The organization that lay siege to Wall Street nine years ago is planning on laying siege to the White House until the election. That is bad, an attempt to overturn democracy, but it is not as bad as an element in the BLM movement which is calling for a violent ousting of President Trump before the elections.
Adbusters Media Foundation, a Canadian-based not-for-profit political advocacy organization, announced its plans to “lay siege to the White House.” The “siege” will begin September 17th and continue for 50 days, ending with the US presidential elections.
On September 17, 2020 we will lay siege to The @WhiteHouse for exactly fifty days.
We need your wisdom and expertise to pull off a radically democratic toneshift in our politics.
Are you ready for #revolution?
This is the #WhiteHouseSiege
https://t.co/gWw8jDJC05 pic.twitter.com/bTxyLvl7a7— Adbusters (@Adbusters) July 28, 2020
It is unclear if the siege will continue if President Trump is reelected.
The invitation features a photo of the left third of the White House enveloped in smoke and flames. Through the windows, one can see flames enveloping the center of the building. This was posted on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, apparently without violating their community guidelines that prohibit expressions of violence.
Adbusters was founded in 1989 and became prominent in 2011 when it launched the Occupy Wallstreet protests. While the movement was started by Adbusters, the group does not control the movement, and it has since grown worldwide.
Adbusters has issued two tactical briefing updates. In the second tactical briefing, the group notes that “phase one” will be the 50-day siege occupying Lafayette Square across from the White House. This coincides with the anniversary of Occupy Wall Street’s beginning. Adbusters stated that the protests are intended to be “nonviolent.” The focus of their protest is the president and their stated goal is a “true world order.”
“…this howling void of a president, his sins too many to name, sits smugly atop a corona death-toll that may surpass two-hundred thousand Americans by Christmas,” the tactical briefing stated. “#WhiteHouseSiege will electrify the U.S. election season — and it doesn’t stop there. Drawing wind from #MeToo, #BLM, #ExtinctionRebellion, and protests against Trump’s lethal bungling of coronavirus, we’ll inspire a global movement of systemic change — a Global Spring — a cultural heave towards true world order.”
The group does not say what stage two of the siege entails but the second tactical briefing is even more ominous.
There are many ways to think about this #WhiteHouseSiege. Is it a beautiful jam? A civic exorcism? A spectacular sayonara party for Dear Donald? All of the above, absolutely — but let us not ignore the dark forces also at work.
Time is short. Shall we rely on William Barr to interpret the law justly, in the interest of all Americans? On the police or military to drag Trump from the White House when he loses? On the grace and civility of the alt-right hordes and white supremacists? Of course not. By now it’s clear that Trump and his sycophants will do anything to prevent Joe Biden from taking office, including crippling the Postal Service. There is no limit to their cynicism, no end to their corruption.
That’s why it’s critical for us the people to show our strength . . . to be there in the hundreds of thousands, invigilators of our great democracy, to remind this authoritarian regime of our significance, our will, and our power. The survival of the American experiment — the American spirit — requires nothing less.
We will not let Donald Trump steal the election!
Phase One runs from Occupy’s ninth anniversary, September 17th, to Election Day — a fifty-day siege on the White House. This is the #WhiteHouseSiege. And, if need be, we will be ready to reconvene at any time after that to ensure the peaceful transition of power.
So, over the next few weeks, screw up your courage, stuff your backpack with the tools of nonviolent revolution, and bring intelligence to match your enthusiasm.
It should be noted that in March 2004, Adbusters was accused of antisemitism after running an article titled “Why won’t anyone say they are Jewish?” The article compiled a list of neoconservative supporters within the Bush Administration and marked the names of those it perceived as Jewish with a black dot. Despite this criticism, Adbusters won the award for National Magazine of the Year in 1999 in Canada.
The violent overthrow of the government has become the cry of the left-wing. On Saturday afternoon, Black Lives Matter held a protest in Washington DC. John Sullivan, an activist for Insurgence USA from Utah, spoke at the protest. In an expletive-filled speech, Sullivan said, “We about to burn this **** down…We gotta ***** rip Trump outta dat office right over there. **** pull him out. We ain’t about **** waitin’ for the next election.”
Sullivan led the crowd in a chant of, “It’s time for a revolution.”
Sullivan’s threats were very real. Last month, he was arrested at a protest he organized for investigation of rioting, making a threat of violence and criminal mischief.
“The protest traveled on the roadways blocking motorists who have the right of way. John Sullivan blocked vehicles from freely moving lawfully. During the course of the protest, two handguns were brandished and two shots fired toward a motorist traveling to Home Depot. Vehicles were damaged by protestors as well as by John Sullivan,” the affidavit states.
“As a protest organizer John Sullivan is heard and seen as he is promoting protesters to block roadways, keeping motorists from traveling lawfully and freely.”
Sullivan was also captured on video threatening to beat a woman in an SUV, according to the affidavit, and then kicking her door, leaving a dent.
He released a video earlier this month in which he stated that he would be holding a month-long armed protest. His stated goal was to “change the perspective of all those people who think that just because he is black and carrying a gun, he is violent.”
