The extremist forums that cheered the January 6 attack on the Capitol have worsened the rally scheduled for Saturday in Washington, insisting without evidence that the event is a secret government plan to arrest more people involved in the riot .
Users of far-right groups and Facebook extremist forums such as The Donald and 4chan, which previously hosted images of users debuting in the rooms of a Washington hotel and even maps of the Capitol Tunnel system on days before the January 6 riot, it is largely users who guide users. away from the next event.
Those who post on these forums claim that they believe the event is a set-up for a “false flag” or “honey pot” event, in which they will be caught and forced to commit violence by federal agents.
The change offers a window into how the dynamics of some of the most active and extremist online forums have changed since Jan. 6, resulting in hundreds of arrests. Paranoia leads to many conversations and seems to inhibit the ability of some extremists to organize in the open network.
“Explain now how we’re supposed to protest without the FBI slamming the door and ending up in DC jail with no court date. I was at the Capitol on J6,” one user wrote to The Donald. “Any protest after J6 “It’s preparing to be a false flag. And you can’t talk about this ‘next level’ without the feds breaking through the door.”
The “Justice for J6” rally is hosted by Matt Braynard, who worked for Donald Trump’s campaign as director of data and strategy in 2016, and his organization Look Ahead America, according to his website. Look Ahead America is also planning rallies in 17 other cities across the country on the same day. He said rumors of “false flag” attacks are created by guys who want Trump supporters “to be made to think that the only answer is no action or violent action.”
“There are voices on the left and right trying to dissuade American patriots from believing that the electoral system can’t be fixed, that voting doesn’t matter, and that public demonstrations like ours are ‘false flag attacks’ and are useless, ”he said. dit.
The Department of Homeland Security has estimated that about 700 people will attend. Law enforcement is preparing for the event by installing temporary fences and activating a “greater presence” of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Some users of extremist forums say they plan to attend, and several cite President Joe Biden’s new vaccine terms as a boost. Other users believe the event is a trap set by federal agents, but they still suggest that their fellow forum users commit violence if they plan to attend.
At least one forum user urged other people to participate in violence if they were arrested anyway.
When asked about the violent rhetoric surrounding the event, Braynard said his group “has cooperated with Capitol, Metropolitan and Park police, has a large diplomatic security team and a large number of trained volunteers. to prevent incidents “.
Unlike the January 6 rally, Saturday’s event was hardly shared or advertised on major platforms. According to a search through the Facebook data tool CrowdTangle, Facebook’s most popular public post on the subject was only liked, shared and commented on 300 times and met resoundingly with members ’calls. to avoid the event.
The tag proposed by the organizers, # JusticeforJ6, was tweeted about 1,300 times, many of the people criticizing the event.
A Telegram channel for pro-Trump extremist band The Proud Boys announced last week, “We (the proud guys) are NOT going,” suggesting it was a trap.
QAnon’s influential leader, L. Lin Wood, echoed similar sentiments on Monday.
“I think a big rally in DC this weekend is a BAD idea,” he wrote.
Alex Goldenberg of the Network Contagion Research Institute, a group that tracks the reach of extremist groups online, said pro-Trump extremist groups focus heavily on rallies against vaccines that have been promoted. strongly on Telegram and Facebook in cities around the world.
“In July, NCRI detected more than 700 Telegram messages promoting the World Freedom Festival, which garnered more than 2 million views. Most publications promoted marketing material for the event internationally, customized for major cities around the world, “he told NBC News. “This month, we have seen exponential growth in the trend with more than 3,000 telegram messages accumulating more than 15 million views.”
There will also be an iteration in Washington of the rally on Saturday, called the World Rally Freedom Rally. Concentrations attract anti-mask and anti-vaccine protesters, and usually include a march.