1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to Worst Year Ever, A production of I Heart 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:37,199 Speaker 1: Radio Together Everything So Down, Down Down. The sound you 3 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: were hearing is roughly twenty two voices from roughly men 4 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: and women carrying twenty guns and chanting their violent opposition 5 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: to all forms of gun control. On January I found 6 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,280 Speaker 1: myself in Richmond, Virginia, attending probably the largest anti gun 7 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: control protest in the history of the United States. This 8 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: event started as the annual Will Lobby Day rally for 9 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: the Virginia Citizens Defense League v c d L. Lobby 10 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: days exist all over the country, and their days for 11 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:10,760 Speaker 1: NGOs and the like to assemble in state capitals and 12 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:14,680 Speaker 1: plead their cases on various bills. It's pure coincidence that 13 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: Richmond's lobby Day happens to coincide with Martin Luther King 14 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: Jr's birthday, although that didn't make the number of Confederate 15 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:24,200 Speaker 1: flags I saw any less awkward. Now. The head of 16 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: the v c d L is a fellow named Philip 17 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: Van Cleave, and he does not want you or anyone 18 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 1: else to confuse his group for a mainstream lobbying organization. 19 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: And a two thousand nineteen letter to a local newspaper, 20 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 1: he described the v c d L as an extremist organization, 21 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: writing there's nothing wrong with being extreme and the preservation 22 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:43,959 Speaker 1: of our civil rights. V c d L is proud 23 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:46,960 Speaker 1: to be categorized as an extremist organization, and we will 24 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 1: fully intend to continue being such. If you're someone outside 25 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: of Virginia and you have heard of Van Cleave, it's 26 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 1: probably because back in two eighteen, Sasha Baron Cohen tricked 27 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: him into making a firearms training video aimed at toddlers. Yeah, 28 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: they haven't quite developed what we call conscious where you 29 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: you feel guilty about doing something wrong. That's developing if 30 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:09,520 Speaker 1: you're near any right and wrong. If they don't haven't 31 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 1: developed that yet, they could be very effective soldiers. The 32 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: whole mess cost Van Cleave a great deal of mainstream respect, 33 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 1: but now it's one of the few reliable truths of 34 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: our era is that mainstream respect is worth slightly less 35 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: than soiled toilet paper. The fringe right has continued to 36 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: support Van Cleave, and hundreds of armed activists show up 37 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:29,920 Speaker 1: every year for vcd LS lobby. Days before my flight 38 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:32,239 Speaker 1: to Richmond, I hopped on Skype and talked to State 39 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:36,920 Speaker 1: Senator Lee Carter. Virginia's only elected Socialist legislator. He told 40 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 1: me about the history of this gathering. Happened when the 41 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 1: Republicans were in control. Um. It never amounted to more 42 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 1: than about two hundred people. UM. And people were there 43 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 1: to demonstrate and to talk to legislators. UM. Now you know, 44 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:56,840 Speaker 1: there's there's a lot of symbolism behind a bunch of armed, 45 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:01,800 Speaker 1: mostly white guys. UM. You know, having a demonstration in 46 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,839 Speaker 1: the capital of the Confederacy on Margot king Day every year. 47 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 1: But um, but it was symbolish, no violent UM. So 48 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 1: this year, unfortunately, there are a lot of outside groups 49 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 1: that have decided to latch onto this. So I would 50 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,800 Speaker 1: no longer characterize this as a rally, and a VCDL 51 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: is still planning on going through with their rally as normal. 52 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: But it will not be normal. It will not be 53 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:34,160 Speaker 1: normal because last year Virginia's Democratic Party swept the state 54 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 1: legislature and the governorship. Once they had power, the Democrats 55 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: decided to push a raft of new gun control laws. 56 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 1: Some of what they've advocated seems reasonably even to me. 57 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: A guy who owns multiple air fifteen carries a gun 58 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 1: on a near daily basis. They're pushing for universal background checks, 59 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: mandatory reporting for lost and stolen firearms in safe storage requirements. 60 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: Pretty sane, reasonable stuff. But other measures are much more controversial. 61 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: There are some proposals that are just outright not good 62 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 1: in my view. So things like one handgun a month, 63 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: which in my opinion won't do anything. Because we have 64 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: A t S data from before and after Virginia got 65 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 1: rid of its one handgun a month law a few 66 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:19,360 Speaker 1: years ago. What that show was. You know that the 67 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 1: total number of firearms confiscated by the A T S 68 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:25,800 Speaker 1: and connection with a crime didn't change. What changed was 69 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:29,239 Speaker 1: the mix. It was fewer long arms and more pistols, 70 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: but the total number remained unchanged. And so you know, 71 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:34,680 Speaker 1: I feel that one handgun a month is a burden 72 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 1: on peaceful collectors that doesn't really do anything to address 73 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:41,480 Speaker 1: public safety. If you're listening to this and you come 74 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: from more of a traditional liberal background, particularly if you 75 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: grew up in a place like Los Angeles or New 76 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 1: York or Boston, you know, a city with strict firearm laws, 77 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:52,239 Speaker 1: it may seem ludicrous to you that people would protest 78 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 1: any of this, And you need to understand that on 79 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,480 Speaker 1: the right wing, logic and reason have long since departed 80 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: the gun control debate. There are tins of thou sense 81 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:02,799 Speaker 1: of heavily armed men and women organized into cells around 82 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 1: the nation who would rather die and kill than accept 83 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 1: a new assault weapons band. The reasons why are extremely complex, 84 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: but the short of it is that for decades, bad 85 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 1: actors on the fringe right have executed an exceptionally successful 86 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: campaign to convince millions that even moderate gun control laws 87 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: are an inevitable precursor to mass confiscation and tyranny. For 88 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:26,799 Speaker 1: an example of how these folks talk about gun laws, 89 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:29,400 Speaker 1: here's an exerpt from a speech given by Stuart Rhodes, 90 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 