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Anti-Shutdown Protests Were Charlottesville 2.0
Protests featured white nationalists, anti-Semites, conspiracy theorists
When anti-shutdown protests started popping up around the country, it was pretty clear it was astroturfing (a highly-organized protest designed to look like a grassroots effort.)
It was also obvious that many of the protestors were of the far-right variety, and by that I mean the militia types who want to bring down the government.
It was also revealed that the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist terrorist gang, were also present. An April 15 article from the Southern Poverty Law Center, reported that former Proud Boys president Jason Van Dyke has been accused of using group members to surveil a man he threatened to kill.
Ties to Hate Groups
Some anti-shut down protestors also showed up with confederate flags, even though they staged protests in Michigan. This was symbolic of both the nature of the protests and the message of the flag.
