72% of Americans Expect Political Violence: Take Steps to Protect Yourself From Riots and Violent Protests Now

Political violence isn’t supposed to happen in America.   With narrow few exceptions of attempted assassinations, U.S. history is generally characterized by peaceful changes of power no matter the election results.

However, in the age of President Donald Trump, things have changed.  A new poll commissioned by the UK’s Independent shows some shocking results: almost three-quarters of Americans expect political violence on election day and beyond.

Here’s a snip from The Independent.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans are concerned about riots and violence after election day, according to a new poll by The Independent that suggests the United States is a tinderbox of partisan angst.

Almost three in four voters, 72 per cent, describe themselves as very or quite concerned about post-election violence, according to a JL Partners-Independent poll.

More than 70 per cent of both supporters of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, said they have such concerns.

Worries are higher among the president’s backers, with 77 per cent saying they fear violence and riots. Among the former vice president’s supporters, 73 per cent described worries.

Clearly with all the political violence we’ve witnessed across America since the death of George Floyd, prudent Americans will take steps to protect themselves and their families. Millions of Americans have already done so by taking the first step of buying a firearm and ammunition for the first time this year.

But there’s a lot more to preparing than just buying, or owning a gun. The first step involves educating yourself about Antifa and its tactics.

Who is Antifa?

Antifa organizes allegedly “mostly peaceful protests” in cities across America. Their goal? They want to overthrow of the American system of government.

Some have said Antifa’s thugs are the militant arm of the Democrat party. Not true. These people aren’t Democrats. They’re Marxists. They might use sympathetic Democrat politicians as a means to an end, but Antifa aren’t Democrats.  They are dedicated Marxists and generally speaking, not America’s best. They tend to attract a lot of felons, petty criminals, wife beaters, child sex offenders and other social misfits. Some call them “underachievers.” You might call them losers and malcontents.

They and loosely-affiliated “affinity groups” have operated with relative impunity in jurisdictions with sympathetic political and/or law-enforcement leaders. This includes hard-left District Attorneys who make prosecuting decisions.

Many of these politicians have bought their way into office with George Soros’ money. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx won her race in 2016 largely thanks to about $2 million of support from Soros-funded organizations.  And they’re bankrolling her with another $2 million for her re-election race this year.

Soros only underwrites the most radical of Democrat candidates. Certainly these people are not your grandfather’s Democrats from the John Kennedy era who loved America and would fight to defend her, our form of government, and our way of life.

Antifa also enjoys sympathetic mainstream media coverage. That’s not surprising considering how the mainstream media today are too often just radical political operatives (Democrats and anarchists) with bylines.

And even if local officials aren’t Soros-funded lefties, Antifa can certainly intimidate local mayors, prosecutors and police chiefs by targeting them — and their families — at their homes.

How does Antifa do this?

Antifa’s black bloc “uniform” conceals their identities and anonymizes them at the same time. It allows their members to act with little or no fear of arrest or prosecution.

Add in local police and prosecutors who probably aren’t going to stop them and Antifa’s insurrectionists can destroy property and attack people without fear of any consequences.

Meanwhile, the complicit mainstream media will cover for them, calling them “protesters” conducting “mostly peaceful protests.” Never mind how these “mostly peaceful” actions have led to over $2 billion in insurance claims.

They also sometimes use guerilla warfare tactics against traditional law enforcement.  Tactics that police have a hard time countering. Cops can’t be everywhere even in normal times.  Now? These aren’t normal times.

With prosecutors not only ignoring looting and rioting arrests, but also hammering cops with claims of “excessive force,” these are anything but normal times. It’s no wonder the cops have frequently stood down. Why should they risk their lives and freedom if the mayor, police chief and local prosecutor won’t support them and the rule of law?

Meanwhile, Antifa has learned what works best after months of nightly conflict with law enforcement in Seattle, Portland and other cities. They create a “fog of war” using smoke bombs, strobing flashlights, high powered lasers, thrown bricks and rocks, pepper spray and commercial fireworks. They use these against both cops and innocent civilians.

Much of this merits a deadly force response. But Antifa takes away their targets’ situational awareness. It can be hard to pin down the source of these potentially lethal attacks because you can’t see who is responsible. And decency prevents the law-abiding from just shooting into the mob, even though all individuals among the mob share culpability for the actions of some.