1: head of a nationwide militia called the Oath Keepers, to 91 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:34,880 Speaker 1: an audience of his followers. Someone's going to complain the 92 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: face officer when the police officer does. That's pretty much 93 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:40,120 Speaker 1: what youbody can do it. So that's if you're looking 94 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: at down the road and put the laws in place, 95 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: and these truck and turn the data one person in 96 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 1: a time, one veteran time, one gun over at a time. 97 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: That's how they're going to do into how do you 98 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 1: go don't register your gun, sure, but if they know, 99 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:57,360 Speaker 1: but if they know where you're at, and then you 100 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:01,840 Speaker 1: got guns, what are you gonna do? That's why you agree, 101 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,279 Speaker 1: That's why you need the neighbors behind you. If every 102 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:07,920 Speaker 1: old guy shoots and when they come to their door, 103 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:10,480 Speaker 1: will only lose a few guys in over sixty and 104 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:22,720 Speaker 1: it will be over. But I'll say better off. Your 105 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: should be behind you, all your gas together in the posts. 106 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:29,800 Speaker 1: The kind of thinging you see I display here, the 107 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 1: kind of leads people to think modest gun control proposals 108 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: are the prelude to a war of elimination. Well, that's 109 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:38,320 Speaker 1: been carefully nurtured by decades of propaganda. You may not 110 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: understand it, but you do have to live with its impacts. 111 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:43,720 Speaker 1: Which is why Lee Carter spent the twentie hiding out 112 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:45,760 Speaker 1: in a safe house under a river of death threats. 113 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:48,239 Speaker 1: And no, not because he was part of the push 114 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 1: for more gun control. It's because he proposed a build 115 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:54,600 Speaker 1: that would have allowed teachers to go on strike. In Virginia, 116 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,920 Speaker 1: all public employees have been prom limited from going on 117 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: strike for up of seventy years. Um. You know, as 118 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:03,960 Speaker 1: far as I can tell, it goes back to nineteen fifty. 119 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: But that's as far back as our electronic records system 120 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 1: goes so I don't know how long before that it 121 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:13,960 Speaker 1: was actually put in the law. And so, you know, 122 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:16,560 Speaker 1: with with the teacher strikes that we've seen in other states, 123 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:22,640 Speaker 1: you know, Colorado, Kentucky, West Virginia, California, in Illinois, UM, 124 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: I saw teachers that were able to stand together and 125 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:29,480 Speaker 1: raise the alarm on the conditions of their schools, say 126 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:32,160 Speaker 1: that it's much better for the students if we walk 127 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: out for a few days and demand change and get it, 128 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:41,600 Speaker 1: then to continue as if everything's fine. And so I 129 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 1: put in a bill last year to legalize all public 130 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 1: employee strikes. So just completely removed that section of the 131 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 1: code that for him. UM. Unfortunately, that bill died last 132 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:55,840 Speaker 1: year without even getting hearing, and it didn't get a 133 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 1: hearing because a lot of my fellow legislators were so 134 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:01,360 Speaker 1: afraid of this topic. They didn't even want to have 135 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 1: a conversation because they thought if police were allowed to 136 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:07,200 Speaker 1: go on strikes that it would lead to chaos. The 137 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: data shows that that's not true. You know, we've seen 138 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: from other places where police have had slowdowns or strikes 139 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 1: and things have been fine. UM. But you know this, 140 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 1: this was the view among my fellow legislators. So I decided, Okay, 141 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:28,680 Speaker 1: let's let's avoid the discussion about the merits of the 142 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:33,319 Speaker 1: police state with what I'm trying to do is legalized 143 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 1: feature strikes. And so I narrowed the scope of the bill. 144 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: I took it from an outright repeal of the prohibition too, 145 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:45,200 Speaker 1: narrowing the applicability of the prohibition um to just law 146 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 1: enforcement officers, you know, changing where it said any employee 147 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,839 Speaker 1: of the commonwealth to any public safety employee of the 148 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:55,760 Speaker 1: count the wealth. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people 149 00:08:55,800 --> 00:09:01,680 Speaker 1: out there who uh read that will um and read 150 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:05,839 Speaker 1: the sections of the laws that already exists, and thought 151 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 1: that that was new language. And so they said, you know, um, 152 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:14,880 Speaker 1: this guy is trying to fire cops who don't go 153 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 1: around and grab everybody's cuts. All this confusion was not 154 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:20,360 Speaker 1: due to a simple misunderstanding. It is the result of 155 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:24,680 Speaker 1: a concerted propaganda campaign doing a little bit of forensic digging, 156 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: you know, kind of trying to trying to find the 157 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 1: origin of this conspiracy theory. The earliest mentioned that I 158 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:36,800 Speaker 1: could find of it was from a local affiliate of 159 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 1: the Fraternal Order of Police Associates in Charlotte'sville. Um so um, 160 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:47,559 Speaker 1: you know, there's there's two sorts of competing police CLAUSEI unions. 161 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:49,640 Speaker 1: You know, there's there's a Fraternal Order of Police and 162 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:52,839 Speaker 1: the Fraternal Order of Police associates. So it started with 163 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:57,080 Speaker 1: with s o P A Lodge five in Charlottesville. There, Um, 164 00:09:57,160 --> 00:10:01,080 Speaker 1: it was shared by the Virginia s OP. So you know, 165 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:03,680 Speaker 1: it went from a local in one organization to the 166 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:08,120 Speaker 1: statewide and the other and then um, you know, from 167 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:13,400 Speaker 1: there it got shared through you know, the pro gun 168 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:17,560 Speaker 1: right wing Facebook group network UM, and it ended up 169 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:21,480 Speaker 1: with UM one of my fellow delegates, Nick Fredi's Paul 170 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 1: Pepper who's currently running for Congress. You know, he's going 171 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:28,120 Speaker 1: on a right wing mediator to try to not support 172 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:33,359 Speaker 1: in the Republican base because the primary. And he decided 173 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:35,960 Speaker 1: to say, you know, Lee Carter put in this bill 174 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:38,840 Speaker 1: to fire police who don't go along with Governor Northom's 175 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:43,960 Speaker 1: gun confiscation, and it spread like wildfire from there. It 176 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:47,720 Speaker 1: ended up you know, the claim was repeated by a 177 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 1: YouTube personality named I ract Veteran to an half varion subscribers, UM. 178 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,240 Speaker 1: And you know, it even ended up in a Wall 179 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:00,960 Speaker 1: Street Journal opinion piece. And they never reached out to me. 180 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,599 Speaker 1: For comment, because of course I would have said, the 181 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:06,600 Speaker 1: record strates that that's not what the bill does. The 182 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,560 Speaker 1: horrific absurdity of least situation has been compounded by the 183 00:11:09,559 --> 00:11:12,520 Speaker 1: fact that, as a socialist, he actually opposes many of 184 00:11:12,559 --> 00:11:15,520 Speaker 1: the good control laws proposed by his Democratic colleagues. What 185 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:18,560 Speaker 1: I believe about guns in particular is that you know, yes, 186 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:20,560 Speaker 1: there are some changes to gun laws that can be 187 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 1: made to make people safer, universal background checks, mandatory reporting 188 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:29,240 Speaker 1: for lost stolen firearms, things like that. But but you know, 189 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 1: the big ticket troposals, the assault weapons bands and and um, 190 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 1: you know, red flag laws. These are things that that 191 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:41,680 Speaker 1: make people sort of feel like they've done something about guns, 192 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:46,600 Speaker 1: but won't actually benefit public safety. Um. And specifically, you 193 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:50,680 Speaker 1: know that the the driving force of my my gun 194 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:55,240 Speaker 1: policy is what I saw and what the nation saw 195 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:58,720 Speaker 1: on August Row seventeen, when the Nazis attacked Charlotte Still 196 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:04,079 Speaker 1: and so then I decided that it is critically important 197 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:07,800 Speaker 1: that anyone who Nazis would want to kill should have 198 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,040 Speaker 1: the ability to stop Nazis from murdering them. And so 199 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:14,679 Speaker 1: he finds himself caught between an outraged horde of paranoid 200 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:17,600 Speaker 1: heavily armed militia living in their own media ecosystem, and 201 00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:20,360 Speaker 1: utterly convinced he wants to take their guns and probably 202 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:33,199 Speaker 1: murder them. Well together, everything down, down, down. And then 203 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:35,200 Speaker 1: on the other side, Lee is dealing with a crowd 204 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:38,559 Speaker 1: of liberal democratic politicians who see going after assault weapons 205 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:40,959 Speaker 1: as good for their political career and don't really believe 206 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:43,600 Speaker 1: anyone would ever shoot them over the idea. I think 207 00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:48,319 Speaker 1: the notion of an assault weapons done rests on an 208 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:54,360 Speaker 1: extraordinarily strong space in institutions, right, an unwavering state and 209 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:58,440 Speaker 1: institutions that, uh, you know, the government and all of 210 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:02,040 Speaker 1: its attendages are there to help people, um. And you 211 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:06,560 Speaker 1: know that includes police and uh, you know that that 212 00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:09,880 Speaker 1: these mass shootings that we're that we're seeing our aberrations, 213 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:12,800 Speaker 1: they're they're one offs that are happening because people have 214 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:15,760 Speaker 1: fool and so you will move the tool and they 215 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:19,720 Speaker 1: won't happen. Um. But you know, part of that also 216 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: is sort of transferring that faith and institutions into how 217 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:28,400 Speaker 1: they analyze the actions of others. You know, for for 218 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:32,559 Speaker 1: a lot of particularly liberal politicians, the faith that they 219 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:35,440 Speaker 1: have in institutions is so strong that they can't even 220 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:39,520 Speaker 1: conceive of the fact that it's not shared by everyone 221 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:44,520 Speaker 1: in our society, and so you know, they don't even 222 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:47,480 Speaker 1: a lot of them don't even recognize that there are 223 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 1: groups out there who have been telling themselves for thirty years, 224 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:56,079 Speaker 1: an assault weapons ban is you know, the first step 225 00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:59,360 Speaker 1: of the government coming to kill us, right, you know, 226 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 1: these these are these these right wing anti government groups 227 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:07,920 Speaker 1: have been telling themselves this. Vince Waco and Ruby Ridge. 228 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:11,600 Speaker 1: I mean, we even had a state senator in the 229 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:15,200 Speaker 1: hearing on one of these bills mentioned Ruby Ridge in 230 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 1: his comments opposing the assault Weapons down bill, and I 231 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:23,400 Speaker 1: mean you could you could see the n r A 232 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:25,600 Speaker 1: crowd that was in attendance that you know, if you 233 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:28,640 Speaker 1: watch the live stream of that hearing, they pan to 234 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: the crowd and it was, you know, a bunch of 235 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 1: people in n r A shirts nod in their head 236 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 1: as soon as he said the words Ruby Rich. So 237 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:40,640 Speaker 1: it's it's sort of the people that are pushing for 238 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:42,760 Speaker 1: this policy are doing is from a good place. I 239 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:49,840 Speaker 1: fundamentally believe that, but they just cannot allow themselves to 240 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:55,400 Speaker 1: recognize that there are people out there who have been 241 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 1: telling themselves for a very long time that an assault 242 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:02,920 Speaker 1: weapon span is the last straw and what they do, 243 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:06,240 Speaker 1: and we need to start. Those people absolutely exist, and 244 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:08,720 Speaker 1: thousands of them showed up to march on Richmond. It's 245 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:10,920 Speaker 1: probably now that I should note, h if you haven't 246 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 1: noticed already, that this is going to be a little 247 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:16,200 Speaker 1: bit of an abnormal episode of worst year ever, because 248 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: I'm the only one speaking in it. Um, that's because 249 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:21,120 Speaker 1: I flew out to Richmond alone to cover this. We'll 250 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:23,280 Speaker 1: have Katie and Cody back in later in the week 251 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:25,800 Speaker 1: for a follow up, but we'll talk more about what 252 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:28,080 Speaker 1: I saw at the rally and what happened. But I 253 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:30,320 Speaker 1: wanted to get this out now because you know, this 254 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:32,320 Speaker 1: is fresh in the news and I think people need 255 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:36,720 Speaker 1: to understand what I saw while I was there. So yeah, 256 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:40,600 Speaker 1: thousands and thousands and thousands of people who believe that like, 257 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 1: we're right on the verge of calamity, and it's going 258 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:47,640 Speaker 1: to be calamity pushed by nefarious socialists seeking to take 259 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:51,000 Speaker 1: their guns. Um, those people exist, and I'd like to 260 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:53,000 Speaker 1: present you with an example of just one of them, 261 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:56,000 Speaker 1: a member of a three