rightwingwatch--2020-11-20--Parler and the Free Speech Red Herring

Parler and the Free Speech Red Herring

It happened just two weeks before Christmas in 2018 .
Candace Owens—a conservative firebrand and pro-Trump activist—introduced Parler to the MAGA grassroots movement with a tweet that began , “ Wow .
Everyone just found out about the new Twitter .
Just want to say that I WAS THE FIRST CONSERVATIVE TO JOIN … Feels like a long-overdue social media rebellion.
” The “ new Twitter ” to which Owens referred is Parler , marketed as a free speech alternative to Twitter .
The new social-media platform quickly attracted a handful of well-known right-wing politicians such as Sen. Mike Lee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani , as well as far-right activists banished from mainstream social media , including Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes and right-wing gadfly Milo Yiannopoulos .
By mid-2019 , Parler had acquired just over 100,000 users and earned a reputation as an insular gathering space for vocal Trump supporters , featuring such trending hashtags as # IslamExposed , # IllegalImmigrants , and # BuildThatWall .
While Parler was still smaller than its fellow alternative platforms like Gab at the time , the network has since grown at an exponential pace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Owen ’ tweet alone yielded a reported 40,000 new followers to the burgeoning social media network , which caused server malfunctions at Parler .
What started as a tool for media outlets to redirect revenue from mainstream social networks has since become one of the most influential platforms for far-right voices on the internet .
Founded in August 2018 by John Matze and Jared Thomson , Parler bills itself as “ unbiased social media focused on real user experiences and engagement ” while touting “ free expression without violence and no censorship.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Nevada , and has been described as an alternative to mainstream social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook .
Matze , a self-proclaimed libertarian who serves as the company ’ s chief executive officer , revealed that one of Parler ’ s early investors was Republican donor Rebekah Mercer , the daughter of American hedge fund manager Robert Mercer .
Matze confirmed Mercer ’ s involvement after Wall Street Journal first reported on the story .
Mercer has a long history of funding organizations that support right-wing political causes in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) and was a significant donor to entities supporting President Donald Trump ’ s 2016 presidential campaign .
Mercer also helped white supremacist Steve Bannon get a senior role in Trump ’ s campaign .
“ John and I started Parler to provide a neutral platform for free speech , as our founders intended , and also to create a social media environment that would protect data privacy , ” Rebekah Mercer wrote on Parler last week .
“ The ever increasing tyranny and hubris of our tech overlords demands that someone lead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the protection of free speech online .
That someone is Parler , a beacon to all who value their liberty , free speech , and personal privacy.
” Robert Mercer is also the former principal investor in now-defunct Cambridge Analytica , a British political consulting firm that used personal data from millions of Facebook users—acquired without their consent—for political advertising and to influence elections around the world , including the political campaigns of Trump and Ted Cruz .
Parler — a French word for “ to speak ” — has marketed itself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entity set up as the solution to unsubstantiated claims by conservatives and other members of the right that they are being censored on Facebook and Twitter by the overlords of Big Tech .
While there is no evidence of widespread anti-conservative censorship on mainstream social media , Parler ’ s usership has continued to grow in 2020 , exacerbated by the fallout of the 2020 presidential election and ensuing baseless conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud , which have been increasingly labeled as such by Twitter and Facebook .
On Wednesday , Matze @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Tucker Carlson that Parler ’ s users are “ liberated from restrictions ” and compared the platform to a “ community town square.
” “ Well , when you go out in public , people say crazy things all the time , ” Matze said .
“ Everybody has opinions and some of them might not be the norm , right ?
It ’ s not against the law to have those opinions .
It ’ s not against the law to express yourself , you know .
And if you like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ believe or don ’ t believe in climate change or whatever it might be , you know , you shouldn ’ t be taken offline because of it.
” In the two weeks following Election Day , Parler has more than doubled its user base to more than 10 million registered users , topping other alternative social media platforms like BitChute , MeWe , and Gab .
However , the network has also attracted a wide range of far-right extremists , including members of the Proud Boys , QAnon adherents , militia members @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Three Percenters organizations , dangerous conspiracy-mongers such as Alex Jones , and even loyalists to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman , who was responsible for the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi .
On Nov. 17 , Ivanka Trump became the latest high-profile conservative to join Parler .
The daughter of the defeated president announced the news on Twitter , inviting her 10 million-plus followers to follow her on the network .
Ivanka Trump appears to be the third Trump family member to be verified on Parler .
Her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ May 27 , and his wife Lara joined that same month .
Their half-sister Tiffany also joined Parler earlier this year .
However , neither the president , nor his eldest son , Donald Trump Jr. , appear to have verified Parler accounts yet .
While the outgoing president has yet to create a personal account on Parler , the website has enjoyed several waves of conservative sign-ups over the past year .
On June 24 , 2020 , the Trump reelection campaign announced that they were looking for alternative social media networks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restricted some of their posts and advertising campaigns for including Nazi symbolism .
One of the alternatives generating buzz was Parler , prompting Republicans—including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas , Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky , Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio , and former U.N .
Ambassador Nikki Haley—to join the network .
Around the same time , Parler also garnered an international far-right following , which included far-right British media personality Katie Hopkins and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his son Flavio , who brought the platform a wave of sign-ups from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has reaped benefits from the mainstream social media networks crackdown on violent extremist groups , white supremacists , neo-Nazi groups , conspiracy theories , and disinformation campaigns .
The network is home to hundreds of thousands of accounts held by Saudi Arabian users , the vast majority of whom are loyalists of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman .
Parler first experienced this influx of accounts from the Middle Eastern kingdom in June 2019 , following claims that Twitter had purged inauthentic accounts and bots spreading Saudi propaganda and disinformation .
Parler welcomed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ migration as part of “ the nationalist movement of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
” Parler was also ready to accept the stream of far-right users banned from YouTube , Facebook , Instagram , and Twitter over the past few months .
Since then , thousands of QAnon adherents , Proud Boys , and militia movements have migrated to Parler .
Tito Ortiz , a former UFC champion turned QAnon adherent who was recently elected to the Huntington Beach city council , was one of the recent sign-ups to Parler .
In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he has used that account to spread misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic , voter fraud , and QAnon .
He even placed the WWG1WGA slogan—an abbreviation of the QAnon battle cry “ where we go one , we go all ” —in his Parler bio .
Fellow MMA fighter Tara LaRosa—a pioneer of the sport who now spends her time in street fights alongside the Proud Boys—also migrated to Parler , where she posted about her experience at the “ Million MAGA March ” last week while flashing the OK hand gesture , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white power .
Parler has even attracted Gina Carano , an actress on Disney ’ s “ The Mandalorian ” who has been criticized for her conspiracy-ridden tweets about COVID-19 , mandatory masks , QAnon , and election fraud .
She started her Parler account after the hashtag # FireGinaCarano was trending on Twitter .
The network has managed to build its audience by imposing few restrictions on what can be posted on the network .
Parler ’ s community guidelines bar “ content posted by or on behalf of terrorist organizations , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The network has also taken a hard line against spamming , but makes no mention of limiting false information , propaganda , conspiracy theories , and extremist ideologies .
This , in turn , will create a far-right echo chamber that some experts believe will help strengthen their controversial ideologies .
“ I share a lot of concerns that have already been voiced about how many people are migrating to online spaces in terms of how this could intensify the filter bubbles they already live in , ” said Dr. Cynthia Miller-Idriss , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Innovation Lab ( PERIL ) at American University and award-winning author of six books , including “ Hate in the Homeland : The New Global Far Right.
” “ Gab and Parler are more likely to be echo chambers or filter bubbles that increase the likelihood of people encountering ideas that only reinforce their existing beliefs , rather than introduce new ones.
” “ I ’ m going to Parler and mewe , I ’ m done with these tech companies censoring my opinion , ” Christopher Brown , a disillusioned user , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alone .
His concerns about censorship have been shared by thousands of Twitter and Facebook users , many of whom are currently transitioning to Parler .
While the social network alternative has managed to attract these disgruntled users and convince them to make the switch , it remains to be seen whether Parler will be able to keep them .
While Parler is being billed by conservatives as a free speech utopia , the network has some concerning business practices .
According to the Terms of Service , Parler requires a telephone number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up to the network .
You are also required to “ notify Parler when you cease to own or control that number.
” Some Parler services require you to “ supply a social security number and/or tax identification number.
” Parler also requires a picture or scan of your driver ’ s license in order for users to employ its direct-messaging function .
According to the terms of service , Parler may “ remove any content and terminate your access to the Services at any time and for any reason to the extent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have violated these Terms or Parler ’ s Community Guidelines , ( b ) you create risk or possible legal exposure for Parler , or ( c ) you are otherwise engaging in unlawful conduct.
” It also added that Parler may modify the terms of service “ without notice to you.
” Given the arbitrary community guidelines and terms , it is possible that some users may question Parler ’ s commitment to privacy and free speech .
“ I would expect that some of the people who migrated over will get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it has more restrictions than they anticipated or because they find they don ’ t like the echo chamber nature of it , ” said Dr. Miller-Idriss .
“ It will be important to follow over the coming months and see how it develops.
” According to Oren Segal , the vice-president of the Anti-Defamation League ’ s Center of Extremism , Parler ’ s standing as a bastion of free speech will largely depend on how the terms of service will be enforced .
“ [ Parler ] can talk about banning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not enforced , then maybe it does become this utopia of free speech for those who want to find a place to say things as extremist as they want to be.
” Questionable terms of service aside , Parler continues to be one of the most popular apps on the U.S. Apple app store , topping the list of free apps over the past couple of weeks .
While it may not necessarily be as popular in international markets ( it ranks 72nd in the Canadian app store as of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the U.S. means that Parler ’ s leadership might be pressured to loosen its terms of services ( or their enforcement ) in order to appease the platform ’ s newly developed audience and further its growth .
“ Would it be a surprise that , if this is the No .
1 most downloaded app , they would try to continue to leverage this momentum by loosening up their enforcement ?
” Segal asked .
“ This is not unique to Parler.
” Indeed , Parler is not the first platform @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mainstream social networks like Twitter and Facebook .
However , while Gab , MeWe , and Telegram all had a loyal base of users at one point or another , none of them were granted the legitimacy bestowed on Parler .
While Gab became a platform vacuum for extremists and white supremacists , Parler received support and endorsements from prominent mainstream conservative voices like Fox News host Sean Hannity .
According to radio host Dan Bongino , who purchased an ownership stake in Parler back in June , part of Parler ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and anger ” at having their “ speech crushed.
” ” People always want free speech , ” Bongino told The Washington Examiner .
“ Always .
And if you ’ re going to suppress free speech for conservatives , then you ’ re going to give me another business opportunity.
” Yet while Parler boasts some of the prominent and respected conservative voices on the internet , it has also attracted some of their most odious counterparts .
Waves of extremists have migrated to the network in an attempt to find the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ networks .
From QAnon adherents and conspiracy peddlers to anti-government militias , neo-fascist groups and white supremacists , Parler has welcomed them all with open arms—refusing to distinguish between right-wing conservatism and far-right extremism—all in service of the elusive notion of free speech .
While that may serve its current purpose of growing its business to rival mainstream competitors , it could also serve to alienate their more moderate voices such as establishment conservatives and Republicans .
“ If this is being billed by its founders as a conservative alternative to existing social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are promoting it view it as an alternative to other social media , you would think that they more than anyone else would want to make sure that extremists are not proliferating on their platform , ” Segal said .
As Parler continues to grow and attract some of the most controversial and dangerous voices on the internet , the company faces the delicate balancing act of matching user expectations regarding free speech absolutism , and creating a legitimate and sustainable network that obstructs extremism and the vile ideological cesspool propagated on message @ @ @ @ @ @ @ handles its current ambivalence will determine its future .
“ The danger is that the Overton window of what is acceptable regarding misinformation , regarding hate speech , is further moved and that there is a further blurring between fact and fiction and between extremism and more mainstream , ” Segal said .
“ In other words , between the right and the far-right .
And I would think that the right would want to prevent  [ the expansion of ] that gray area more than anyone .
”

