Laura Ingraham offered a friendly platform to Joey Gibson, the leader of the violent right-wing group, Patriot Prayer, last night. This was after Ingraham repeatedly complained about “mob” tactics of the left.
On October 8, Ingraham sneered, “[T]he choice for voters is now really simple. Mob rule or the rule of law?” You can guess which side she thought was which.
As an example, she played a clip from a Portland demonstration and provided commentary:
INGRAHAM: This is what the anti-Trump rage machine was up to over the weekend. Protesters in Portland blocked a major thoroughfare causing needless disruptions. When a driver dared to push through the blockade, this was the reaction of these open-minded and tolerant leftist[s]… It’s like a scene from “Homeland” or something from Benghazi. The far left, let’s face it, is now running the Democratic asylum.”
Later, Ingraham said, “Now, if the Kavanaugh battle made anything clear, is that you have to stand up to the mob. … if you don’t stand up to the mob they will walk all over you.”
Five days later, last weekend, the far-right Patriot Prayer group staged a “flash march” in Portland, supposedly in support of the driver. But the action was clearly intended to provoke violence, which it did. HuffPost wrote this about the Patriot Prayer group in advance of a rally in August:
Armed, proto-fascist gangs are set to rally in Portland, Oregon, this weekend, stirring fears that the city could witness the kind of political violence not seen since the deadly white supremacist “Unite the Right” event in Charlottesville, Virginia, nearly a year ago.
Members of the two violent far-right groups, Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys — both of which have deep ties to white supremacist organizations — plan to rally in Tom McCall Waterfront Park at noon Saturday. The so-called “Gibson for Senate Freedom March” is being organized by Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson, who is running for Senate as a Republican from Washington state.
The upcoming event is the latest in a series of rallies Gibson has held along the West Coast since early 2017 in support of President Donald Trump, under the banner of “free speech” and “patriotism.” In several cases the rallies have become a pretext for Patriot Prayer members, and more recently Proud Boy members, to commit organized assaults on anti-fascist protesters.
Yesterday, Portland city officials announced that Patriot Prayer members had “positioned themselves on a rooftop parking structure in downtown Portland with a cache of firearms.”
Yet, last night, Ingraham's introduction suggested Gibson was someone fighting violence, not perpetrating it:
INGRAHAM: Instead of confronting violent protesters, we shouldn’t call them protesters—violent thugs, cops are succumbing to leftist leaders and backing off, leaving ordinary Americans scared and unprotected. Joining us now from Portland is one of the organizers of last week’s counter protest, Joey Gibson.
The same woman who claimed it necessary to “stand up to the mob” when speaking of left-wing protests provided only the meekest and most minimal of challenges to Gibson.
Ingraham noted that Gibson had been caught carrying a gun at a University of Washington campus “event.” She asked, “Did you have any intention of getting violent with this Antifa group?” Then she mostly accepted Gibson's dubious denial - even as he hinted at violent goals.
GIBSON: We never have any intention to get violent. For us, it’s about challenging the mayor, challenging these protest groups, and just being able to march. If they attack us, then people definitely do defend themselves. But we’ve had so many marches and rallies where no one shows up, and it’s completely peaceful and we have a great time.
INGRAHAM: So, what is the goal of your group, as we watch this chaotic video? I mean, looks like a lot of people got hurt. There were batons and mace being used and rocks and bottles being thrown. So, but what’s the—what is your goal with your protest?
GIBSON: Sure, so, it depends on the city and what the mayors do. For example, we went down to Berkeley, we kept on hitting it because the police were standing down, and so the goal was to eventually get the mayor to allow the police do their job. So, from city to city, it changes.
And Portland right now, as you saw a week ago, there were protesters blocking the streets and they were attacking motorists, and the police did nothing about it. So we went back in there and we did a flash march to kind of bring attention to this issue, to put the pressure on [Mayor] Ted Wheeler in hopes that he would actually have some sort of response.
So it depends on the situation, but a lot of it is bringing media attention, inspiring other people to stand up for what they believe in, especially in these far-left cities.
Instead of any real pushback, Ingraham amiably noted that Portland Mayor Wheeler considered Gibson’s group “part of the problem,” not just Antifa. This time, she not only allowed Gibson to spin, Ingraham validated his highly dubious claim that one can't carry an American flag in Portland without getting "bloodied."
GIBSON: Well, I would say I would challenge this. If people don’t show up to attack us, there’s not going to be any problems. So the goal is we really want to be able to have our right. If you carry an American flag in Portland by yourself, you’re going to get bloodied. That’s the thing that people don’t understand. So until the city makes some changes and the culture makes some changes, free speech isn’t truly going to exist in the city until they really make changes, especially with the police.
And another thing people don’t understand is the police have slowly been changing their tactics in Portland where they used to just stand back completely. They would never intervene. If you look at August 4th, they did do their job, and then even last Saturday, fights broke out that lasted maybe a minute, a minute-and-a-half, and then they got everyone separated. So I think that—
INGRAHAM: People should be able to, like, protest and walk with an American flag without being attacked. And I don’t like the black masks. I don’t like any groups wearing black masks in public. If you want to protest and be there, be identified and be counted. Joey, thanks so much for being here tonight. We’ll be following this very closely.
Watch Ingraham prove that she has no problem with some violent mobs below, from the October 15, 2018 The Ingraham Angle, via Media Matters.
Switch over to the Republicans and they’re doing everything they can to nationalize the midterms. Trump is rolling out all over the country raging like a bull in a china shop. They’re promoting the violent Dems meme – I saw my first right-wing ad on TV pimping this today. Nancy Pelosi’s name is being turned into a curse word. And, finally, Kavanaugh mistreatment outrage is front and center.
Fox News undoubtedly was on the GOP’s election strategy conference call so it’s no surprise their propaganda is on message with Republican campaigning.
The real question is which strategy is best. I suspect the Republican strategy reeks of desperation to agitate their base. However, experience dictates last minute negative advertising does work. I can’t wait for this election to be over. Can’t take the stress as it’s one of the more important in my lifetime.