percenter militia named Chris Hill. 262 00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:59,560 Speaker 1: In this clip, he actually supports red flag laws. So 263 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 1: long as existed, disarmed anti fascists and communists so he 264 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 1: can murder them. Red flag laws. I don't think anybody 265 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:09,400 Speaker 1: in the right mind would give two ships or flying 266 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:13,840 Speaker 1: fuck if the red flag laws were designed to take 267 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:18,360 Speaker 1: the firearms away from the card carrying communists that run 268 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:22,520 Speaker 1: around with their Antifa red flags, beating people up, hitting 269 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 1: them with locks and socks, stabbing them, um all of 270 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,160 Speaker 1: that ship. If that outburd the case, I would be 271 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:35,320 Speaker 1: supportive of a red flag law. You're recognized communists, you're 272 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:39,760 Speaker 1: a member of Antifa, you run around with with your 273 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:44,560 Speaker 1: Antifa flag. Hell yeah, sending the swat team, disarmed the 274 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: bastard and let them go through the the wringer, or 275 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:53,000 Speaker 1: it wouldn't even be going through the ringer. Designate them 276 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:57,920 Speaker 1: as terrorists first, designated them as terrorists first, and you 277 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:02,880 Speaker 1: arrest them under suspicion of terrorist activity. Simple as that. 278 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:07,359 Speaker 1: But instan targeting me, it's misdirected. Now, the bulk of 279 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:09,359 Speaker 1: the mainstream news you've seen about this rally will have 280 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:12,520 Speaker 1: focused around one of two things. Number one, wacky pictures 281 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:14,920 Speaker 1: of men with giant guns and ill fitting body armor, 282 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,960 Speaker 1: and number two, the fact that it was a peaceful rally, 283 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:22,000 Speaker 1: and this is true. I saw no violence on January, 284 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:23,920 Speaker 1: but part of that has to do with the fact 285 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:26,320 Speaker 1: that in the days immediately prior to the rally, the 286 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:29,720 Speaker 1: FBI arrested six members of a neo Nazi terrorist organization 287 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:32,439 Speaker 1: called the Base. They had plans to show up in 288 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:35,600 Speaker 1: Richmond with an legal automatic weapon and fift hundred rounds 289 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:38,400 Speaker 1: of ammunition. One of the arrested men was a Canadian 290 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:40,840 Speaker 1: military demolitions expert on the run from the law in 291 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 1: his own country. But calling this rally peaceful also ignores 292 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 1: the sheer amount of fantasizing about violence that I saw there. 293 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:51,119 Speaker 1: In the far right, the term boogaloo refers to a 294 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:54,920 Speaker 1: coming second civil war. On January twenty, I saw patches 295 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:58,000 Speaker 1: and blasted with Pepe's that identified the bearer of the 296 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:00,639 Speaker 1: patch as a member of the Boogaloo ber gaide. I 297 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:03,199 Speaker 1: saw a protest sign and someone's hands with I have 298 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:05,879 Speaker 1: a dream of a Boogaloo written on it in cruel 299 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:08,600 Speaker 1: mockery of Martin Luther King junior. Day I saw an 300 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:11,480 Speaker 1: armored truck drive down the street covered in American flags 301 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:14,159 Speaker 1: with Boogaloo written on the front of the cab. I 302 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:17,480 Speaker 1: saw variations of different boogaloo license plates on cars from 303 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:22,119 Speaker 1: multiple states. Even seemingly innocuous and zany things wound up 304 00:18:22,119 --> 00:18:25,720 Speaker 1: being connected to this violent fantasy of internessing warfare. At 305 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:28,440 Speaker 1: one point, I snagged several shots of heavily armed militiamen 306 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:31,600 Speaker 1: wearing brightly colored Hawaiian shirts underneath their body armor. I 307 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:33,919 Speaker 1: shared the pictures on Twitter, calling his men members of 308 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:37,800 Speaker 1: the Marguaritaville Light Infantry, and there was much laughter. I 309 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:40,399 Speaker 1: assumed the shirts were part of a lighthearted jest on 310 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:42,240 Speaker 1: the parts of these militiamen. Maybe they were trying to 311 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:44,440 Speaker 1: seem less threatening, you know, in their weapons and equipment. 312 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,080 Speaker 1: Maybe they didn't want to scare people. But then when 313 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:49,240 Speaker 1: I got back to my hotel room, I did some digging. 314 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,679 Speaker 1: A simple Google search for Hawaiian shirt boogaloo led me 315 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 1: to numerous returns which showed that online big luoo has 316 00:18:56,840 --> 00:19:00,520 Speaker 1: evolved into yet another's synonym for boogaloo. And of course, 317 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 1: what do you wear at a luow Hawaiian shirt? Here's 318 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:06,720 Speaker 1: an example I found on the Facebook page Firearms Unknown, 319 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:09,880 Speaker 1: which has more than twenty eight thousand followers. The post 320 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:11,720 Speaker 1: in question starts with an image of a man in 321 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:14,320 Speaker 1: a Hawaiian shirt at a gun store holding a scoped 322 00:19:14,359 --> 00:19:18,240 Speaker 1: A R fifteen. Beto O'Rourke's head is photoshopped onto his body. 323 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:23,560 Speaker 1: The text underneath this image reads quote, the big Luau 324 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:26,119 Speaker 1: is coming. Be prepared and go in style with the 325 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:29,800 Speaker 1: firearms unknown Boogaloo blouse. Everyone knows you can't attend to 326 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:32,480 Speaker 1: luou in anything but a Hawaiian shirt, and the Boogoloo 327 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:35,480 Speaker 1: blouse is the perfect Hawaiian shirt for the occasion. Whether 328 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:37,720 Speaker 1: it be your desire to roast a pig, just get 329 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:39,840 Speaker 1: down and dance to the disco, or maybe you want 330 00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:41,399 Speaker 1: to hold up in an igloo for the winter. With 331 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:44,240 Speaker 1: the Boogaloo blouse, we have got you covered. The Boogoloo 332 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:47,520 Speaker 1: blouse is made from polyester, five percent Spandex and three 333 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:49,800 Speaker 1: percent lava monster. It feels cool to the touch and 334 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:53,439 Speaker 1: is unbelievably comfortable. Being comfortable while boogalooing is key. With 335 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:56,239 Speaker 1: its bright colors, all of your boujahadeen friends will be 336 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,520 Speaker 1: easily able to distinguish between fellow partygoers and those who 337 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:03,359 Speaker 1: seek to in the celebration. Early a. Rourke's face is 338 00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:06,080 Speaker 1: featured because he quite famously promised to confiscate a R 339 00:20:06,119 --> 00:20:09,920 Speaker 1: fifteens of elected president. By the way, the firearms unknown 340 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:13,200 Speaker 1: page motto is because the Red Coats aren't going to 341 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:17,960 Speaker 1: shoot themselves. Other violent imagery wasn't ready supply. At one 342 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,320 Speaker 1: point I came across a squadron of heavily armed members 343 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:22,119 Speaker 1: of the Proud Boys, a far right group with a 344 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:25,520 Speaker 1: range of ties to neo Nazi organizations. The Proud Boys 345 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:27,879 Speaker 1: were armed and armored like the other militiamen, but a 346 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:30,600 Speaker 1: number of them had curious patches on their chest which 347 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:35,080 Speaker 1: said r w D s I'm gonna cut right to 348 00:20:35,119 --> 00:20:38,560 Speaker 1: the chase. This stands for right wing death squads, and 349 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:40,920 Speaker 1: I don't think I have to explain its meaning further 350 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:43,760 Speaker 1: than that. During the rally, I asked one of these 351 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 1: proudest of Boys what his patchment, and he seemed to 352 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 1: be less than proud that I knew here was his response. 