It happened just two weeks before Christmas in 2018.
Candace Owens—a conservative firebrand and pro-Trump activist—introduced Parler to the MAGA grassroots movement with a tweet that began, “Wow. Everyone just found out about the new Twitter. Just want to say that I WAS THE FIRST CONSERVATIVE TO JOIN … Feels like a long-overdue social media rebellion.”
The “new Twitter” to which Owens referred is Parler, marketed as a free speech alternative to Twitter. The new social-media platform quickly attracted a handful of well-known right-wing politicians such as Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, as well as far-right activists banished from mainstream social media, including Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes and right-wing gadfly Milo Yiannopoulos. By mid-2019, Parler had acquired just over 100,000 users and earned a reputation as an insular gathering space for vocal Trump supporters, featuring such trending hashtags as #IslamExposed, #IllegalImmigrants, and #BuildThatWall.
While Parler was still smaller than its fellow alternative platforms like Gab at the time, the network has since grown at an exponential pace, especially during the 2020 presidential cycle. Owen’s tweet alone yielded a reported 40,000 new followers to the burgeoning social media network, which caused server malfunctions at Parler. What started as a tool for media outlets to redirect revenue from mainstream social networks has since become one of the most influential platforms for far-right voices on the internet.
Origins & Mercer-Family Funding
Founded in August 2018 by John Matze and Jared Thomson, Parler bills itself as “unbiased social media focused on real user experiences and engagement” while touting “free expression without violence and no censorship.” The company is based in Henderson, Nevada, and has been described as an alternative to mainstream social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook.
Matze, a self-proclaimed libertarian who serves as the company’s chief executive officer, revealed that one of Parler’s early investors was Republican donor Rebekah Mercer, the daughter of American hedge fund manager Robert Mercer. Matze confirmed Mercer’s involvement after Wall Street Journal first reported on the story. Mercer has a long history of funding organizations that support right-wing political causes in the United States (such as Breitbart News) and was a significant donor to entities supporting President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Mercer also helped white supremacist Steve Bannon get a senior role in Trump’s campaign.
“John and I started Parler to provide a neutral platform for free speech, as our founders intended, and also to create a social media environment that would protect data privacy,” Rebekah Mercer wrote on Parler last week. “The ever increasing tyranny and hubris of our tech overlords demands that someone lead the fight against data mining, and for the protection of free speech online. That someone is Parler, a beacon to all who value their liberty, free speech, and personal privacy.”
Robert Mercer is also the former principal investor in now-defunct Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm that used personal data from millions of Facebook users—acquired without their consent—for political advertising and to influence elections around the world, including the political campaigns of Trump and Ted Cruz.
Parler — a French word for “to speak” — has marketed itself as a free speech utopia, an entity set up as the solution to unsubstantiated claims by conservatives and other members of the right that they are being censored on Facebook and Twitter by the overlords of Big Tech. While there is no evidence of widespread anti-conservative censorship on mainstream social media, Parler’s usership has continued to grow in 2020, exacerbated by the fallout of the 2020 presidential election and ensuing baseless conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud, which have been increasingly labeled as such by Twitter and Facebook.
On Wednesday, Matze told viewers of Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson that Parler’s users are “liberated from restrictions” and compared the platform to a “community town square.”
“Well, when you go out in public, people say crazy things all the time,” Matze said. “Everybody has opinions and some of them might not be the norm, right? It’s not against the law to have those opinions. It’s not against the law to express yourself, you know. And if you like one political candidate or another or you believe or don’t believe in climate change or whatever it might be, you know, you shouldn’t be taken offline because of it.”
In the two weeks following Election Day, Parler has more than doubled its user base to more than 10 million registered users, topping other alternative social media platforms like BitChute, MeWe, and Gab. However, the network has also attracted a wide range of far-right extremists, including members of the Proud Boys, QAnon adherents, militia members and anti-government extremists from the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters organizations, dangerous conspiracy-mongers such as Alex Jones, and even loyalists to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who was responsible for the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
A Far-Right Echo Chamber
On Nov. 17, Ivanka Trump became the latest high-profile conservative to join Parler. The daughter of the defeated president announced the news on Twitter, inviting her 10 million-plus followers to follow her on the network.
Ivanka Trump appears to be the third Trump family member to be verified on Parler. Her brother, Eric Trump, joined on May 27, and his wife Lara joined that same month. Their half-sister Tiffany also joined Parler earlier this year. However, neither the president, nor his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., appear to have verified Parler accounts yet.
While the outgoing president has yet to create a personal account on Parler, the website has enjoyed several waves of conservative sign-ups over the past year. On June 24, 2020, the Trump reelection campaign announced that they were looking for alternative social media networks after Twitter and Facebook heavily moderated and restricted some of their posts and advertising campaigns for including Nazi symbolism. One of the alternatives generating buzz was Parler, prompting Republicans—including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley—to join the network.
Twitter is flagging my question: Your government sent 1.1 million dead people stimulus checks. Wonder how many of these folks also voted absentee? So, now it is unacceptable to pose questions? Follow me on @parler_app and prepare for the day twitter silences debate. — Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) November 11, 2020
Around the same time, Parler also garnered an international far-right following, which included far-right British media personality Katie Hopkins and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his son Flavio, who brought the platform a wave of sign-ups from Brazil.
In many cases, Parler has reaped benefits from the mainstream social media networks crackdown on violent extremist groups, white supremacists, neo-Nazi groups, conspiracy theories, and disinformation campaigns. The network is home to hundreds of thousands of accounts held by Saudi Arabian users, the vast majority of whom are loyalists of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Parler first experienced this influx of accounts from the Middle Eastern kingdom in June 2019, following claims that Twitter had purged inauthentic accounts and bots spreading Saudi propaganda and disinformation. Parler welcomed the users from Saudi Arabia and described the migration as part of “the nationalist movement of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Parler was also ready to accept the stream of far-right users banned from YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter over the past few months. Since then, thousands of QAnon adherents, Proud Boys, and militia movements have migrated to Parler.
Tito Ortiz, a former UFC champion turned QAnon adherent who was recently elected to the Huntington Beach city council, was one of the recent sign-ups to Parler. In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, he has used that account to spread misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, voter fraud, and QAnon. He even placed the WWG1WGA slogan—an abbreviation of the QAnon battle cry “where we go one, we go all”—in his Parler bio.
Fellow MMA fighter Tara LaRosa—a pioneer of the sport who now spends her time in street fights alongside the Proud Boys—also migrated to Parler, where she posted about her experience at the “Million MAGA March” last week while flashing the OK hand gesture, a designated hate symbol used to denote white power.
Parler has even attracted Gina Carano, an actress on Disney’s “The Mandalorian” who has been criticized for her conspiracy-ridden tweets about COVID-19, mandatory masks, QAnon, and election fraud. She started her Parler account after the hashtag #FireGinaCarano was trending on Twitter.
The network has managed to build its audience by imposing few restrictions on what can be posted on the network. Parler’s community guidelines bar “content posted by or on behalf of terrorist organizations, child pornography, and copyright violations.” The network has also taken a hard line against spamming, but makes no mention of limiting false information, propaganda, conspiracy theories, and extremist ideologies. This, in turn, will create a far-right echo chamber that some experts believe will help strengthen their controversial ideologies.
“I share a lot of concerns that have already been voiced about how many people are migrating to online spaces in terms of how this could intensify the filter bubbles they already live in,” said Dr. Cynthia Miller-Idriss, Director of Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University and award-winning author of six books, including “Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right.” “Gab and Parler are more likely to be echo chambers or filter bubbles that increase the likelihood of people encountering ideas that only reinforce their existing beliefs, rather than introduce new ones.”
An Ideological Dichotomy
“I’m going to Parler and mewe, I’m done with these tech companies censoring my opinion,” Christopher Brown, a disillusioned user, wrote on Twitter.
Brown is not alone. His concerns about censorship have been shared by thousands of Twitter and Facebook users, many of whom are currently transitioning to Parler. While the social network alternative has managed to attract these disgruntled users and convince them to make the switch, it remains to be seen whether Parler will be able to keep them.
While Parler is being billed by conservatives as a free speech utopia, the network has some concerning business practices. According to the Terms of Service, Parler requires a telephone number in order for a user to sign up to the network. You are also required to “notify Parler when you cease to own or control that number.” Some Parler services require you to “supply a social security number and/or tax identification number.” Parler also requires a picture or scan of your driver’s license in order for users to employ its direct-messaging function.
According to the terms of service, Parler may “remove any content and terminate your access to the Services at any time and for any reason to the extent Parler reasonably believes (a) you have violated these Terms or Parler’s Community Guidelines, (b) you create risk or possible legal exposure for Parler, or (c) you are otherwise engaging in unlawful conduct.” It also added that Parler may modify the terms of service “without notice to you.”
Given the arbitrary community guidelines and terms, it is possible that some users may question Parler’s commitment to privacy and free speech.
“I would expect that some of the people who migrated over will get disillusioned with the platform, either because it has more restrictions than they anticipated or because they find they don’t like the echo chamber nature of it,” said Dr. Miller-Idriss. “It will be important to follow over the coming months and see how it develops.”
According to Oren Segal, the vice-president of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center of Extremism, Parler’s standing as a bastion of free speech will largely depend on how the terms of service will be enforced. “[Parler] can talk about banning pornography or obscenity … but if it’s not enforced, then maybe it does become this utopia of free speech for those who want to find a place to say things as extremist as they want to be.”
Questionable terms of service aside, Parler continues to be one of the most popular apps on the U.S. Apple app store, topping the list of free apps over the past couple of weeks. While it may not necessarily be as popular in international markets (it ranks 72nd in the Canadian app store as of the time of writing), its dominance in the U.S. means that Parler’s leadership might be pressured to loosen its terms of services (or their enforcement) in order to appease the platform’s newly developed audience and further its growth.
“Would it be a surprise that, if this is the No. 1 most downloaded app, they would try to continue to leverage this momentum by loosening up their enforcement?” Segal asked. “This is not unique to Parler.”
Indeed, Parler is not the first platform to brand itself as an alternative to mainstream social networks like Twitter and Facebook. However, while Gab, MeWe, and Telegram all had a loyal base of users at one point or another, none of them were granted the legitimacy bestowed on Parler. While Gab became a platform vacuum for extremists and white supremacists, Parler received support and endorsements from prominent mainstream conservative voices like Fox News host Sean Hannity.
According to radio host Dan Bongino, who purchased an ownership stake in Parler back in June, part of Parler’s success among big-name conservatives is “rage and anger” at having their “speech crushed.”
”People always want free speech,” Bongino told The Washington Examiner. “Always. And if you’re going to suppress free speech for conservatives, then you’re going to give me another business opportunity.”
Yet while Parler boasts some of the prominent and respected conservative voices on the internet, it has also attracted some of their most odious counterparts. Waves of extremists have migrated to the network in an attempt to find the sizeable audiences denied to them on mainstream networks.
From QAnon adherents and conspiracy peddlers to anti-government militias, neo-fascist groups and white supremacists, Parler has welcomed them all with open arms—refusing to distinguish between right-wing conservatism and far-right extremism—all in service of the elusive notion of free speech. While that may serve its current purpose of growing its business to rival mainstream competitors, it could also serve to alienate their more moderate voices such as establishment conservatives and Republicans.
“If this is being billed by its founders as a conservative alternative to existing social media and if big name users who are promoting it view it as an alternative to other social media, you would think that they more than anyone else would want to make sure that extremists are not proliferating on their platform,” Segal said.
As Parler continues to grow and attract some of the most controversial and dangerous voices on the internet, the company faces the delicate balancing act of matching user expectations regarding free speech absolutism, and creating a legitimate and sustainable network that obstructs extremism and the vile ideological cesspool propagated on message boards like 8kun. How Parler ultimately handles its current ambivalence will determine its future.
“The danger is that the Overton window of what is acceptable regarding misinformation, regarding hate speech, is further moved and that there is a further blurring between fact and fiction and between extremism and more mainstream,” Segal said. “In other words, between the right and the far-right. And I would think that the right would want to prevent [the expansion of] that gray area more than anyone.”


rightwingwatch--2020-11-20--Mario Murillo ‘Will Never Accept’ That Joe Biden Is President

Right-wing Trump-supporting evangelist Mario Murillo appeared on The Victory Channel ’ s “ Flashpoint ” program Thursday night , where he announced that he “ will never accept ” that Joe Biden is the president and declared that God is on his side regarding this issue .
“ Devil , you ’ re a liar , ” Murillo declared in response to the news that Biden had won the election .
“ I believe all of us were tested .
We had a dark night of the soul between the night of the election and the prophetic promises that so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we are now : we have to rebuke this thing .
God needs to put holy fear and conviction on low-level criminals who were involved in this to turn state ’ s evidence .
They ’ ve got to feel the heat .
They ’ ve got to know that Sidney [ Powell ] and all the rest of them are not going to give up , they ’ re not gon na back down.
” “ I will never believe that Joe Biden is the president of the United States .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added .
“ Why am I opposing what ’ s going on in the Democratic Party , and in the high tech , and in legacy media , and all of it ?
Because it ’ s the right thing to do .
It ’ s the only thing my conscience will let me do .
And there is a kind of a serenity inside of me about the fact that I know now that I ’ m on God ’ s side on this issue and he ’ s on my side @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s all that matters .
”

Right-wing Trump-supporting evangelist Mario Murillo appeared on The Victory Channel’s “Flashpoint” program Thursday night, where he announced that he “will never accept” that Joe Biden is the president and declared that God is on his side regarding this issue.
“Devil, you’re a liar,” Murillo declared in response to the news that Biden had won the election. “I believe all of us were tested. We had a dark night of the soul between the night of the election and the prophetic promises that so many said. Here’s where we are now: we have to rebuke this thing. God needs to put holy fear and conviction on low-level criminals who were involved in this to turn state’s evidence. They’ve got to feel the heat. They’ve got to know that Sidney [Powell] and all the rest of them are not going to give up, they’re not gonna back down.”
“I will never believe that Joe Biden is the president of the United States. I will never accept that,” he added. “Why am I opposing what’s going on in the Democratic Party, and in the high tech, and in legacy media, and all of it? Because it’s the right thing to do. It’s the only thing my conscience will let me do. And there is a kind of a serenity inside of me about the fact that I know now that I’m on God’s side on this issue and he’s on my side on this issue, and that’s all that matters.”


rightwingwatch--2020-11-30--Right Wing Round-Up: God’s Miraculous Election Plan

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rightwingwatch--2020-11-30--Right Wing Bonus Tracks: A Mantle of Presidential Favor


rightwingwatch--2020-11-30--George Pearsons Says Vermont’s COVID-19 Restrictions Sound ‘Like Nazism’

During Sunday services at televangelist Kenneth Copeland ’ s Eagle Mountain International Church in Texas , senior pastor George Pearsons railed against restrictions designed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus , decrying them as “ governmental tyranny ” akin to Nazi Germany .
“ This pandemic has been used , it ’ s been used as a tool for socialism indoctrination , ” Pearsons preached .
“ We ’ re witnessing serious governmental overreach .
Businesses , schools , churches ; they ’ ve all been shut down .
And they ’ re trying to train us , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our children how to live under governmental tyranny.
” Pearsons was particularly outraged by the state of Vermont , which announced that any student who attended a Thanksgiving gathering with people beyond their immediate family would have to quarantine for a week and then present a negative COVID-19 test before being allowed to return to school .
“ That sounds like Nazism , ” Pearsons fumed .
“ I can hear , and you ’ ve all watched movies with Nazis and the way they talk—this is the same thing here .
”

During Sunday services at televangelist Kenneth Copeland’s Eagle Mountain International Church in Texas, senior pastor George Pearsons railed against restrictions designed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, decrying them as “governmental tyranny” akin to Nazi Germany.
“This pandemic has been used, it’s been used as a tool for socialism indoctrination,” Pearsons preached. “We’re witnessing serious governmental overreach. Businesses, schools, churches; they’ve all been shut down. And they’re trying to train us, and they’re trying to train our children how to live under governmental tyranny.”
Pearsons was particularly outraged by the state of Vermont, which announced that any student who attended a Thanksgiving gathering with people beyond their immediate family would have to quarantine for a week and then present a negative COVID-19 test before being allowed to return to school.
“That sounds like Nazism,” Pearsons fumed. “I can hear, and you’ve all watched movies with Nazis and the way they talk—this is the same thing here.”


rightwingwatch--2020-11-30--March for Trump Launches Bus Tour in Florida, Plans DC Event Just Before Electoral College Vote

