© REUTERS/Stephanie Keith
The Antifa: Stories from Inside the Black Bloc,
chronicling the secret history of the radical anarchist group from their earliest days in Weimar Germany, to the battlefields of Syria, to their rise to prominence within the the United States.
Available June 1st. Pre-order now at https://www.antifabook.com/.
The riots began at the end of May, and by the end of August, nearly every state in the country had been hit. The pandemic lockdowns already had everyone on edge, then a video of a suspect dying in police custody went viral — the spark that lit the fuse. It was the summer of 2020. Riots raged in Minneapolis, from there, spreading to the West Coast and flaring to the East. Cities like Portland and Seattle first saw protests, then mobs of violent activists appeared overnight. In Chicago, New York, St. Louis, and Philadelphia, looters took to the streets, smashing storefronts and stealing their pick of what was inside. Cable networks and smartphone screens alike quickly filled with scenes of violence and carnage across American streets. Statues of America's founders and religious figures were toppled. Lafayette Park outside the White House filled with occupiers who set fire to a historic church.
Amid the mayhem, a singular force emerged: black-clad militants joined in the fray from city to city, urging protesters to go further, to cross the line. In some cases, armed militia wearing patches and flying flags of red and black appeared, chanting that they now controlled the streets. The coronavirus pandemic had forced mask-wearing in many American cities, and so the militants easily weaved in and out of the larger crowds that summer, unrecognizable. Pallets of bricks and construction materials sitting out on city streets became caches of weapons.
By the end of the summer, over 30 people had been killed in the riots. Nearly 700 police officers had been injured nation-wide. The damages were estimated to be in the billions across the country — the highest in American history.
Most people who participated in the summer riots of 2020 did so to support the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, who, for the most part, peacefully exercised their First Amendment right.
But another force attempted to infiltrate BLM, one dedicated to overturning the establishment through a violent insurrectionist revolution.
This was the Antifa.
Comment: Antifa is not just an idea.