353 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:53,920 Speaker 1: Can ask what that patch means, the one that says 354 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:59,040 Speaker 1: r w DS. The point I'm making is that, well, 355 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:01,840 Speaker 1: there was no direct violence today, that does not mean 356 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:04,399 Speaker 1: there is nothing to worry about in this rally. What 357 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:06,879 Speaker 1: I saw in Richmond was the coming together of a 358 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:11,199 Speaker 1: potential American insurgent movement tens of thousands strong. And of 359 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:14,200 Speaker 1: course there was no violence on the FBI made sure 360 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:16,680 Speaker 1: of that, and the sheer number of firearms present ensured 361 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:19,840 Speaker 1: the police were extra careful as well. No tear gas 362 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:22,840 Speaker 1: was deployed to clear the streets. Protesters were allowed to 363 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:26,160 Speaker 1: mask up, which is legal under Virginia law. The excuse 364 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:27,960 Speaker 1: given to one of my colleagues is that it was 365 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:31,919 Speaker 1: cold outside. But no, the Virginia gun Kerfuffle was not 366 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:35,879 Speaker 1: interesting because of what happened. The rally itself was mostly 367 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:37,800 Speaker 1: just a bunch of heavily armed men talking to one 368 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 1: another while every so often Alex Jones rolled around the 369 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:57,159 Speaker 1: perimeter and an armored vehicle shouting nonsense. Most of what 370 00:21:57,320 --> 00:22:00,639 Speaker 1: is interesting about happened beneath the surface, and that's the 371 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:02,919 Speaker 1: story I'm going to tell now. It all starts with 372 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:06,760 Speaker 1: a fellow named William S. Lynde. He's a Christian conservative 373 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:09,159 Speaker 1: author and a widely cited thinker, and he's one of 374 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:13,800 Speaker 1: the originators of the concept of fourth generation warfare. Wikipedia 375 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:17,359 Speaker 1: defines this as quote conflict characterized by a blurring of 376 00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:22,119 Speaker 1: the lines between war and politics. Combatants and civilians. Lynde 377 00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:24,080 Speaker 1: is the kind of guy who thinks police should carry 378 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:26,800 Speaker 1: rocket propelled grenades and that mass hanging is the best 379 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:30,080 Speaker 1: solution to inner city crime. He's a major inflection point 380 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:32,800 Speaker 1: for the theory that cultural Marxists are trying to take 381 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:36,240 Speaker 1: over America. If you're listening to this podcast, there is 382 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:38,960 Speaker 1: a very good chance that William S. Lynde wants you dead. 383 00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:42,600 Speaker 1: He's also friends with President Donald Trump, or at least 384 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:44,439 Speaker 1: the two have met. They posed together in April two 385 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:46,600 Speaker 1: thousand and sixteen, and Lynde handed him a copy of 386 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:50,360 Speaker 1: his book, The Next Conservatism. This book, which was circulated 387 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:54,080 Speaker 1: widely among Trump's campaign staff, urges the establishment of a 388 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:59,639 Speaker 1: network of local anti government militia groups to fight domestic terrorism. 389 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:03,200 Speaker 1: These group should report two county sheriffs. Len's ideas have 390 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:07,080 Speaker 1: been adopted by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association 391 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:11,240 Speaker 1: csp OA, basically believes local sheriffs should have their own armies. 392 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 1: During the two thousand sixteen election, the c SPOA leadership 393 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:18,439 Speaker 1: had significant documented ties with a Trump campaign. Today, the 394 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:21,639 Speaker 1: c SPOA works closely with the Oath Keepers. Many of 395 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:24,359 Speaker 1: their members are Virginia sheriffs who head of this rally 396 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:27,400 Speaker 1: have threatened to engage in open rebellion against the state government. 397 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:31,399 Speaker 1: Colepepper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins, for example, has promised to 398 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:35,160 Speaker 1: deputize thousands of armed citizens if Richmond passes gun control regulations. 399 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:39,240 Speaker 1: Dozens of counties have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries, and 400 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:42,639 Speaker 1: this is not isolated to Virginia. The same phenomenon is occurring, 401 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:46,000 Speaker 1: for example, in Oregon, where late last year, conservative legislators 402 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:47,840 Speaker 1: fled the state in order to stall voting on a 403 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:50,600 Speaker 1: gun control bill. While they hid, they were protected by 404 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:54,119 Speaker 1: members of various militias, including the Three Presenters, the oath Keepers, 405 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:57,840 Speaker 1: and constitutional sheriffs. I know this is a lot to 406 00:23:57,880 --> 00:23:59,960 Speaker 1: take in, and if you haven't visited the places I've 407 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:01,720 Speaker 1: visit and talked to the folks I've talked to, and 408 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:03,479 Speaker 1: read the things I've read a lot of, it's going 409 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,320 Speaker 1: to seem like conspiratorial rambling. All I can do is 410 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,480 Speaker 1: assure you that it's not. Another reporter, a better reporter 411 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:11,919 Speaker 1: than me. Bruce Wilson has done a huge amount of 412 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:14,920 Speaker 1: the lake work in documenting these connections. His blog, Fourth 413 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,560 Speaker 1: Generation War is important reading. Bruce pays attention to the 414 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:21,800 Speaker 1: media network this nascent insurgency has set up. He lays 415 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:23,840 Speaker 1: out the connections better than I ever could. And I'm 416 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:28,000 Speaker 1: going to quote him now, quote Richard Mack. The top 417 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:30,760 Speaker 1: lobbyist for gun owners of America headed by Larry Pratt. 418 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:33,200 Speaker 1: Now Pratt build his by rolling Stone as the gun 419 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:36,240 Speaker 1: owner's secret weapon. Has praised the activities of civilian militious 420 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:39,760 Speaker 1: under Guatemalan president A Frain Rios Monte, who scorched earth 421 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:42,639 Speaker 1: counter insurgency campaign in Guatemala in the early nineteen eighties, 422 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:45,320 Speaker 1: was ruled to be genocidal. But Pratt also has close 423 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:49,280 Speaker 1: ties to the theocratic Christian Reconstructionism movement. Some experts consider 424 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:51,240 Speaker 1: him a part of CR. Back in the early eighties, 425 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: he contributed a chapter on malicious to a key CR 426 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:57,840 Speaker 1: strategy book, and as sociologist James Scaminacci has documented, the 427 00:24:57,840 --> 00:24:59,879 Speaker 1: American militia movement has long been a part of the 428 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:04,800 Speaker 1: Christian reconstructionist strategy. It's long game for eventual theocracy. And 429 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:06,680 Speaker 1: I want to break in here and say two things. 