A collection of right-wing groups supporting President Donald Trump ’ s false claims that the presidential election was stolen from him kicked off a two-week bus tour near Fort Lauderdale , Florida , Sunday .
The bus tour , according to the announced itinerary , will weave through the Southeast and Midwest before arriving in Washington , D.C. , on Dec. 12 , two days before the electoral college vote that will make Joe Biden ’ s presidential victory official .
“ We ’ ve got to take to the streets and DEMAND ELECTION INTEGRITY , ” says the tour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can steal this election from President Trump , we ’ ll never get our freedom back.
” The road trip is being billed as a follow-up to the Nov. 14 March for Trump ( also referred to as the “ Million MAGA March ” and “ Stop the Steal March ” ) that brought thousands of the president ’ s supporters to Washington , D.C. , to wallow in “ stolen election ” conspiracy theories and claims .
At the tour ’ s second stop on Sunday in Ormond Beach , Florida , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Nov. 14 march in Washington had attracted “ approximately 1.4 million people ” —a wild exaggeration .
Kremer , who leads Women for Trump and Women for America First , said she had a message for Trump : “ Mr .
President , do not give up .
Do not give in .
The cavalry is coming .
We have your back , and we want you to keep fighting for we the American people.
” The tour ’ s sponsors include Right Side Broadcasting Network , Steve Bannon ’ s “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ First , the digital consulting firm Liberty Lab , My Pillow , and My Pillow founder Mike Lindell ’ s addiction recovery network—though it ’ s not clear what the bus tour ’ s goals “ to demand transparency and protect election integrity ” have to do with addiction recovery .
As with other events broadcast by RSBN and sponsored by Lindell , My Pillow ’ s sponsorship was rewarded with on-camera endorsements from RSBN hosts as well as traditional ads .
Dec.12 appears to be shaping up as a busy day in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Trump-supporting religious-right leaders—including organizers of the Sept. 26 “ The Return ” rally—are planning a national “ Jericho March ” that same day .
The Washington Post noted that the Proud Boys—whose members were involved in street violence in D.C. after the Nov. 14 march— “ seemed to confirm on social media that they would also be attending .
”

A collection of right-wing groups supporting President Donald Trump’s false claims that the presidential election was stolen from him kicked off a two-week bus tour near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Sunday. The bus tour, according to the announced itinerary, will weave through the Southeast and Midwest before arriving in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 12, two days before the electoral college vote that will make Joe Biden’s presidential victory official.
“We’ve got to take to the streets and DEMAND ELECTION INTEGRITY,” says the tour’s website. “If they can steal this election from President Trump, we’ll never get our freedom back.”
The road trip is being billed as a follow-up to the Nov. 14 March for Trump (also referred to as the “Million MAGA March” and “Stop the Steal March”) that brought thousands of the president’s supporters to Washington, D.C., to wallow in “stolen election” conspiracy theories and claims.
At the tour’s second stop on Sunday in Ormond Beach, Florida, Tea Party activist Amy Kremer claimed that the Nov. 14 march in Washington had attracted “approximately 1.4 million people”—a wild exaggeration. Kremer, who leads Women for Trump and Women for America First, said she had a message for Trump: “Mr. President, do not give up. Do not give in. The cavalry is coming. We have your back, and we want you to keep fighting for we the American people.”
The tour’s sponsors include Right Side Broadcasting Network, Steve Bannon’s “War Room,” Women for America First, the digital consulting firm Liberty Lab, My Pillow, and My Pillow founder Mike Lindell’s addiction recovery network—though it’s not clear what the bus tour’s goals “to demand transparency and protect election integrity” have to do with addiction recovery.
As with other events broadcast by RSBN and sponsored by Lindell, My Pillow’s sponsorship was rewarded with on-camera endorsements from RSBN hosts as well as traditional ads.
Dec.12 appears to be shaping up as a busy day in D.C. for right-wing activists. A group of Trump-supporting religious-right leaders—including organizers of the Sept. 26 “The Return” rally—are planning a national “Jericho March” that same day. The Washington Post noted that the Proud Boys—whose members were involved in street violence in D.C. after the Nov. 14 march—“seemed to confirm on social media that they would also be attending.”


rightwingwatch--2020-11-30--Mario Murillo Says Refusing to Accept Biden’s Victory Is a Test of Loyalty to God

During the “ Flashpoint ” television program that aired on televangelist Kenneth Copeland ’ s “ The Victory Channel ” network last Tuesday , right-wing Trump-supporting evangelist Mario Murillo declared that it is a “ conspiracy theory ” to assert that Joe Biden was elected president of the United States and warned that any Christian who believes Biden won will be judged by God .
Murillo , who recently proclaimed that he “ will never accept ” that Biden is president-elect , said that refusing to accept Biden ’ s election is a test of loyalty to God .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Murillo announced .
“ That Joe Biden is president is the conspiracy theory .
Not the Dominion voting , not all of the corruption that we ’ re uncovering .
The conspiracy theory , the tinfoil cone hat theory is that Joe Biden is the legitimate president of the United States .
Get that .
Now , here ’ s what you are doing .
The Bible says not to fear their conspiracy theories but to fear the Lord and then he will be a sanctuary .
… If you are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into fear , God is going to judge you .
God is going to correct you for that.
” “ If you ’ re giving in and you ’ re one of those that voted for Biden , if you ’ re one of those that is kind of using cheap grace as an excuse to accept this cultural change and say , ‘ Well , let ’ s be loving , ’ God is going to judge you , ” he continued .
“ Right now , this is a test .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ test .
It ’ s a test of whether you are going to stand on the word or go by what you see.
” Murillo said that “ it would make no sense ” for President Donald Trump to lose when various prophecies supposedly foreshadowed his reelection , and thus Christians have “ got to be loyal to God in this hour and not give in because God will surely bring correction .
”

During the “Flashpoint” television program that aired on televangelist Kenneth Copeland’s The Victory Channel network last Tuesday, right-wing Trump-supporting evangelist Mario Murillo declared that it is a “conspiracy theory” to assert that Joe Biden was elected president of the United States and warned that any Christian who believes Biden won will be judged by God.
Murillo, who recently proclaimed that he “will never accept” that Biden is president-elect, said that refusing to accept Biden’s election is a test of loyalty to God.
“I’m gonna say this,” Murillo announced. “That Joe Biden is president is the conspiracy theory. Not the Dominion voting, not all of the corruption that we’re uncovering. The conspiracy theory, the tinfoil cone hat theory is that Joe Biden is the legitimate president of the United States. Get that. Now, here’s what you are doing. The Bible says not to fear their conspiracy theories but to fear the Lord and then he will be a sanctuary. … If you are filled with the Holy Spirit and give into fear, God is going to judge you. God is going to correct you for that.”
“If you’re giving in and you’re one of those that voted for Biden, if you’re one of those that is kind of using cheap grace as an excuse to accept this cultural change and say, ‘Well, let’s be loving,’ God is going to judge you,” he continued. “Right now, this is a test. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a test. It’s a test of whether you are going to stand on the word or go by what you see.”
Murillo said that “it would make no sense” for President Donald Trump to lose when various prophecies supposedly foreshadowed his reelection, and thus Christians have “got to be loyal to God in this hour and not give in because God will surely bring correction.”


rightwingwatch--2020-12-01--Right Wing Round-Up: A Job Well Done

Right Wing Round-Up: A Job Well Done


rightwingwatch--2020-12-01--Right Wing Bonus Tracks: The Lost Cause

Right Wing Bonus Tracks: The Lost Cause


rightwingwatch--2020-12-01--Johnny Enlow Says Trump Can Impose Martial Law to Arrest and Execute Those Trying to Steal the Elect

Johnny Enlow Says Trump Can Impose Martial Law to Arrest and Execute Those Trying to Steal the Election

QAnon conspiracy theorist Johnny Enlow appeared on the Elijah Streams YouTube channel Monday , where he claimed that President Donald Trump has the legal right to impose martial law on the country and arrest everyone who has been part of the alleged effort to steal the election from him .
Enlow , who is a leading proponent of Seven Mountains Dominionism , claimed that Trump is intentionally allowing the dispute over the election results to drag on because doing so creates more opportunity to expose those who are engaged in treason and must be arrested and executed .
Enlow said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Supreme Court eventually rules in favor of Joe Biden and the Electoral College certifies Biden ’ s win because Trump can ultimately play his “ trump cards ” by imposing martial law and arresting his political opponents .
“ It doesn ’ t matter , ” Enlow said .
“ There is an expectation of the Electoral College turning it over to Biden .
I ’ m just going to tell you that the Trump side , they have that in mind , they ’ re prepared for that .
If it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s OK because that just puts the treason at an official legal level by doing that , and it makes certain high individuals , it makes them guilty at another level.
” “ There is an emergency order from 2018 that this nation is operating under , and they literally are going to go down as traitors , ” he added .
“ You go to the extreme case , it ’ s executable.
” “ It ’ s not even that the Supreme Court is the last level , really , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actually under emergency executive order , kind of a state of war , and President Trump literally has the right to put the whole nation under martial law , to take over social media , where he doesn ’ t have to have fake news taking his message and not allowing it to get out there .
He has legal rights to do that at any time.
” “ What he ’ s obligated to do as president is to defend this nation from foreign enemies , and he can activate that because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Iran , Serbia , other ones—were trying to steal an election in this nation , both through the Dominion and the other software , but also through the money that they paid , the millions and millions they paid off , ” he continued .
“ [ Trump ] can use his national emergency broadcast authority that he has and have on everyone ’ s cell phone , computer , it show up the actual information and proof of everything , show it to the American people and based on that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of these .
It ’ s not a political thing at all .
It is a national security thing .
And so he has about five levels of things to appeal to .
He has the trump cards.
” In the less than 24 hours the video of Enlow has been on YouTube , it has amassed more than 34,000 views .

