Free Speech Activists to Gather at Lincoln Memorial on June 25

Craig Fildes/Flickr/Creative Commons http://bit.ly/2rJ865b

There has been a battle for free speech happening across the country in cities from Boston to Berkeley — and now it is heading straight for the nation’s capital.

On June 25, free speech activists will gather at the Lincoln Memorial to protest against the violent attempts to suppress right wing voices. An array of speakers will be taking the mic at the event, including Kyle Chapman (better known as Based Stick Man), Tim Treadstone (better known as Baked Alaska), Jack Posobiec, Augustus Invictus, Kyle Prescott, Jason Kessler, Irma Hinojosa, and James Allsup.

“In light of the dramatic increase in anti-Free Speech sentiment, legislative activity, violence (e.g., terrorist actions by ‘AntiFA’), and law enforcement activity (e.g., the LEO stand-down orders in Berkeley, CA), we the Free Speech Movement are gathered here to reaffirm a commitment to the basic necessity of Freedom of Speech in civil society,” the Facebook page for the event reads.

Previously, free speech events in Berkeley have lead to the blood of activists on both sides spilling onto the streets, and have continued to escalate — as violent leftists riot to prevent right wing speakers from being able to express their views.

Augustus Invictus, an attorney, publisher, and former Libertarian candidate for the US Senate who is travelling from Orlando to speak at the rally told Big League that this event is important because “people in America are sick to death of the totalitarian agenda of the left.”

“We were all raised in this country to believe in the freedom of speech and association, the right to bear arms, and all the rest that comes along with the Bill of Rights,” Invictus said. “The leftist violence we have seen across the country has been an attempt to suppress those freedoms that are guaranteed by our founding documents, and those of us speaking at the event are the necessary – and at this point, welcome – retribution.”

The fact that the rally is being held at the Lincoln Memorial is an important statement in itself, independent Journalist, author, and free speech activist Jack Posobiec told Big League Politics.

Posobiec stated that “we are following in the steps of Martin Luther King.”

“The Lincoln Memorial is a legendary symbol of civil rights in America and that is why it is so important for us to hold our free speech rally there in the face of threats from the militant left and domestic terrorists AntiFa, to let them know that we will not be silenced and our First Amendment civil rights will be upheld,” Posobiec added.

Colton Merwin, a Baltimore resident who is organizing the rally, told Big League Politics that he “was inspired originally by the gatherings in Berkeley and the riots at Milo’s event as well as the Inauguration.”

“We believe in speech as the mode by which we are both empowered to express our beliefs, and as the crucial instrument that allows us to peacefully reconcile differences that arise within an ideologically diverse community,” Merwin wrote in the event description. “Without the freedom to exercise this right, individuals possess no means by which they can settle their differences through persuasion and compromise, leaving them with no recourse other than leveraging the power of the state or using extrajudicial force against their ideological opponents. No free society can long survive when there is no peaceful outlet for resolving differences.”

BLP asked Merwin if he thinks there will be problems with AntiFa, as we have seen violent clashes nearly every time that free speech activists gather — most recently in Portland on Sunday.

“I am 80% sure they will be protesting, their upset after those arrested on J20 have fueled a bit of an uproar. If they do come, the police are on our side so we will be for the most part safe,” Merwin said. He also noted that he met with the DC police and the permits office yesterday and got the permits confirmed.

Interestingly, DC AntiFa already has a protest planned for the 25th, but it is not currently set as a response to the free speech rally. Groups such as “Smash Racism DC” who put out a target list prior to the inaugural ‘DeploraBall’ at the National Press Club have been actively organizing a protest outside the police department over arrests during the riot on inauguration day.

The protest they are holding is being advertised as a “speakout against fascism and state repression at Washington DC Metro Police Headquarters on Sunday, June 25, at 12:00 PM.”

Ironically, the left’s event is also being listed as a “free speech” rally. Judging by DC AntiFa’s previous antics and attempts to prevent right wing groups and individuals from holding speeches or gathering, they are advocates for “free speech for me, but not for thee.”

“The right wing can have their sham ‘free speech’ rallies, but we know they are mobilizing to deny even the right to exist to those who don’t look like them. They can wave their flags, as if they have forgotten that their stars are stolen indigenous land and their stripes are the blood of the poor and the enslaved,” a statement by the event organizers reads. “We will rally at the headquarters of one of the worst suppressors and deniers of speech—the police.”

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