430 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:10,520 Speaker 1: One is that Christian reconstructionist is basically Christian dominionism. This 431 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:12,879 Speaker 1: idea that the United States needs to go back to 432 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:16,760 Speaker 1: being a Christian dominated state where, for example, non Christian 433 00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:20,240 Speaker 1: behavior would be punishable by, for example, execution, which is 434 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:22,920 Speaker 1: something that's believed by a guy named Matt Shay, who 435 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 1: is a lawmaker up in Washington, who has been found 436 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:28,399 Speaker 1: to have committed the acts of domestic terror on at 437 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:30,639 Speaker 1: least three occasions, but hasn't been arrested because of the 438 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:34,640 Speaker 1: sheer amount of malicious support that he has um. So yeah, 439 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,800 Speaker 1: the other thing I should note is that Larry Pratt, 440 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:40,879 Speaker 1: the head of Gun Owners for America, the group that 441 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:43,600 Speaker 1: Richard Mac works for. Larry Pratt was a regular guest 442 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:46,000 Speaker 1: on Alex Jones's Infowar show. So just so you know, 443 00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:47,959 Speaker 1: all of these people, all these people who are at 444 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,359 Speaker 1: are very connected. All right, I'm gonna quote from Bruce 445 00:25:51,359 --> 00:25:55,159 Speaker 1: Wilson again, back to Mac, his c s p o A. 446 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:58,480 Speaker 1: And remember that's the Constitutional Sheriff's Group. VP of Operations 447 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:00,720 Speaker 1: is a guy named Sam Bushman runs a tiny but 448 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:03,800 Speaker 1: national radio network, Liberty News Radio, which carries a show 449 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:06,719 Speaker 1: called The Political Cesspool, which is the premier white supremacist 450 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:09,960 Speaker 1: radio show in America. Barn None, but also lan R 451 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,000 Speaker 1: happens to carry the radio show of Washington State legislator 452 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:15,560 Speaker 1: Matt Shay, who was just exposed for his involvement in 453 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 1: domestic terrorism pursuant to his plan for creating a fifty 454 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:21,920 Speaker 1: first Biblical state in eastern Washington State. It wasn't the 455 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:25,320 Speaker 1: first time the show Liberty Roundtable had featured Matt Shay. Now, 456 00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:27,400 Speaker 1: back in two sixteen, when I was writing on Trump 457 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:30,040 Speaker 1: and Land, I noticed something quite extraordinary going on with 458 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:32,840 Speaker 1: the l R show. Suddenly, top members and surrogates of 459 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:35,160 Speaker 1: the Trump for President efforts started appearing on the show 460 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:40,320 Speaker 1: day after day, including appearances from Trump's two sons. Now, 461 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:42,439 Speaker 1: these were individuals who could have been on Fox almost 462 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:44,520 Speaker 1: at will. So were they doing on a tiny radio 463 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:46,879 Speaker 1: network with one big station and five to six stations 464 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:50,080 Speaker 1: the size of GNATS Two answers. First, the entrance point 465 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:52,119 Speaker 1: for the whole thing was when the Trump campaign reached 466 00:26:52,119 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 1: out to get one of the Trump Boys on the 467 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:58,119 Speaker 1: Political Cesspool, which remember Bushman's radio network hosts. Now a 468 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:01,680 Speaker 1: quick digression. The Cesspool is hosted by James Edwards, who 469 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:10,800 Speaker 1: is on the board for the Council of Conservative Citizens Together. 470 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:19,359 Speaker 1: Everything down, down Down, Now the c c C Council 471 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:22,280 Speaker 1: of Conservative Citizens is a fascist, far right organization than, 472 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:25,399 Speaker 1: among other things, creates propaganda aimed at convincing white people 473 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:28,200 Speaker 1: that black people are going to murder them. Charleston church 474 00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:30,960 Speaker 1: shooter Dylan Roof directly credited the c c C and 475 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:35,520 Speaker 1: its propaganda with inspiring his massacre. Through Dylan Roof, we 476 00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:38,600 Speaker 1: can tie the more mainstream tendrils of this movement, which 477 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:42,040 Speaker 1: connect right to Trump's large adult sons, to its fringe elements. 478 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:45,320 Speaker 1: The Bull Patrol is a loose association of fascist want 479 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,000 Speaker 1: to be terrorists, so named because they idolized Dylan Roof, 480 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:51,119 Speaker 1: who had a bowl haircut. The Bull Patrol is closely 481 00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:53,960 Speaker 1: tied ideologically to Adam Off, a division, a neo Nazi 482 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:57,200 Speaker 1: terrorist group responsible for five murders. Many Adam Often members 483 00:27:57,200 --> 00:27:59,920 Speaker 1: were also members of the Base, the fascist terrorist social 484 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:01,760 Speaker 1: at work the FBI just busted in the act of 485 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:04,879 Speaker 1: planning an attack on Richmond. Both the Base and Adam 486 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:08,840 Speaker 1: Often advocates something called accelerationism, the idea that the United 487 00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:11,199 Speaker 1: States needs to be pushed into a violent collapse in 488 00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:14,000 Speaker 1: order to make possible the rise of a white supremacist state. 489 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:18,280 Speaker 1: William S Lynde is also an accelerationist. In two thousand fourteen, 490 00:28:18,359 --> 00:28:21,560 Speaker 1: he wrote a novel titled Victoria, a Novel of fourth 491 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:25,760 Speaker 1: Generation War. The basic plot is that Christian militias overthrow 492 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:28,119 Speaker 1: the federal government, leading to a re establishment of the 493 00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:31,080 Speaker 1: Confederacy and the massacre of millions of black Americans via 494 00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:34,680 Speaker 1: tactical nuclear warhead Slavery is reestablished, and the book ends 495 00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:37,879 Speaker 1: with the heroes launching a crusade against Islam. I feel 496 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:40,520 Speaker 1: like I need to continuously reiterate that I understand how 497 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:42,040 Speaker 1: easy it is to write all of this off as 498 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:45,440 Speaker 1: a handful of nuts lar Larper's lone wolf assholes. I 499 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:47,520 Speaker 1: want to assure you that people like myself and Bruce 500 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:50,680 Speaker 1: Wilson are not the only ones worried. Dr James scammon 501 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 1: Cheney is a sociologist and a retired senior U. S. 502 00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:56,720 Speaker 1: Army analyst. In two thousand nine, after the rise of 503 00:28:56,720 --> 00:28:59,960 Speaker 1: the anti Obama birth conspiracy theory championed by now President 504 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:03,760 Speaker 1: at Trump, doctor scammon Cheney wrote this The birth claim 505 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:06,640 Speaker 1: not only delegitimized President Obama but called into question the 506 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:09,160 Speaker 1: citizens status of tens of millions of people. As a 507 