First let me say what many others have at this point. This was nothing more than a Trump rally. All the same flags and many of the same signs from those about the deep state, or about Democrats being corrupt... all the same. They weren& #39;t trying to even hide it.
When I went to the rally to the time that I hit send to my editor at @NationofChange, over 300 more people were killed by COVID-19. People I talked to said the threat was overblown, especially in their state. Jonathon was one of them.
“It’s a virus, just like any other virus. Yes, it’s dangerous, but it’s not an epidemic. It’s not worth shutting our country down for. We need to get back to work.” -Jonathon

He& #39;s wearing this get up because his ancestry is German and the Romans used to see them at barbarians.
He, like everyone I talked to, got their info about this rally from Facebook... they also get their news there too.

“If you look anywhere but fake news, you’ll know it’s not an epidemic.” -Jonathon from Lancaster PA
I always try to be nice and try to be understanding to the people that I talk to at these things as it gets people to talk and show their real feelings about things more than a confrontational interview. But here, like at the Unite the Right Rally in CVille I didn& #39;t have to ask.
At the time that this rally happened, 1100 people were killed by COVID-19 and these people thought it was best to mock everything about it. From the people that are correctly worried about, the media and the dead.
You& #39;d think that being religious Christians you might understand compassion and sacrificing for the good of everyone... but no. Not these & #39;Christians.& #39;

I& #39;m guessing these folks would only sacrifice themselves to the lions if Caesar told them too.
Side note, @NationofChange is a non-profit news source that was the ONLY news outlet to send me to cover things like this and support my continuing coverage of the far right. I wouldn& #39;t have been at the Unite the Right rally if it wasn& #39;t for them. https://www.nationofchange.org/donate/ ">https://www.nationofchange.org/donate/&q...
Speaking of the media - we were one of the main enemies of this rally. Which isn& #39;t surprising, as the media is the target of every Trump rally.
A number of Alex Jones/Infowars fans were present—which isn& #39;t be surprising as Jones has been using this pandemic as a way to sell his wares, from food buckets to silver infused toothpaste that he has claimed at different times could either cure you or prevent the virus.
While I didn& #39;t see any signs of specific militia/extremist groups a lot of the general signs and flags were there.

Any one of these things don& #39;t necessarily mean anything, like the don& #39;t tread on me flag isn& #39;t & #39;far-right& #39; but it& #39;s an indicator... just like the Hawaiin shirts.
Hawaiin shirts have become something to wear to pro-gun/militia/etc rallies as a joke about & #39;the boogaloo.& #39; "Civil War 2: Electric Boogaloo."

The @ADL explains it here better than I can on twitter. https://www.adl.org/blog/the-boogaloo-extremists-new-slang-term-for-a-coming-civil-war">https://www.adl.org/blog/the-...
As I said in the piece at @NationofChange this is a Trump rally - and it showcased better than anything I& #39;ve ever covered hoe Trump won in 2016. Pure devotion from an unusual but logical grouping people. Anti-vaxxers, Militia types, libertarians, contrarians and extreme religious
This in concentrated form becomes his Qanon followers. Who were, of course there in numbers.
While I wrote 1200 words in this piece about why this is the obvious conclusion to Trump winning 2016, I think that this sign summarizes it perfectly. Also - note that it& #39;s not a middle-age white dude holding it.

MAGA is death cult, there& #39;s no argument. https://www.nationofchange.org/2020/04/25/reopen-america-rally-goers-are-members-of-trumps-death-cult/">https://www.nationofchange.org/2020/04/2...
If you want to support a photojournalist that pretty much solely covers this sort of thing, you can do that here: http://Patreon.com/zdroberts ">https://Patreon.com/zdroberts...

Help me buy some more PPE. Or if you have some extra masks, DM me. This was my last one.
You can follow @zdroberts.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: