Ex-Trump insider Lev Parnas over the weekend noted the situation surrounding the Los Angeles protests, saying "the clock is ticking" as Trump has "troops in the streets, tanks on standby, and plans to crush the resistance."
"I know a lot of you woke up this morning in shock—staring at the footage out of Los Angeles, asking yourselves: How could this happen? Is this real? Is this really happening in the United States of America? But let me be clear, folks—this is real. It is happening. And I need you to know that my sources deep inside Trump World have been warning me that what we witnessed overnight was no isolated event. It’s part of something much bigger. And what I have to tell you today is chilling," he wrote.
"Yesterday, when Donald Trump deployed over 2,000 federal troops into Los Angeles under the justification of 'restoring order,' most headlines ran with it like it was some isolated act of retaliation—just another example of Trump punishing blue states. And yes, part of this is personal. Make no mistake: this is revenge against California, against Governor Gavin Newsom, and against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. But it’s not just about settling scores."
According to Parnas, in reality, "This is about control."
"What happened yesterday in Los Angeles was a test run—a dry rehearsal for something much, much bigger. I’ve been hearing from multiple trusted insiders that Trump’s inner circle—particularly Pete Hegseth and some of the more radicalized loyalists embedded at the Pentagon—are actively drafting operational plans for the mass mobilizations expected on June 14th," he added. "This isn’t just about Trump’s birthday. This isn’t just about another vanity parade. This is about shutting down resistance."
Parnas added that Trump "fears the American people rising up on June 14th, in all 50 states, with signs that say No Kings—with voices that remind the world that we are still a democracy."
"That’s why he’s pushing for tanks. That’s why he wants the biggest military display America has seen since the Cold War. Because he wants the optics of power. He wants to smother the story before it even begins. He wants his parade to dominate the headlines, not the marchers in the streets fighting for democracy," he said. "But I need you to understand this: According to my sources, there are discussions happening right now—within Trump’s most trusted circle—about invoking martial law if the protests 'get out of hand.' They’re looking for any excuse. Any video. Any act of violence. Any disruption. That’s all they need to justify a crackdown."
He then warned people not to fall for a trap being set by Trump associates.
"And it gets worse. What I’m being told is that Trump allies—including elements connected to Proud Boys, III Percenters, and other far-right militia networks—are planning to infiltrate the June 14th protests. Not to support them. To sabotage them. Their goal? Create chaos. Spark confrontation. Trigger a response from law enforcement. And then hand Trump the justification he needs to clamp down," Parnas wrote. "Let me say this loud and clear: We cannot give them that excuse."
Parnas went on to encourage peace, and told protesters to "stay vigilant."
Good to know anything we can about fascist infiltration into the resistance and agent provocateurs, but the implication that protesters can do anything to stop these plans seems incorrect to me. If a proud boy or whoever dresses up as a protester and torches a cop car or whatever, there's nothing protesters can really do to stop it. The people who will need to be vigilant are the media and lawmakers who will be pressured into condemning the protests as a whole because of the actions of these infiltrator assholes.
The media and lawmakers all serve capitalism, they won’t help us
There's a thing going around on Facebook saying that if violence starts, you should just sit down in place. If all of the actual protesters do that, it'll be pretty obvious the violence is coming from provacateurs.
Don't fucking sit down. That's terrible advice. Cops beat the shit out of compliant protesters all the time. Fight back or run away. If you're not capable of either then you've already missed your chance at contributing to the movement.
Okay, first I think it needs to be said that this is a complex and difficult situation that really doesn't leave us with any good options either way, and I think both sides of this debate have people with good intentions behind them.
Second, this
is true and something people need to be aware of.
However, third, it needs to be said that
will absolutely get the shit beaten out of you unless you got an army in your back pocket I somehow haven't heard about yet.
Fourth,
Bullshit. Every news story picture and video that shows protesters getting attacked and arrested is an incredibly powerful piece of evidence showing the consequences of rising fascism in America that's going to be harder and harder for the people who are trying to ignore all this stuff to tune out. Even the selfish asshole centrist dipshits who don't care about immigrant rights and just want everything to settle down are going to see that this unrest can't be beaten into submission and efforts to do so just make the protests bigger, and that's when those people are going to turn on the fascists and say "Look, I was willing to give up civil liberties for law and order, but you can't even give us that." (we're already seeing talk like that out of Gavin Newsom).
Personally, I say if you're in a protest and cops start attacking, run away if you can or sit down if you can't, because I don't feel comfortable asking people to just turn themselves over to the mercy of law enforcement who may very well do permanent injury to them, but I have nothing but respect for the people who do make that sacrifice for this movement, and the notion that people being arrested aren't contributing is absolute bullshit.
Dumb idea. cops won’t leave the sitters alone they’ll go after them first because cops are pussies who look for the easiest way off the clock
Be vigilant means when someone is breaking windows before the protest even starts... to remember what you just read.
What you do when it happens, or even less mundane events that happen every day, is up to you.
"Maybe you do not care much about the future of the Republican Party. You should. Conservatives will always be with us. If conservatives become convinced that they can not win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. The will reject democracy."