No Kings, No Violence

No violence, no arrests--unlike January 6, 2021.

The day before the nationwide October 18 “No Kings” protests and marches, NEWSMAX published a propaganda interview article with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The headline for the article declared, “Feds Warn Antifa, Extremists, Could Infiltrate 'No Kings' Protests.”

Imagined Versus Reality

That headline captured the essence of the assertions made by MAGA adherents, from the rank-and-file to the king himself. “Across the country, these ‘hate America’ antifa extremists will commit acts of violence as they seek to destroy our country and undermine the very foundations of this blessed nation,” was a common MAGA talking point. After all, as the NEWSMAX article pronounced, extremists “could” infiltrate the protests. And Donald Trump—wearing a king’s crown—could drop feces on protestors while flying a fighter jet.

Maybe that’s not the best comparison, because he did fantasize about doing just that.

But Trump did not actually drop poop on protestors, and protestors did not actually commit acts of violence. Nationwide, approximately seven million Americans participated in the “No Kings” protest, and not even one of them was arrested. Protestors carried signs—yes, some of them were provocative—and a relative few wore silly costumes, but most simply added their quiet affirmations to the rallies by just showing up. Moms pushing baby carts, boomers leaning on walkers, Gen Z folks enjoying the camaraderie, and millions of others from every imaginable demographic peacefully protested MAGA’s approaching autocracy—and no one intentionally harmed another person or damaged any property.

But now—despite no evidence of any violence at the protests—Trump sycophants like Senator Ted Cruz are calling for legislation to use RICO laws to go after protest funders. Yes, now MAGA leaders claim wealthy liberals are paying the protestors, and those funders “must be stopped.” Cruz’s fellow Texas senator, John Cornyn, echoed Cruz: "Radical, left-wing groups who fund acts of violence, coordinate attacks against law enforcement, and spearhead the destruction of property must be stopped.”

There’s no denying that leftist billionaires like George Soros and his Open Society Foundation, along with other wealthy liberal individuals and organizations, have funded liberal causes and associations such as the Indivisible Project. And the Indivisible Project undeniably played a large role in the “No Kings” protests.

But, similarly, wealthy right-wing individuals and organizations, such as the Koch brothers and the DeVos Foundation, fund conservative—and now MAGA—causes. That’s the way of American politics. Over the years, many—mostly on the left—have called for public funding of political campaigns and causes and dramatically curtailing huge private donations. And more often than not, Republicans opposed the concept.  

An Ironic Twist

So, now, in a craven and ironic twist, prominent MAGA Republicans want to legislate against the practice of wealthy individuals and organizations funding political causes—when those causes oppose their causes. And to generate right-wing activism against those opposition causes, folks like Cruz, Cornyn, Speaker Johnson, and Trump himself incessantly label as “radical,” “Socialist,” “Marxist,” and “extremist” anyone or anything that opposes their agenda.

And that’s also why—despite the peaceful, lawful nature of the “No Kings” protests across the nation—MAGA minions parrot their leaders, also desperately try to paint the protests as being terrorist actions funded by radical, socialist, America-hating fiends who must be stopped.

Sane Americans are not falling for it.