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:11,760 Speaker 1: former military intelligence analyst, I utilized the skills that I 508 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:14,440 Speaker 1: had acquired, for example, examining the source of their strategy, 509 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:17,320 Speaker 1: their organizations, their networks, and their tactics. I began to 510 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:19,680 Speaker 1: understand that the Christian Right and its armed wing and 511 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:23,160 Speaker 1: the Patriot militia were radical revolutionaries, and that, to me 512 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:25,800 Speaker 1: is a key finding that progressives need to consider. The 513 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:28,200 Speaker 1: Patriot movement of the nineteen nineties and today is the 514 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:30,760 Speaker 1: armed wing of the Christian Right. If you read the 515 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:34,040 Speaker 1: literature on the Patriot militia from scholars and journalists, there 516 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:36,720 Speaker 1: is no analysis of the social basis of the militia, 517 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:40,080 Speaker 1: and there is no analysis of the command, control, communications, 518 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:43,400 Speaker 1: intelligent structure of the militia. Nowhere does a large armed 519 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:46,520 Speaker 1: formation exists that is not under political control in pursuing 520 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:50,800 Speaker 1: political goals. I hope my analysis, while entirely supportive, elevates 521 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:54,040 Speaker 1: the strategic warning and gives progressive analysts the perspective to 522 00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:56,680 Speaker 1: see that the movement is much more unified than previously 523 00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:00,080 Speaker 1: thought and driven by a fourth generation warfare strategy that 524 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:04,000 Speaker 1: comes from the central core of the Christian Right. This 525 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:06,720 Speaker 1: is all really scary stuff, and it's it's unpleasant. It's 526 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:08,720 Speaker 1: unpleasant for me to read about and to write about. 527 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:13,320 Speaker 1: But it's important because what we're seeing, and what I 528 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:15,480 Speaker 1: saw in Richmond, and what we're going to continue to 529 00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:18,400 Speaker 1: see over the next year and probably into the future, 530 00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:22,240 Speaker 1: is this movement grow. And this movement is driven by 531 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:25,680 Speaker 1: fourth generation warfare. It's driven by this combination of sort 532 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:29,800 Speaker 1: of traditional military techniques, the forming of armed groups of militias, 533 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:34,360 Speaker 1: um potentially assassinations or acts of occupation, marches like the 534 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:38,280 Speaker 1: one that we saw Enrichmond, intimidation tactics, but also this 535 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:43,280 Speaker 1: media infrastructure that has welded all these different people together, 536 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:47,080 Speaker 1: including a lot of folks who wouldn't necessarily otherwise be 537 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:50,560 Speaker 1: very violent individuals or negative individuals, have gotten swept up 538 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:53,040 Speaker 1: into this because of this belief that their freedom is 539 00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:56,840 Speaker 1: under attack, that they are fighting for their own lives 540 00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:00,680 Speaker 1: against a group of people that would destroy them. It 541 00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:04,800 Speaker 1: is a very frightening situation, and in considering it, I 542 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:08,920 Speaker 1: am driven back continuously to something that William S. Lynde 543 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:11,720 Speaker 1: wrote in nineteen eighty nine for the Marine Corps Gazette 544 00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:15,960 Speaker 1: when he outlined his theory a fourth generation warfare, television 545 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:20,000 Speaker 1: news may become a more powerful operational weapon than armored divisions. 546 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:24,040 Speaker 1: If there's one thing I saw in Richmond, it's that 547 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:28,600 Speaker 1: this idea that this this media ecosystem that the right 548 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:32,479 Speaker 1: has crafted for itself, has rendered the people within it 549 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:38,040 Speaker 1: completely immune to outside argument, completely immune to logic. And 550 00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:41,160 Speaker 1: I think what we're seeing, at least from the liberals, 551 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:44,560 Speaker 1: from the Democratic Party, is this group of people who 552 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:48,200 Speaker 1: are still functioning as if this is not the case, 553 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:52,480 Speaker 1: as if these people can be reached rationally by argument, 554 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:54,920 Speaker 1: as if you can convince them by the simple fact 555 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:58,720 Speaker 1: that they lost an election that things that they don't 556 00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:02,280 Speaker 1: like are going to happen. They don't believe that. They 557 00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:05,440 Speaker 1: don't believe that your elections, they don't believe that your 558 00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:11,800 Speaker 1: politicians are legitimate. And so far they've been responsible for 559 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:15,440 Speaker 1: minimal violence, if you consider the dozens killed by far 560 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:17,840 Speaker 1: right extremists in the last couple of years to be minimal, 561 00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:23,920 Speaker 1: minimal violence compared to what might happen. My worry is 562 00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:27,080 Speaker 1: what will happen in the future. I don't want to 563 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:30,200 Speaker 1: send to dire dark with this. I think it is 564 00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:32,720 Speaker 1: very serious. I think the situation is very serious. I 565 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:35,920 Speaker 1: think the the lack of action taken by the people 566 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:39,360 Speaker 1: in power has made it more serious, but I don't 567 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:41,480 Speaker 1: think the situation is hopeless. And one thing I would 568 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:44,440 Speaker 1: note is that of all the folks, the thousands of 569 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:46,360 Speaker 1: folks that I saw and the hundreds of folks that 570 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:50,440 Speaker 1: I talked to at the rally on UM, I would 571 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:53,600 Speaker 1: say less than half were actually members of you know, 572 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:57,080 Speaker 1: one militia group or another. UM. Most of them, there 573 00:32:57,080 --> 00:32:59,920 Speaker 1: were large groups of militia who are were alarmed and organized, 574 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:03,560 Speaker 1: you know, using microphone, communication networks and what not to 575 00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:06,880 Speaker 1: to work with each other as they traveled around, and 576 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:09,760 Speaker 1: anticipation that you know, the boogaloo might break out. But 577 00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:12,520 Speaker 1: most of the people there were just gun owners, UM, 578 00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:15,000 Speaker 1: folks who have been riled up and frightened by this 579 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:18,560 Speaker 1: very effective propaganda campaign. But not folks who are are 580 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:22,160 Speaker 1: crazy or violent, or or particularly obsessed with the idea 581 00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:24,680 Speaker 1: of harming people. They're people who by and large have 582 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:27,000 Speaker 1: gotten very bad information fed at them, and most of 583 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:29,760 Speaker 1: them are people from a lower socioeconomic group. While there 584 00:33:29,760 --> 00:33:32,600 Speaker 1: were a number of folks who had very expensive, you know, firearms, 585 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:35,680 Speaker 1: some upwards of ten thousand dollars, many of the guns 586 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:39,080 Speaker 1: I saw were very simple shotguns and hunting rifles, humble guns, 