss the point.

I've posted the four steps to tyranny on this thread twice.

We're at #3 - Arresting Political Opponents.

Step #4 is we're next. Dissent of any type will not be tolerated.

President Trump is who they're going after to send a message to the rest of us. "Fall in line, or you're next." That's the message. The FedGov is weaponized against us.

How do you not understand that you're supporting tyranny via inaction?

If not now, when?

If not us, who?

There are none so blind as those who refuse to see. Shame on you.

[usconservative]

I sincerely doubt he will even be arrested on Tuesday, as he's claiming, as well.

You realize that Trump simply beat the media to the punch releasing that, right?

The plan was to have the media ready and waiting to stream the arrest live, and then have the media fawn all over about how "democracy is saved" because Trump's arrested and the country is saved.

It was all supposed to be a surprise big show and Trump ruined that for them.

So now what? Sit back and do nothing or do something about the squashing of political dissent in this country with the threat of jail?

Please. To be blunt about it: stop being a coward.