QAnon conspiracy theorist Johnny Enlow appeared on the Elijah Streams YouTube channel Monday, where he claimed that President Donald Trump has the legal right to impose martial law on the country and arrest everyone who has been part of the alleged effort to steal the election from him.
Enlow, who is a leading proponent of Seven Mountains Dominionism, claimed that Trump is intentionally allowing the dispute over the election results to drag on because doing so creates more opportunity to expose those who are engaged in treason and must be arrested and executed.
Enlow said that it doesn’t matter if the Supreme Court eventually rules in favor of Joe Biden and the Electoral College certifies Biden’s win because Trump can ultimately play his “trump cards” by imposing martial law and arresting his political opponents.
“It doesn’t matter,” Enlow said. “There is an expectation of the Electoral College turning it over to Biden. I’m just going to tell you that the Trump side, they have that in mind, they’re prepared for that. If it has to go that far, it’s OK because that just puts the treason at an official legal level by doing that, and it makes certain high individuals, it makes them guilty at another level.”
“There is an emergency order from 2018 that this nation is operating under, and they literally are going to go down as traitors,” he added. “You go to the extreme case, it’s executable.”
“It’s not even that the Supreme Court is the last level, really,” Enlow insisted. “We are actually under emergency executive order, kind of a state of war, and President Trump literally has the right to put the whole nation under martial law, to take over social media, where he doesn’t have to have fake news taking his message and not allowing it to get out there. He has legal rights to do that at any time.”
“What he’s obligated to do as president is to defend this nation from foreign enemies, and he can activate that because what is proven is that foreign agents—China, Iran, Serbia, other ones—were trying to steal an election in this nation, both through the Dominion and the other software, but also through the money that they paid, the millions and millions they paid off,” he continued. “[Trump] can use his national emergency broadcast authority that he has and have on everyone’s cell phone, computer, it show up the actual information and proof of everything, show it to the American people and based on that, all these arrests have to be made of these. It’s not a political thing at all. It is a national security thing. And so he has about five levels of things to appeal to. He has the trump cards.”
In the less than 24 hours the video of Enlow has been on YouTube, it has amassed more than 34,000 views.


rightwingwatch--2020-12-01--The Religious Right’s Hypocritical Attacks on Barack Obama Over Latino Evangelical Voters

National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference President Samuel Rodriguez and other right-wing leaders misrepresented and criticized former President Barack Obama last week for statements he made about Latino evangelical voters on a radio program just before Thanksgiving .
Obama appeared on “ The Breakfast Club ” radio show and podcast Nov. 25 to promote his new book , “ A Promised Land.
” In a conversation about the 2020 election , Obama commented on Trump ’ s support among Hispanic evangelicals .
While Latino voters backed Biden strongly and were essential to his victories in battleground states , the Trump campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Donald Trump ’ s better showing among that group than among Latinos generally contributed to his margin of victory in Texas and Florida .
Obama was simply recognizing that fact .
“ “ There ’ s a lot of evangelical Hispanics who , the fact that Trump says racist things about Mexicans , or puts undocumented workers in cages , they think that ’ s less important than the fact that he supports their views on gay marriage or abortion , ” he said .
Rodriguez , who prayed at Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were picked up by the Christian Broadcasting Network : “ I ’ ll tell you what I ’ m not thankful for this Thanksgiving : the ever-escalating close-mindedness of the Democrat Party .
President Obama , whom I admire , is apparently angry because Hispanic Americans have minds of their own .
As I have said at every opportunity , we are not – and will not be – beholden to the elephant or the donkey , ” Rodriguez said in a statement .
“ A much more useful exercise for President Obama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Party to some humble self-reflection rather than further down the fundamentalist path of the leftist politics of exclusion .
Bigotry is still bigotry even if it comes from President Obama , ” he continued .
Rodriguez ’ s comments were disingenuous at best .
Rodriguez has repeatedly told Hispanic evangelicals that their voting decisions should prioritize opposition to abortion and support for the religious right ’ s view of religious liberty .
In 2016 , Rodriguez criticized some of candidate Trump ’ s rhetoric on immigration and immigrants , but he ended up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ promise to give the religious right an anti-abortion Supreme Court was more important than anything he might say or do about immigration .
Last year , Rodriguez launched a “ Free to Preach ” campaign focused on 2020 swing states that was seemingly designed to spread fear among Latino evangelicals that Democratic political victories would bring religious freedom to an end in the United States .
This year , Rodriguez appeared in a pro-Trump movie , wrote a column for an issue of the Billy Graham Evangelical Association magazine devoted to promoting Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an Evangelicals for Trump event at which he charged that the Democratic Party was “ hostile to our Christian worldview in every sense of the word.
” “ If your Christianity is the most important thing in your life , dare ye not press the lever for a party that is anti your faith , your pro-life agenda , your pro-religious liberty agenda , and your agenda of biblical justice that will fulfill the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. , ” Rodriguez told Evangelicals for Life attendees .
Given that Rodriguez himself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conservative culture war issues in voting , one would think that he might welcome Obama ’ s recognition that Latino voters are not a monolith and that some Hispanic evangelicals prioritize the same issues as their conservative white non-Hispanic evangelical counterparts .
Instead , Rodriguez somehow managed to portray that recognition as “ bigotry.
” Rodriguez wasn ’ t the only one to indulge in manufactured outrage about Obama ’ s comments .
Sen. Josh Hawley , R-M.O.
, suggested that Obama had portrayed Hispanic evangelicals as “ backwards ” and called him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Levin and Ben Shapiro also wrongly accused Obama of having labeled Latino Trump supporters “ bigots.
” As for Rodriguez ’ s snark about Obama being “ angry because Hispanic Americans have minds of their own , ” Obama ’ s analysis was delivered conversationally , not angrily .

National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference President Samuel Rodriguez and other right-wing leaders misrepresented and criticized former President Barack Obama last week for statements he made about Latino evangelical voters on a radio program just before Thanksgiving.
Obama appeared on “The Breakfast Club” radio show and podcast Nov. 25 to promote his new book, “A Promised Land.” In a conversation about the 2020 election, Obama commented on Trump’s support among Hispanic evangelicals. While Latino voters backed Biden strongly and were essential to his victories in battleground states, the Trump campaign aggressively courted Latino evangelicals, and President Donald Trump’s better showing among that group than among Latinos generally contributed to his margin of victory in Texas and Florida.
Obama was simply recognizing that fact. ““There’s a lot of evangelical Hispanics who, the fact that Trump says racist things about Mexicans, or puts undocumented workers in cages, they think that’s less important than the fact that he supports their views on gay marriage or abortion,” he said.
Rodriguez, who prayed at Trump’s inauguration, slammed Obama in comments that were picked up by the Christian Broadcasting Network:
“I’ll tell you what I’m not thankful for this Thanksgiving: the ever-escalating close-mindedness of the Democrat Party. President Obama, whom I admire, is apparently angry because Hispanic Americans have minds of their own. As I have said at every opportunity, we are not – and will not be – beholden to the elephant or the donkey,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “A much more useful exercise for President Obama would have been to lead the Democrat Party to some humble self-reflection rather than further down the fundamentalist path of the leftist politics of exclusion. Bigotry is still bigotry even if it comes from President Obama,” he continued.
Rodriguez’s comments were disingenuous at best. Rodriguez has repeatedly told Hispanic evangelicals that their voting decisions should prioritize opposition to abortion and support for the religious right’s view of religious liberty.
In 2016, Rodriguez criticized some of candidate Trump’s rhetoric on immigration and immigrants, but he ended up telling Latino evangelicals that Trump’s promise to give the religious right an anti-abortion Supreme Court was more important than anything he might say or do about immigration.
Last year, Rodriguez launched a “Free to Preach” campaign focused on 2020 swing states that was seemingly designed to spread fear among Latino evangelicals that Democratic political victories would bring religious freedom to an end in the United States. This year, Rodriguez appeared in a pro-Trump movie, wrote a column for an issue of the Billy Graham Evangelical Association magazine devoted to promoting Trump’s reelection, and participated in an Evangelicals for Trump event at which he charged that the Democratic Party was “hostile to our Christian worldview in every sense of the word.”
“If your Christianity is the most important thing in your life, dare ye not press the lever for a party that is anti your faith, your pro-life agenda, your pro-religious liberty agenda, and your agenda of biblical justice that will fulfill the dream of Martin Luther King Jr.,” Rodriguez told Evangelicals for Life attendees.
Given that Rodriguez himself has repeatedly urged Hispanic evangelicals to prioritize conservative culture war issues in voting, one would think that he might welcome Obama’s recognition that Latino voters are not a monolith and that some Hispanic evangelicals prioritize the same issues as their conservative white non-Hispanic evangelical counterparts. Instead, Rodriguez somehow managed to portray that recognition as “bigotry.”
Rodriguez wasn’t the only one to indulge in manufactured outrage about Obama’s comments. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-M.O., suggested that Obama had portrayed Hispanic evangelicals as “backwards” and called him “condescending.” Right-wing pundits like Mark Levin and Ben Shapiro also wrongly accused Obama of having labeled Latino Trump supporters “bigots.”
As for Rodriguez’s snark about Obama being “angry because Hispanic Americans have minds of their own,” Obama’s analysis was delivered conversationally, not angrily.


rightwingwatch--2020-12-02--Pro-Trump Attorney Lin Wood and Pardoned Michael Flynn Call for Trump to Declare Martial Law

