The Conservative Political Action Conference is underway just outside Washington, DC and right after it ends, a group of fascists plan to have a party of their own. Antifa plans to crash it.

When: 5 PM, Saturday, Feb 24, 2018
Where: Meet at Trump Hotel, Washington DC, travel to as-yet-undisclosed event venue

THIS CALL TO ACTION: This was written by a committee of members of the DC Antifascist Collective, who were empowered to do so by a process of consensus by the body of the collective as a whole.

When our communities are under attack, what do we do? Show up! Fight back!

We’re in year two of the Trump regime, and the US is drifting dangerously towards fascism. Trump’s volunteer propaganda team, champions of fake news, misogyny, and racism, will come to DC to make a mockery of “freedom.” We will protest outside. Real freedom is in the streets.

The fascists will descend upon Washington DC the evening of Saturday, February 24, for an evening of sipping fine wine and expensive delicacies. They’re calling their fancy event “A Night for Freedom.” We are not fooled. We know that their vision is one that protects the oppressive status quo, protects a system predominantly run by rich white men like them and like Trump at the expense of everyone else. Starting at 5 PM, we will protest. We will announce our location as soon as the fascists announce their venue.

This fascist event is organized by Mike Cernovich, who once tweeted “date rape does not exist.” Cernovich was himself accused of rape, and likes to describe his own very rapey behavior. He was given a seven-figure settlement in a divorce, allowing him a lot of time to tweet pro-Trump propaganda and accuse everyone he disagrees with of pedophilia. Cernovich was one of the lead promoters of the “pizzagate” conspiracy theory, which led a man to walk into Comet Ping-Pong with a gun and shoot the place up, all based on the lies Cernovich had spread. Cernovich also participated in the gamergate harassment of women attempting to address sexism in video games. He bullies. He’s anti-trans and anti-immigrant. He tweets that his semen has mystical powers. He’s a terrible person.

Fascism and sexism go hand in hand. The links are clear between rape apologists and Trump, who himself bragged about sexual assault and has defended domestic abusers. A hallmark of fascism is toxic masculinity, the type that seeks dominance and avoids accountability, the type that seeks to control women, that denies sexual assault and domestic violence, and that wishes to persecute immigrants, Muslims, people of color, and anyone they believe they can oppress.

We antifascists are those who value real freedom. Opposing fascism is true humanity. Immigrants, Muslims, women, the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, the poor and working class, and anyone who recognizes the humanity of all people stand united against fascism, authoritarianism, and oppression. We value our differences, the vibrant living Earth, and a future that includes all of us.

We will hold a public rally outside the fascist banquet. The event will feature a variety of speakers who are DC organizers, music, signage, etc. We will gather the community, make noise, and stop them.

We will convene at 5 PM at the Trump Hotel and travel to their event venue. The right-wing organizers have not yet made public the location of their event because they know we are successful at getting them shut down. Their event will occur on the final night of the “Conservative Political Action Conference” (CPAC), but is expected to be at a different location than the CPAC conference itself. Please stay tuned! We will announce the location as soon as it is known.

Freedom is in the streets!

THIS CALL TO ACTION: This was written by a committee of members of the DC Antifascist Collective, who were empowered to do so by a process of consensus by the body of the collective as a whole.

ORGANIZERS, POTENTIAL SPEAKERS: Please contact us through our Facebook page if you wish to speak/volunteer/participate at the event. Please note that only vetted individuals will gain traction in communicating with us, as there is a strong likelihood that the right-wing organizers may attempt to infiltrate our planning process.

MORE INFORMATION:

The cast of characters who are organizing the fancy fascist event will include notorious right-wing personalities such as James O’Keefe, Cassandra Fairbanks, John Goldman (aka “Jack Murphy”), Stefan Molyneux, and Jack Posobiec, who has recently launched a PAC with Cernovich oriented toward getting far right fascist candidates elected to office.

Cernovich, Posobiec, and their lackeys have conducted targeted disinformation campaigns, including Pizzagate, planting a “Rape Melania” sign in a crowd of anti-Trump protesters, and planting other signs such as a pro-pedophilia sign in a crowd of antifascist protesters. Many of their disinformation campaigns occur under the guise of other fake troll accounts.

These fascists are often called the “Alt Lite.” They are careful to keep the most extreme Nazis at a distance while maintaining an air of plausible deniability. They claim they’re not white supremacists, but they are indeed immigrant-bashing, woman-hating, heteronormative, right-wing-meme-generating liars whose work has contributed to the rise of the most hateful elements of the “Alt Right.”

We must oppose these fascists. We have put the “Alt Right” on the defensive. Now our focus must shift to these “Alt Lite” personalities. They may not wear swastikas or perform Nazi salutes in public but they pursue the same policy agenda that the most extreme, hateful factions of the far right pursue.

What do we do when we need to defend our communities against their brand of domination, authoritarianism, and totalitarianism? We get out into the streets and oppose them!