Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed a fundraiser to help bail violent protestors out of jail on Saturday. Ocasio-Cortez was joined by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) in raising money for counter-protesters, many of whom were reportedly antifa, who had been arrested Saturday at a “Straight Pride” parade in Boston.
Ocasio-Cortez encouraged her followers to chip in to support those who stood up against the “white supremacist” demonstration. “One way to support the local LGBTQ community impacted by Boston’s white supremacist parade? Contribute to the Bail Fund for the activists who put themselves on the line protecting the Boston community,” the self-described Democratic socialist tweeted on Saturday.
AOC raises bail money for Antifa
36 people were arrested in Saturday’s demonstrations for various crimes, including nine charged with assaulting police officers. Other charges included resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, assault, carrying a dangerous weapon, and assault by means of a dangerous weapon. According to the Boston Herald and USA Today, many of the counter-protesters were members of antifa. Viral video showed Boston police arresting antifa members who were trying to block the parade.
Fellow “squad” member Pressley joined Ocasio-Cortez in supporting the FundRazr campaign, which closed after hitting its $15,000 target. The fundraiser, which was organized by anarchist bookstore Lucy Parsons Center, claimed that “known fascists and white supremacists, under the front organization Super Happy Fun America, are descending on Boston” to demonstrate.
“Join me right now in making a contribution,” tweeted Pressley. “TY to the allies & accomplices who stood in the gap & laid their bodies on the line today in affront #LGBT hate march,” she added.
Antifa has developed a reputation for violent rabble-rousing, often with chemicals, bags of urine, and other simple, improvised weapons. A member of antifa expressed the group’s attitude towards violence very bluntly to reporters.
“We’re covered in black so when we attack these guys we can’t be prosecuted,” said Jon Crowley, a self-identified Antifa member told the Herald. “They are fascists, 100%. How else are you going to get them to shut up?”
Elected Democrats embrace political violence
The group, which is known for violent demonstrations in cities like Portland, Oregon, descended on Boston to intercept the “Straight Pride” event. As often happens at antifa protests, the roughly 200 right-wing demonstrators were outnumbered by 1000 counter-protesters. Another similarity: as in cities like Portland, antifa not only received the support of elected Democrats in the legislature, but the city’s Democrat mayor also lent a hand. Boston mayor Martin Walsh condemned the Straight Pride event and vowed to look into “misconduct” by police.
While antifa claims they fight “hate,” critics say that they are a domestic terrorist organization, and even President Donald Trump has suggested that they should be designated as such. Many responses to Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet were highly critical, noting that the Democrat was embracing violent criminals for political reasons.
Echoing Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley told the Herald Monday that the protesters should not “have been arrested, and that’s why I’ve been promoting a bail fund to support them. … They were protesting a racist, fascist, demonstration.”
By endorsing the arrested counter-protesters, Ocasio-Cortez and Pressley seem to be endorsing the “ends justifies the means” philosophy of antifa, which endorses using violence to combat “white supremacy” and other imagined evils. The group that planned the parade, Super Happy Fun America, denied any link with white supremacy and noted that some of the event’s speakers were black.
This isn’t the first time that Ocasio-Cortez and the “squad” have endorsed law-breaking and far-left terrorists for political reasons. Ocasio-Cortez and other members of the far-left “squad” have tweeted out advice to illegal immigrants on how to evade deportation, and the “squad” was silent when pressed about a July antifa terrorist attack in Washington state that left the assailant dead.
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