Lin Wood , an Atlanta-based lawyer who says President Donald Trump asked him to join the effort to challenge Joe Biden ’ s election victory , is promoting a right-wing group ’ s call for Trump to declare martial law and use the military to oversee a new election .
Retired Gen. Michael Flynn also promoted the call for martial law just a day after the Justice Department released the language of the extremely broad pardon Flynn received from Trump We the People Convention , an Ohio group with Tea Party roots , made the call for martial law in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Times and a press release distributed Tuesday .
As of Tuesday afternoon , the press release had been shared more than 70,000 times online .
Wood tweeted a link to the press release , adding his own message : Wood , who is apparently working on his own rather than as an official part of Trump ’ s legal team , sued unsuccessfully to block certification of Biden ’ s victory in Georgia .
He recently suggested that Georgia voters should hold off voting for Republican Sens .
David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did more to support Trump ’ s election challenges .
Wood , whose Twitter bio includes the QAnon movement hashtag # WWG1WGA , is scheduled to hold a press conference in Georgia with former Team Trump attorney Sidney Powell Wednesday afternoon .
Wood also represents Kyle Rittenhouse , who has become a right-wing folk hero after being charged with killing anti-racism protesters in Kenosha , Wisconsin .
A recent profile of Wood in the Trump-supporting Pentecostal-oriented media outlet Charisma said that he is “ walking in the power of the Holy Sprit as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ described him this way : The ad calling for martial law cites constitutionally suspect actions that Abraham Lincoln took during the Civil War as precedent for Trump to act .
“ Today , the current threat to our United States by the international and domestic socialist/communist left is much more serious than anything Lincoln or our nation has faced in its history – including the civil war , ” the ad reads .
The ad claims that leftist activists , colluding with Big Tech and a corrupt media , are out to destroy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ attempted stealing of these elections ” is an act of “ rebellion.
” Here are the concluding paragraphs : We the People must not and WILL NOT cede our exclusive Constitutional right to elect our Representatives to judges , lawyers , courts , Governors , Secretary ’ s of State , Congress , corrupt election officials and local politicians , the corrupt media – or Leftist threats of violence !
It is OUR EXCLUSIVE RIGHT to decide our Representatives not theirs !
Therefore , We the People MUST demand a NEW and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all Americans can trust and live by regardless of the winner !
Without a fair vote , we fear , with good reason , the threat of a shooting civil war is imminent .
Gun sales are at an all time high and 40 % are first time gun owners looking to defend themselves , their property , and their rights .
Therefore , Mr. President you must act now before there is no peaceful way left to preserve our Union .
When the legislators , courts and/or Congress fail to do their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ must be ready Mr. President to immediately declare a limited form of Martial Law , and temporarily suspend the Constitution and civilian control of these federal elections , for the sole purpose of having the military oversee a national re-vote .
A vote that assures a fair election in every jurisdiction and reflects the true will of the people .
Federal candidates only .
Paper ballots .
No computers .
Hand-counted with both parties watching every vote .
Only registered voters .
Photo ID to prove residence .
Conducted safely with everyone wearing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like we did in Ohio .
Only then can the winning candidate be accepted as legitimate by a true majority of We the People who must give our consent to be justly governed !
Unfortunately we are at a point where we can only trust our military to do this because our corrupt political class and courts have proven their inability to act fairly and within the law .
You must also act , like Lincoln did , to silence the destructive media ’ s one-sided propaganda designed and proven to influence the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ censorship of Big Tech , to restore the confidence of the American People in our electoral process or we can not continue as a nation .
Failure to do so could result in massive violence and destruction on a level not seen since the Civil War .
Limited Martial Law is clearly a better option than Civil War !
Many will object to these actions , as they did in Lincoln ’ s day , but we assure you that We the People understand that no less action will suffice to prevent the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and preserve our Republic .
It is time to honor your oath , Mr. President .
It is time for you to boldly act to save our nation as Lincoln did .
We the People will support a national re-vote .
We will also have no other choice but to take matters into our own hands , and defend our rights on our own , if you do not act within your powers to defend us .
The press release also quotes Tom Zawistowski , who it identifies as “ President of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( WPTC ) and Executive Director of the Portage County Tea Party.
” Zawistowski posts a We The People Convention weekly podcast , which until this week had been carried on a network of five radio stations across Ohio .
In last Friday ’ s broadcast , Zawistowski declared that Trump was leading in the Electoral College , repeating Trump attorneys ’ unsupported claims about voter fraud in those states .
He declared his “ complete and unconditional support ” for former Team Trump attorney Sidney Powell , whose extravagant conspiracy theories about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Trump .
“ The facts will prove that Donald J. Trump won this election in a landslide , ” he declared .
Zawistowski also played a clip from Trump attorney Joseph diGenova calling for ballots to be thrown out , noting that his group had called for diGenova to be named a special counsel to investigate Robert Mueller , Barack Obama , Hillary Clinton , Joe Biden , “ and all these criminals.
” Zawistowski told listeners to stock up on food and be prepared to engage in a nationwide work stoppage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Convention website says its mission is to recruit and train Ohio citizens to get involved in politics to ensure “ limited constitutional governance.
” It was founded in 2011 , and Rep. Jim Jordan and Jenny Beth Martin of Tea Party Patriots spoke at the inaugural event .
In 2012 , the group was addressed by James O ’ Keefe of Project Veritas and Matt Kibbee of FreedomWorks .
Jordan Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice was the keynoter in 2013 .
In March 2018 , Cleveland.com reported on Zawistowski @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a $ 1 million contribution from a Republican gubernatorial candidate amounted to attempted extortion .
According to that story : Zawistowski — known in Ohio political circles as simply “ Tom Z ” — is executive director of the Portage County Tea Party , and is a fixture in grassroots conservative politics .
The exact extent of his influence is debatable .
But Zawistowski ’ s role in the Ohio Tea Party community is prominent enough that a candidate forum he organized in suburban Columbus last year attracted three of the four Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governor , as well as hundreds of Tea Party activists .
In attendance were Attorney General Mike DeWine , Secretary of State Jon Husted , who ended up dropping out and becoming DeWine ’ s running-mate , and U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci , who now is running for the U.S. Senate .
Taylor didn ’ t attend the forum , but submitted a video in lieu of a personal appearance .
Zawistowski ’ s communications firm , TRZ Business Services , has done work on behalf of conservative Ohio Republican politicians .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the past several years for marketing services and robo-calls on behalf of State Rep. Nino Vitale , State Rep. Kristina Roegner , and others , state records show .
Zawistowski also ran unsuccessfully for chair of the Ohio Republican Party in 2013 .

Lin Wood, an Atlanta-based lawyer who says President Donald Trump asked him to join the effort to challenge Joe Biden’s election victory, is promoting a right-wing group’s call for Trump to declare martial law and use the military to oversee a new election. Retired Gen. Michael Flynn also promoted the call for martial law just a day after the Justice Department released the language of the extremely broad pardon Flynn received from Trump.
We the People Convention, an Ohio group with Tea Party roots, made the call for martial law in a full-page ad in the right-wing Washington Times and a press release distributed Tuesday. As of Tuesday afternoon, the press release had been shared more than 70,000 times online. Wood tweeted a link to the press release, adding his own message:
Good morning. Our country is headed to civil war. A war created by 3rd party bad actors for their benefit – not for We The People. Communist China is leading the nefarious efforts to take away our freedom.@realDonaldTrump should declare martial law.https://t.co/h3Ym5ytMYt — Lin Wood (@LLinWood) December 1, 2020
Wood, who is apparently working on his own rather than as an official part of Trump’s legal team, sued unsuccessfully to block certification of Biden’s victory in Georgia. He recently suggested that Georgia voters should hold off voting for Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in their runoff election until the senators did more to support Trump’s election challenges. Wood, whose Twitter bio includes the QAnon movement hashtag #WWG1WGA, is scheduled to hold a press conference in Georgia with former Team Trump attorney Sidney Powell Wednesday afternoon.
Wood also represents Kyle Rittenhouse, who has become a right-wing folk hero after being charged with killing anti-racism protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A recent profile of Wood in the Trump-supporting Pentecostal-oriented media outlet Charisma said that he is “walking in the power of the Holy Sprit as a humble man of faith” and described him this way:
Prayer is the ammunition of Wood’s slingshot, figuratively speaking. He comes to do legal battle for “We The People” in the name of the Lord whose hand is still on America, he said, and he will not allow the enemies of God’s people to take over this nation and transform it into the twisted image of the godless, manipulative, intellectual elite who disdain true Christians.
The ad calling for martial law cites constitutionally suspect actions that Abraham Lincoln took during the Civil War as precedent for Trump to act. “Today, the current threat to our United States by the international and domestic socialist/communist left is much more serious than anything Lincoln or our nation has faced in its history – including the civil war,” the ad reads.
The ad claims that leftist activists, colluding with Big Tech and a corrupt media, are out to destroy the United States, and that their “attempted stealing of these elections” is an act of “rebellion.”
Here are the concluding paragraphs:
We the People must not and WILL NOT cede our exclusive Constitutional right to elect our Representatives to judges, lawyers, courts, Governors, Secretary’s of State, Congress, corrupt election officials and local politicians, the corrupt media – or Leftist threats of violence! It is OUR EXCLUSIVE RIGHT to decide our Representatives not theirs! Therefore, We the People MUST demand a NEW and fair national vote, a vote that all Americans can trust and live by regardless of the winner! Without a fair vote, we fear, with good reason, the threat of a shooting civil war is imminent. Gun sales are at an all time high and 40% are first time gun owners looking to defend themselves, their property, and their rights. Therefore, Mr. President you must act now before there is no peaceful way left to preserve our Union. When the legislators, courts and/or Congress fail to do their duty under the 12th Amendment, you must be ready Mr. President to immediately declare a limited form of Martial Law, and temporarily suspend the Constitution and civilian control of these federal elections, for the sole purpose of having the military oversee a national re-vote. A vote that assures a fair election in every jurisdiction and reflects the true will of the people. Federal candidates only. Paper ballots. No computers. Hand-counted with both parties watching every vote. Only registered voters. Photo ID to prove residence. Conducted safely with everyone wearing masks and six feet apart, just like we did in Ohio. Only then can the winning candidate be accepted as legitimate by a true majority of We the People who must give our consent to be justly governed! Unfortunately we are at a point where we can only trust our military to do this because our corrupt political class and courts have proven their inability to act fairly and within the law. You must also act, like Lincoln did, to silence the destructive media’s one-sided propaganda designed and proven to influence the election outcome, and end the unlawful censorship of Big Tech, to restore the confidence of the American People in our electoral process or we cannot continue as a nation. Failure to do so could result in massive violence and destruction on a level not seen since the Civil War. Limited Martial Law is clearly a better option than Civil War! Many will object to these actions, as they did in Lincoln’s day, but we assure you that We the People understand that no less action will suffice to prevent the loss of our Constitutional right to vote and preserve our Republic. It is time to honor your oath, Mr. President. It is time for you to boldly act to save our nation as Lincoln did. We the People will support a national re-vote. We will also have no other choice but to take matters into our own hands, and defend our rights on our own, if you do not act within your powers to defend us.
The press release also quotes Tom Zawistowski, who it identifies as “President of the TEA Party affiliated We the People Convention (WPTC) and Executive Director of the Portage County Tea Party.” Zawistowski posts a We The People Convention weekly podcast, which until this week had been carried on a network of five radio stations across Ohio.
In last Friday’s broadcast, Zawistowski declared that Trump was leading in the Electoral College, repeating Trump attorneys’ unsupported claims about voter fraud in those states. He declared his “complete and unconditional support” for former Team Trump attorney Sidney Powell, whose extravagant conspiracy theories about the election were apparently even too much for Trump. “The facts will prove that Donald J. Trump won this election in a landslide,” he declared.
Zawistowski also played a clip from Trump attorney Joseph diGenova calling for ballots to be thrown out, noting that his group had called for diGenova to be named a special counsel to investigate Robert Mueller, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, “and all these criminals.” Zawistowski told listeners to stock up on food and be prepared to engage in a nationwide work stoppage if necessary.
The We the People Convention website says its mission is to recruit and train Ohio citizens to get involved in politics to ensure “limited constitutional governance.” It was founded in 2011, and Rep. Jim Jordan and Jenny Beth Martin of Tea Party Patriots spoke at the inaugural event. In 2012, the group was addressed by James O’Keefe of Project Veritas and Matt Kibbee of FreedomWorks. Jordan Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice was the keynoter in 2013.
In March 2018, Cleveland.com reported on Zawistowski’s denial that his request for a $1 million contribution from a Republican gubernatorial candidate amounted to attempted extortion. According to that story:


rightwingwatch--2020-12-02--Right Wing Round-Up: This Has to Stop

Right Wing Round-Up: This Has to Stop


rightwingwatch--2020-12-02--Right Wing Bonus Tracks: Zero Curse

Right Wing Bonus Tracks: Zero Curse

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rightwingwatch--2020-12-02--With Eyes on Georgia, Right-Wing Operative Vows to Burn Down the GOP If It Doesn’t ‘Stop the Steal’

With the country ’ s eyes on Georgia and its two Senate runoffs , the pro-Trump “ Stop the Steal ” campaign is shifting its focus to the state with a series of events this week meant to cast doubt of the outcome of the presidential election .
The events are also poised to cause more infighting within the Republican Party , which has increasingly split into two camps : those that recognize Joe Biden as president-elect and those , led by President Donald Trump , who won ’ t .
On Tuesday , Attorney General Bill Barr , one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said that the Justice Department found no evidence of widespread fraud , telling the Associated Press , “ To date , we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election.
” It was a direct contradiction of Trump , who has repeatedly insisted that the election was stolen from him and launched a legal campaign led by Rudy Giuliani to push conspiracy theories alleging just that .
Barr ’ s comments attracted the ire of Stop the Steal ’ s Ali Alexander , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Roman senator famous for assassinating emperor Julius Caesar .
Alexander quickly followed with an old photo of Barr and Biden standing next to each other , alleging Barr was part of a coup to oust Trump with the hashtag # StoptheCoup .
Alexander , a GOP political operative who previously went by the name Ali Akbar , was a leading organizer of the Nov. 14 “ March for Trump , ” which also went by “ Stop the Steal ” and “ Million MAGA March.
” Held in Washington , D.C. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporters , conspiracy theorists , hate groups , and militia groups .
Speakers , including Alexander , said they ’ d “ force ” state legislatures to send Republican electors to the Electoral College to ensure Trump stays president .
Coming from Arizona Tuesday , where nine Republican legislators held a “ hearing ” Monday about the 2020 election , Alexander took to Periscope to give an update on a handful of states his Stop the Steal campaign is operating in , including Arizona , Michigan , and Georgia .
He also shed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s strategy to escalate infighting within the Republican Party .
The Stop the Steal campaign will hold a rally in Alpharetta , Georgia , Wednesday afternoon and another at the state capitol in Atlanta Thursday during hearings held by the Georgia Senate Government Oversight Committee to “ evaluate the election process ” and the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee to take testimony of alleged “ elections improprieties.
” Alexander also encouraged Trump supporters to stay for Trump ’ s rally Saturday in Atlanta .
Despite Georgia ’ s Republican Secretary of State stating repeatedly that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fraud , Trump , Republican Sens .
David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler , and Stop the Steal have alleged just that .
On Wednesday , an election official gave a press conference in which he criticized Trump , Perdue , and Loeffler and detailed the death threats and sexual assault threats directed at the secretary of state and his wife , himself , and contractors from people who believe Biden ’ s victory in the state was the result of widespread fraud .
In updating his followers on Georgia , Alexander claimed that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state and working with Republican legislators .
“ So inside of Georgia , for four or five days , I haven ’ t talked about it , but there have been secret negotiations again within the Republican caucus in the state senate and state house , ” Alexander claimed .
“ They haven ’ t gone as far as we wanted , but it is actually progressing.
” Likewise in Arizona , Alexander claimed to have turned out 2,000 people to rally outside the hearing in Phoenix , where the Proud Boys hate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and reported that he is “ working very closely with all nine state legislators in Arizona who were on the panel of the hearing.
” “ They have a lot of evidence .
And what I can tell you is that it absolutely worked because there are negotiations right now behind the scene , ” he claimed .
“ There are negotiations behind the scene about how the Republican caucus is going to respond , and then we can call a special session .
So we ’ re doing that.
” Despite Arizona @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Alexander said he was happy with the results and that “ we ’ re primed to do a lot of great stuff.
” He then lashed out at the state ’ s Republican governor .
“ We ’ re talking about potentially even recalling Gov .
Ducey .
What does everyone think about recalling Gov .
Doug Ducey ?
” Alexander asked .
“ We ’ re considering recalling Gov .
Ducey because he ’ s a bastard.
” In discussing Michigan , Alexander further highlighted his campaign ’ s “ burn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michigan is having its hearing right now .
We have Republican leadership that is backstabbing us but are trying to give the public optics , ” he said .
“ What you absolutely need to do is tell every single Republican member that if you do not put out a press release stating that you support a special session , then I ’ m going to donate money to your primary opponent when you ’ re up next.
” “ Tell them , ‘ Oh , you live in a Republican district ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to oust you.
’ So you tell them , if we don ’ t get press releases that say that they stand in support of the people who already support Trump , they ’ re gone .
It ’ s that simple .
You say , ‘ Not only will I primary you , but I will encourage people if you win the primary not to vote for you in the general.
’ We ’ ll burn it all down in the next cycle .
So we ’ re escalating in a mature @ @ @ @ @ @ @ giving the party an opportunity to come back to its base without burning it down immediately , but we ’ re willing to burn it all down.
” Towards the end of the Periscope , Alexander lashed out at a commentator and said he couldn ’ t conduct the Stop the Steal campaign any other way .
“ I ’ m tired of being fucking gentle , ” he said .
“ Victory or death .
”