587 00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:42,040 Speaker 1: from people who are afraid that part of their life 588 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:43,880 Speaker 1: and their culture is going to be taken away because 589 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:49,160 Speaker 1: they've been propagandized too. And unfortunately, the liberal middle in 590 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:51,600 Speaker 1: our country has kind of given up on reaching these 591 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:54,320 Speaker 1: people and has not, in my lifetime, tried very hard 592 00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:57,560 Speaker 1: to do so. And it feels when it has, you know, 593 00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:01,360 Speaker 1: what it considers to be an electoral mandate, that it 594 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:04,480 Speaker 1: can start throwing out whatever laws at wants, and that 595 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:07,640 Speaker 1: there will be no consequences, that nothing will happen, and 596 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:10,640 Speaker 1: that they don't need to reach these people because you know, 597 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:12,879 Speaker 1: they've beaten them. And I think this is a very 598 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:16,719 Speaker 1: poor strategy. But one of the things that gave me 599 00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:18,520 Speaker 1: some hope at the rally is that I was not 600 00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:20,480 Speaker 1: the only one who thought this way. There were a 601 00:34:20,560 --> 00:34:23,040 Speaker 1: number of left wing activists, members of groups like the 602 00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:25,919 Speaker 1: John Brown Gun Club, which is a very far left 603 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:31,360 Speaker 1: wing UH firearms advocacy organization that seeks to particularly provide 604 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:35,160 Speaker 1: firearms training to disenfranchised groups. These people were traveling around 605 00:34:35,200 --> 00:34:38,239 Speaker 1: the rally wearing body armor and carrying rifles just like 606 00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:40,759 Speaker 1: all the other militia folks. Um you can only tell 607 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:43,120 Speaker 1: them apart if you understood the symbols on their armor, 608 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:47,279 Speaker 1: and they were handing out pamphlets titled to those who 609 00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:50,239 Speaker 1: seek Liberty. And I'd like to read that pamphlet. Now, 610 00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:53,920 Speaker 1: who are we? We're a coalition of left libertarians from 611 00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:57,560 Speaker 1: various organizations across the South and Northeast who support the 612 00:34:57,640 --> 00:35:00,800 Speaker 1: rights of communities and individuals to organize and manage themselves 613 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:03,560 Speaker 1: free from the tyranny of corrupt politicians and the greedy 614 00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:06,720 Speaker 1: corporations they serve. We are in opposition to all forms 615 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:09,320 Speaker 1: of unjust hierarchy and all those who seek to oppress 616 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:12,239 Speaker 1: and enact violence upon us and our neighbors. Why are 617 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:15,640 Speaker 1: we here, Like many here, we staunchly oppose these bills. 618 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:18,319 Speaker 1: This effort by the Democrat government of Virginia is a 619 00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:20,840 Speaker 1: short sighted attempt to cement power. This is just the 620 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:23,520 Speaker 1: latest battle in the ongoing war between out of touch 621 00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:27,040 Speaker 1: political parties to out maneuver one another. The casualties of 622 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:30,600 Speaker 1: this war are poor and working people and other marginalized groups. 623 00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:34,520 Speaker 1: The right to collective and individual defense is universal. This 624 00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:37,239 Speaker 1: right is already unjustly denied to many people for a 625 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:41,120 Speaker 1: multitude of reasons. We join the broader Second Amendment movement 626 00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:44,200 Speaker 1: against red flag laws, restrictions and access to equipment, and 627 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:47,240 Speaker 1: the criminalization of organizing and training for the legitimate defense 628 00:35:47,239 --> 00:35:49,880 Speaker 1: of ourselves in our communities. We rally with you to 629 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:52,120 Speaker 1: ensure that our rights will not be further limited by 630 00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:54,640 Speaker 1: a state that wishes to see us docile and accepting 631 00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:57,560 Speaker 1: of their illegitimate rule. Knowing this, we came to speak 632 00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:00,360 Speaker 1: to you, the individuals gathered here today in response to YEARNY. 633 00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:03,000 Speaker 1: Our collective response to the oppression of the state is 634 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:07,240 Speaker 1: a meeting point. Despite other ideological differences, the Second Amendment 635 00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:09,560 Speaker 1: movement and the voices of the militia community declared that 636 00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:12,120 Speaker 1: they are we the people. Militias assert that they are 637 00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:14,680 Speaker 1: a civil resource for the whole of the community, regardless 638 00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:17,880 Speaker 1: of race, religion, gender, or nation of origin. We challenge 639 00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:20,200 Speaker 1: them to live up to those assertions and take definitive 640 00:36:20,239 --> 00:36:23,920 Speaker 1: actions against fascists and white nationalists. The fascists in our 641 00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:26,520 Speaker 1: midst would seek to establish a reign of terror, enforce 642 00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:29,160 Speaker 1: segregation and outright elimination of all those who challenge their 643 00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:31,879 Speaker 1: world view, a world where all things serve the state, 644 00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:35,360 Speaker 1: where everything and everyone becomes property to be exploited and controlled. 645 00:36:35,719 --> 00:36:38,399 Speaker 1: In direct contrast, we desire and envision of future built 646 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:42,040 Speaker 1: on a foundation of liberty, autonomy, equity, and justice. A 647 00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:45,200 Speaker 1: future where free communities, not nation states, decide how our 648 00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:48,359 Speaker 1: daily lives are administered. One where the only universal law 649 00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:51,040 Speaker 1: is peace to all but tyrants and aggressors, and every 650 00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:53,520 Speaker 1: community is armed with the means of defense and survival. 651 00:36:54,120 --> 00:36:56,040 Speaker 1: We ask you to define your friends and enemies by 652 00:36:56,040 --> 00:36:57,880 Speaker 1: the kind of world that you would want for your children. 653 00:36:58,120 --> 00:36:59,759 Speaker 1: We hope that you will take this to heart and 654 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:02,120 Speaker 1: no that should you choose to challenge the stomic oppression 655 00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:05,280 Speaker 1: and struggle for liberation, self determination, and justice for all people, 656 00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:09,600 Speaker 1: you will not be alone. Now, I can't tell you 657 00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:11,880 Speaker 1: whether or not that reached any of the people they 658 00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:13,520 Speaker 1: handed it to, but I can tell you it was 659 00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:15,960 Speaker 1: an attempt, and I can tell you it's more likely 660 00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:18,520 Speaker 1: to de escalate, to pull us back from the brink, 661 00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:22,319 Speaker 1: to reduce the potential of this network turning into a 662 00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:25,120 Speaker 1: full blown insurgency. It is more likely to do that 663 00:37:25,719 --> 00:37:28,680 Speaker 1: than any action taken by the democratic state legislatures in 664 00:37:28,719 --> 00:37:31,799 Speaker 1: favor of gun control in the city of Richmond. And 665 00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:40,680 Speaker 1: that I think is a good note to end all everything. 666 00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:49,160 Speaker 1: I still worst year ever is a production of I 667 00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:52,160 Speaker 1: heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit 668 00:37:52,200 --> 00:37:55,040 Speaker 1: the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 669 00:37:55,080 --> 00:37:56,280 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.