WORLD CUP
- Jun 25
- 2 min read
Everyone loves the excitement and sportsmanship of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games!
Reading this morning about the #Praireland sentencing of peaceful anti-ICE protesters to between 30-100 years in prison for being part of a "North Texas Antifa cell" only makes the historical similarities all the more stark. There's only one word to describe a country and administration that is anti-anti-fascist.
From the Guardian:
"After a three-week trial, a jury found eight of nine protesters guilty of “providing material support to terrorists”, among other crimes. For the Sotos, this “material support” included owning a “printing press” used to print anarchist zines and being part of a leftist book club, the federal government argued.
The federal government’s focus on the possession of leftwing literature, including zines, and other basic security measures common in our modern era – like owning Faraday bags, meant to block wireless signals to prevent surveillance; using the encrypted messaging app Signal; or dressing in all-black clothing – is alarming to activists.
The Sotos’ crimes largely stem from a “printing press” that the FBI noticed during the initial raid of their home: a standard office printer, a paper cutter and a book binder.
Donald Trump’s targeting of “antifa” began in his first administration and has only intensified since he retook office. Last month, the Trump administration issued its “counterterrorism strategy”, describing “anarchists and anti-fascists” as “violent left-wing extremists” and equating “pro-transgender ideology” to terrorism. This strategy built upon its National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-7), issued in September shortly after the killing of far-right commentator Charlie Kirk, which the right inaccurately blamed on violent leftwing protesters and trans people.
During the trial, federal prosecutors argued that the possession of these zines and other leftist materials, like stickers with the letters “ACAB” or “Chinga La Migra” (Spanish for “fuck the immigration police”), were evidence of their participation in an “antifa” terror cell.
