The Fight Against Fascists (I Can't Believe This Exists)

[Dill]

(06-09-2021, 02:50 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Fwiw, that attempt was plotted by a anarchist militia, who would probably fit in pretty well with Antifa. At least much more than they would any conservative or MAGA group.  They were anti-government and anti-police.

https://www.wilx.com/2020/10/09/suspect-has-history-of-anti-government-social-media-posts/

I'm not sure if you were just listing them as another example to balance out the types that engage in this behavior, or if you were linking to them to Trump, but I do remember that when this news broke a lot of people heard the word "militia", looked at their skin color (white) and where they were from (bumfuck Michigan) and automatically assumed they were something they're not.  I remember watching some of the videos that came out and being shocked at just how anti-police they were.  If recall, I think they were referred to as being slavemasters.

Here's some quotes I highlighted from the article, for those that don't feel like following the link...

“The Declaration of Independence was an anarchist document. It was a document that said, ‘you don’t own me’,” said Caserta in one of the videos.

“They are oppressing you for a paycheck,” he said in another video shared by director Robby Starbuck via Twitter on Thursday.

“If you are still supporting them, you are supporting the people that are enforcing slavery on everyone else,” Caserta said.

In another video, Caserta criticizes President Donald Trump; saying Trump isn’t your friend.

“It amazes me people actually believe that, when he’s shown over and over and over again that he’s a tyrant. Every single person who works for government is your enemy, dude,” Caserta said.

These people are freaking dangerous, just as Antifa is.  If they had their way they would tear down the entire system.

Ha,ha, you're going to keep me honest, Wes.  Well good. I wish someone would!

Let's consider whether the "Wolverine Watchmen" are a better fit with ANTIFA than MAGA movements.

First I want to set aside one register of comparison which won't be helpful--the strictly legal. If an ANTIFA member goes to a BLM protest and hits a cop with a bike lock and a Watchman goes to the protest to protest BLM and hits a cop with a bike lock then, if both have no priors, their acts are legally equivalent and should be punished the same.  Legal equivalence does not mean ideological equivalence here. 

But what if both groups are anti-government and anti-police? Are they "alike" then? Probably not if you are an FBI Intel analyst/interpreter looking to assess threats emanating from political activists and to predict possible targets and their specific triggers to violent action. And here it turns out your WILX 10 link is slim pickins for that kind of analysis/assessment. 

E.g., preliminary assessments of their social media accounts link some Watchmen to far right groups like the Boogaloo Boys and extreme 2A groups. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-fact-check-alleged-whitmer-kidnapping/fact-check-the-ideologies-of-the-individuals-behind-the-alleged-michigan-kidnapping-plot-idUSKBN27B23K
They were heavily into tactical "training" in the Michigan woods with "military style" weapons in preparation for the "Boogaloo."  
https://wwmt.com/news/local/members-of-wolverine-watchmen-militia-group-were-preparing-for-the-boogaloo
https://www.thedailybeast.com/with-the-gov-gretchen-whitmer-busts-16-boogaloo-followers-have-been-busted-in-7-days

So they are following the 2A political fantasy about a civil war which erupts when the government comes for our guns. 

Several of them protested a protest against Trump's Muslim ban. https://www.abc12.com/2020/10/09/whitmer-kidnapping-plot-suspect-made-threats-toward-2017-flint-rally/ 
Some of the Watchmen, like Pete Musico, were clearly Trump supporters and followed most of the Fox conspiracy theories about Russia. At least one extended his anti-government hate to Trump, sure. That's consistent with the logic of the group, what also turns them against police as an enforcement arm of government. 

One had a Confederate flag hanging in his room, another a Gadsen flag on his lawn--with a bunch "Trump for President" signs.  One intensifier of their antigovernment hate was disinformation surrounding COVID and the restrictions imposed by Michigan's governor last year. So far as I can tell, their reading of the Constitution is not "anti-fascist" but the kind of Constitutional fundamentalism which prevails on the far right, especially in militias.

I still want to consider ANTIFA here to complete the comparison, but I won't get to that until tomorrow. 

So far though, I don't think the Wolverine Watchmen fit very well with ANTIFA, do they? Are there MAGA supporters who share some of their values? We can consider that tomorrow.