The professional Marxists leading this violence love to mingle among legitimate protesters. These troublemakers also turn out for their own “direct action” events to attack opposing events or tear down statues.

How does this affect you?

Know that Antifa mobs can do pretty much anything they want to you and you can’t stop them. They’ll destroy your vehicle or you residence and the police won’t come to protect you. Neither will the fire department.

If you get taken down to the ground in a fight, you probably won’t get up. They will kick you in the head with their steel toe boots until you’re unconscious or dead. The neutered police won’t save you. On the other hand, those same cops will arrest you if you use deadly force to resist a frenzied attack.

And even if you break off from their attack, oftentimes Antifa will follow you, identify you and then dox your personal information. Then they will come threaten and harass you at your residence, at your workplace or both.

Sadly, Antifa is winning in the sense their fascist tactics intimidate a lot of people, coercing them from expressing their beliefs for fear of reprisals.

Things you can do

There are a number of things you can do in the near term to protect yourself and your family from Antifa and “affinity group” violence.

1. First and foremost, act to the standard by which you will be judged. Show restraint in using force, especially deadly force in self-defense. Retreat looks really good to juries.

2. Carry your gun. Your five-shot revolver or .380 makes a fine backup gun. Against a potential mob or gang? Bring enough gun. If you run out of ammo, they will rip you apart. Literally.

Remember, Antifa mobs in several cities have not backed off against armed good guy civilians. They’re accustomed to armed good guys showing great restraint when it comes to using force in self-defense.

3. Buy self-defense insurance so you can have the best legal defense in case a prosecutor attempts a political prosecution for using force in a self-defense situation. The state has a lot of resources. It’s only fair that you have resources too, so it’s at least a marginally fair fight. US Law Shield has a great product (I’m a dues-paying member… mention your GSL membership and they’ll waive the initiation fee and give you two months on the back end with an annual sign-up of about $130ish). Also worth a mention: Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network (also a member…  mention GSL or John Boch and they’ll knock off $25 your first year’s membership and treat you like family – about $110) and US Concealed Carry Association (sign up with their group sales and your GSL membership gets you 15% off).

4. Protect your home and business with modern, state-of-the-art video surveillance. Cameras won’t protect your life in the moment, but they will save your life and protect your freedom (in glorious, vivid ultra-high definition) from a mob justice prosecution in the aftermath.

5. Consider installing a dash cam system in your car. These help in accidents. In a deadly force encounter? This footage could prove priceless, especially with the audio inside the car for a jury to witness first-hand what the occupants experienced if you’re attacked in your vehicle.

6. Remember that crowds can form quickly.  And violence can start in a matter minutes, especially in a crowd that’s “managed” by these experienced professional agitators.

You think it can’t happen in your city? Let me dispel that notion. Kenosha has a population of roughly 100,000.   That’s smaller than many of Illinois’ suburban areas and downstate metro areas like Decatur, Champaign-Urbana, Springfield, Peoria and Bloomington-Normal.

7. Be especially vigilant if your local PD shoots a black person. This goes double if the person is “unarmed.”  

The same goes for the upcoming election, folks.

Lots of Antifa “professionals” in major cities happily travel to a new city on a few hours’ notice. They can come to your town just as easily and they have turned up in small towns like Kenosha, Wauwatosa or Rochester, New York.

8. Don’t agitate a mob. In your car, avoid crowds in the streets. In your home, pull the blinds and stay inside.  Don’t – DO NOT – confront a mob on your porch or in your yard.  It will not go well for you.

Let them roam on your yard.  Call 9-1-1 and ask for help to lay the groundwork for your defense if things go south.  If they start playing with fire or storming into your home, that will be the time to employ deadly force to repel lethal threats against your home’s occupants.  Every member of the mob shares culpability for the actions of a few.  Nevertheless you should choose your shots judiciously.

9. Lastly, you can submit to their intimidation to avoid becoming a target.  Keep your opinions to yourself and keep your head down.  You can even say you’re going to support the locally “popular” candidate but vote your conscience inside the ballot box. 

But frankly, Americans don’t have a long history of cowering. Particularly not when faced by fascists.  Most of us would say “NUTS!” to this, but I’m just putting this option out for those who live deep behind enemy lines.