With the country’s eyes on Georgia and its two U.S. Senate runoffs, the pro-Trump, so-called “Stop the Steal” campaign is shifting its focus to the state with a series of events this week meant to cast doubt of the outcome of the presidential election. The events are also poised to cause more infighting within the Republican Party, which has increasingly split into two camps: those that recognize Joe Biden as president-elect and those, led by President Donald Trump, who won’t.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Bill Barr, one of Trump’s most loyal allies, said that the Justice Department found no evidence of widespread fraud, telling the Associated Press, “To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election.” It was a direct contradiction of Trump, who has repeatedly insisted that the election was stolen from him, launching a legal campaign led by Rudy Giuliani to push conspiracy theories alleging just that.
Barr’s comments attracted the ire of Stop the Steal’s Ali Alexander, who on Twitter compared Barr to Brutus, the Roman senator famous for taking part in the assassination of emperor Julius Caesar. Alexander quickly followed that by tweeting an old photo of Barr and Biden standing next to each other with the hashtag #StoptheCoup, alleging Barr was part of a coup to oust Trump in favor of Biden.
Alexander, a GOP political operative who previously went by the name Ali Akbar, was a leading organizer of the Nov. 14 “March for Trump,” which was also called “Stop the Steal” and “Million MAGA March.” Held in Washington, D.C., the march drew thousands of pro-Trump supporters, conspiracy theorists, hate groups, and militia groups. Speakers, including Alexander, said they’d “force” state legislatures to send Republican electors to the Electoral College to ensure that Trump stays president.
On Tuesday, coming from Arizona, where nine Republican legislators held a “hearing” Monday about the 2020 election, Alexander took to Periscope to give a video update on the handful of states in which his Stop the Steal campaign is operating, including Arizona, Michigan, and Georgia. He also shed some light on Stop the Steal’s strategy to escalate infighting within the Republican Party.
The Stop the Steal campaign is scheduled to hold a rally in Alpharetta, Georgia, on Wednesday afternoon, and another at the state capitol in Atlanta on Thursday during hearings held by the Georgia Senate Government Oversight Committee to “evaluate the election process,” and by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee to take testimony of alleged “elections improprieties.” Alexander also encouraged supporters to stay for Trump’s rally Saturday in Atlanta.
Despite the repeated declarations of Georgia’s Republican secretary of state that there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election, Trump, Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, and Stop the Steal leaders have alleged just that. On Wednesday, an election official gave a press conference in which he criticized Trump, Perdue, and Loeffler, detailing the death threats and sexual assault threats from people who believe Biden’s victory in the state was the result of widespread fraud directed at the secretary of state and his wife, himself, and election service contractors.
In updating his followers on Georgia, Alexander claimed that his group was making progress in the state and working with Republican legislators.
“So inside of Georgia, for four or five days, I haven’t talked about it, but there have been secret negotiations again within the Republican caucus in the state senate and state house,” Alexander claimed. “They haven’t gone as far as we wanted, but it is actually progressing.”
Likewise in Arizona, Alexander claimed to have turned out 2,000 people to rally outside the hearing in Phoenix, where the Proud Boys hate group joined Stop the Steal protesters, and reported that he is “working very closely with all nine state legislators in Arizona who were on the panel of the hearing.”
“They have a lot of evidence. And what I can tell you is that it absolutely worked because there are negotiations right now behind the scene,” he claimed. “There are negotiations behind the scene about how the Republican caucus is going to respond, and then we can call a special session. So we’re doing that.”
Despite Arizona certifying the results of the presidential election, Alexander said he was happy with the results and that “we’re primed to do a lot of great stuff.” He then lashed out at the state’s Republican governor.
“We’re talking about potentially even recalling Gov. Ducey. What does everyone think about recalling Gov. Doug Ducey?” Alexander asked. “We’re considering recalling Gov. Ducey because he’s a bastard.”
In discussing Michigan, Alexander further highlighted his campaign’s “burn it all down” mentality.
“Michigan is having its hearing right now. We have Republican leadership that is backstabbing us but are trying to give the public optics,” he said. “What you absolutely need to do is tell every single Republican member that if you do not put out a press release stating that you support a special session, then I’m going to donate money to your primary opponent when you’re up next.”
“Tell them, ‘Oh, you live in a Republican district? Good. It’ll be easier to oust you.’ So you tell them, if we don’t get press releases that say that they stand in support of the people who already support Trump, they’re gone. It’s that simple. You say, ‘Not only will I primary you, but I will encourage people if you win the primary not to vote for you in the general.’ We’ll burn it all down in the next cycle. So we’re escalating in a mature, strategic fashion. We’re giving the party an opportunity to come back to its base without burning it down immediately, but we’re willing to burn it all down.”
Towards the end of the Periscope, Alexander lashed out at a commentator and said he couldn’t conduct the Stop the Steal campaign any other way. “I’m tired of being fucking gentle,” he said. “Victory or death.”


rightwingwatch--2020-12-02--Pro-Trump ‘Prayer Warriors’ Declared in Wee Hours that ‘Valkyrie Will Fall’ and Trump Will Stay in O

Pro-Trump ‘Prayer Warriors’ Declared in Wee Hours that ‘Valkyrie Will Fall’ and Trump Will Stay in Office

Two prominent supporters of President Donald Trump from the “ prophetic ” Pentecostal wing of the religious right , Dutch Sheets and Frank Amedia , put out a call Tuesday for supporters to participate in a special prayer session from 12:30 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. Wednesday morning to wage spiritual warfare against Valkyrie , the name Sheets gave to the effort to steal the 2020 election from Trump .
The early morning session was called by Sheets in response to prophetic dreams relayed to him by two friends .
Sheets ’ spiritual call to arms was delivered by his wife @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Give Him 15 ” prayer alerts .
Sheets said that the dreams spelled out a strategy to defeat “ Valkyrie , ” a figure from Norse mythology who decided who would be slain on the battlefield .
Historically , the word Valkyrie has been used to mean a plan to take over a country , Sheets said , adding that in our current situation , Valkyrie “ represents the plan to take back America by stealing the election.
” “ The literal definition would mean they have decided Trump must be taken out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sheets said .
Combining elements of the two recent prophetic dreams , Sheets came up with a plan for intercessors from every state to pray in order , from the first to the last , and ending at 3:00 a.m. when one of the dreams declared that Valkyrie would fall .
So , Sheets set up a plan for people to pray from and for each state in the union for three minutes at a time , finishing at 3:00 a.m. eastern time this morning .
Sheets shared a declaration for people to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by his wife .
( Note the term ekklesia is used by Sheets and other dominionists to refer to the church as a legislative body acting with governing authority given to it by God . )
She read : As Christ ’ s ekklesia on the Earth , we have been delegated his supreme authority to declare into the spiritual realm what is lawful and what is unlawful , forbidden and allowed .
We have been given Christ ’ s keys with which to close doors no one can open and open doors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his instructions , we join together in unity across our nation tonight .
From the first state to the last in order to end Valkyrie ’ s plot to steal America ’ s 2020 elections .
We decree with the angel of the Lord and , using his very words , join him in decreeing that when the clock strikes 3:00 am eastern time , Valkyrie will fall and will not sing .
The plot will end .
We declare our prayers are causing the witchcraft and curse to bounce back on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s judgments are supreme .
And we decree that the scales of justice will now tip and become perfectly balanced .
We decree the next four years of Donald John Trump ’ s presidency will see the fruit of God ’ s divine reset in America .
We will experience a third Great Awakening .
We will return to our ancient paths and foundations , including being a voice of the gospel of the kingdom to all the Earth , and America ’ s heart will be captured , once again , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , founder of the pro-Trump POTUS Shield network , made a few edits to Sheets ’ decree , distributed it to his followers Tuesday afternoon , and urged them to take part .
Earlier this year , Amedia prophesied that God would intervene in September to pluck a sinking Trump out of quicksand and save his candidacy , and Amedia has been continuing to insist that God will intervene to fulfill prophesies that Trump would be reelected .
Amedia urged his “ prayer warriors ” to see Wednesday morning ’ s prayer session @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ POTUS Shield , let ’ s invade this intercessory realm tonight with a fierce Warrior posture , ” Amedia wrote .
“ It is our / your assignment to disarm the many weapons and strategies and plots of the enemy.
” The call was also amplified by Steve Schultz in an email to subscribers to his Elijah List newsletter .

Two prominent supporters of President Donald Trump from the “prophetic” Pentecostal wing of the religious right, Dutch Sheets and Frank Amedia, put out a call Tuesday for supporters to participate in a special prayer session from 12:30 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. Wednesday morning to wage spiritual warfare against Valkyrie, the name Sheets gave to the effort to steal the 2020 election from Trump.
The early morning session was called by Sheets in response to prophetic dreams relayed to him by two friends. Sheets’ spiritual call to arms was delivered by his wife to subscribers of Sheets’ daily “Give Him 15” prayer alerts. Sheets said that the dreams spelled out a strategy to defeat “Valkyrie,” a figure from Norse mythology who decided who would be slain on the battlefield. Historically, the word Valkyrie has been used to mean a plan to take over a country, Sheets said, adding that in our current situation, Valkyrie “represents the plan to take back America by stealing the election.”
“The literal definition would mean they have decided Trump must be taken out or die on the battlefield,” Sheets said.
Combining elements of the two recent prophetic dreams, Sheets came up with a plan for intercessors from every state to pray in order, from the first to the last, and ending at 3:00 a.m. when one of the dreams declared that Valkyrie would fall. So, Sheets set up a plan for people to pray from and for each state in the union for three minutes at a time, finishing at 3:00 a.m. eastern time this morning.
Sheets shared a declaration for people to use, which was read on video by his wife. (Note the term ekklesia is used by Sheets and other dominionists to refer to the church as a legislative body acting with governing authority given to it by God.) She read:
As Christ’s ekklesia on the Earth, we have been delegated his supreme authority to declare into the spiritual realm what is lawful and what is unlawful, forbidden and allowed. We have been given Christ’s keys with which to close doors no one can open and open doors no one can close. According to his instructions, we join together in unity across our nation tonight. From the first state to the last in order to end Valkyrie’s plot to steal America’s 2020 elections. We decree with the angel of the Lord and, using his very words, join him in decreeing that when the clock strikes 3:00 am eastern time, Valkyrie will fall and will not sing. The plot will end . We declare our prayers are causing the witchcraft and curse to bounce back on the sender. We decree that the commander’s judgments are supreme. And we decree that the scales of justice will now tip and become perfectly balanced. We decree the next four years of Donald John Trump’s presidency will see the fruit of God’s divine reset in America. We will experience a third Great Awakening. We will return to our ancient paths and foundations, including being a voice of the gospel of the kingdom to all the Earth, and America’s heart will be captured, once again, by her creator, Yahweh.
Amedia, founder of the pro-Trump POTUS Shield network, made a few edits to Sheets’ decree, distributed it to his followers Tuesday afternoon, and urged them to take part. Earlier this year, Amedia prophesied that God would intervene in September to pluck a sinking Trump out of quicksand and save his candidacy, and Amedia has been continuing to insist that God will intervene to fulfill prophesies that Trump would be reelected. Amedia urged his “prayer warriors” to see Wednesday morning’s prayer session as a way to keep pushing.
“POTUS Shield, let’s invade this intercessory realm tonight with a fierce Warrior posture,” Amedia wrote. “It is our / your assignment to disarm the many weapons and strategies and plots of the enemy.”
The call was also amplified by Steve Shultz in an email to subscribers to his Elijah List newsletter.