Antifa activists are planning a “Border Resistance” event in El Paso next month, and Texans are already gearing up to give them a big Lone Star welcome.
According to reporter Andy Ngo, the radical leftists are promoting a “10-day siege” in the border city to cap off a monthlong national recruitment tour. Ngo shared what looked like two flyers for the Sept. 1-10 event on Twitter Monday.
One of the promotions includes a hand-drawn picture of attackers laying waste to American border installations as immigrants rush into the country. The rioters― wearing anarchist and peace signs ― hurl arrows and firebombs at a patrol tower, setting it ablaze along with an American flag and a U.S. Border Patrol truck.
A dead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer lays in a pool of blood under the CBP vehicle, with arrows in his body.
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Antifa is a loose-knit movement that sees itself as resisting a supposed fascist resurgence, with violence if necessary. The activists have generally restricted their activities to liberal strongholds, like Berkeley and Seattle, where officials have tended to use a light touch in policing them.
Ngo, a Quillette editor and photojournalist, was hospitalized in June after being assaulted by masked demonstrators while covering an antifa rally in Portland, Oregon, one of the group’s favorite stomping grounds.
Last month, an apparent antifa activistwas shot dead while firebombing an ICE detention center in Washington state. In both cases, Ngo and other critics condemned authorities for their permissiveness and the media for not taking the incidents seriously, or even seeming to side with the attackers.
Texans welcome antifa
With antifa activists seemingly signaling their intention to bring violence to a red state, Texas have warned that the reception could be less tolerant reception than they might be used to.
Notably, residents are known to arm themselves with more than bows and arrows.
Red State writer Brandon Morse rallied his fellow Texans for the arrival of Antifa activists with a Thursday blog post in response to Ngo’s tweet.
“Great news, Texans!” he wrote. “The domestic terrorist group known as Antifa is coming to our state!”
“If Antifa believes they’re going to overcome the border agents, they’ve got another thing coming,” he continued. “For one, it’s not ICE they’ll be dealing with. It’s our military, and Texas’s national guard. Soy’d out communists who have never operated outside of their politically protected bubbles are in for a hard lesson if they believe they’re going to storm into Texas and have their way.”
“All they’re doing is threatening Texans with a good time,” he quipped.
In a tweet Wednesday, Daily Caller social media manager Jessica Fletcher asked of antifa, “Do they know we defend ourselves here in Texas?”
Directly addressing the activists, she added, “This ain’t Portland or D.C., you masked pansies.”
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Is antifa a terrorist organization?
Antifa seems to have been galvanized by the election of President Donald Trump, and Democrats, such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, have been accused of turning a blind eye to the group’s antics.
However, Republicans have taken note and spoken out. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, has led a campaign to have antifa recognized as a domestic terrorist group, including cosponsoring a resolution to that effect.
Domestic terrorist groups do not havespecial U.S. legal status. Still, Cruz cheered when Trump tweeted Saturday that the group could be declared a “major Organization of Terror.”
“Would make it easier for police to do their job!” Trump said.
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CBP did not immediately respond to Pluralist‘s request for comment about the planned antifa event in El Paso.
*see full story by The Pluralist