cates, brian epoch
<div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">musk gets credit?</font></div><div><div>
</div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">mma 6 23</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.38;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>youTube’s decision to permit content promoting election conspiracy theories and misinformation is being heralded by right-wing media and figures as a win for “free speech.”</b> </font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The platform <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/06/02/us-election-fraud-youtube-policy" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">confirmed</a> to Axios on June 2 that it would allow users to upload content claiming that “fraud, errors or glitches occurred in the 2020 presidential election and other U.S. elections.” The decision reverses a December 2020 election integrity policy, which the company reportedly felt could have the effect of “curtailing political speech without meaningfully reducing the risk of violence or other real-world harm." </font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On Friday, Media Matters’ Julie Millican released a <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/google/youtubes-reversal-2020-election-integrity-policy-sets-stage-encore-insurrection" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">statement</a> condemning the decision: “YouTube and the other platforms that preceded it in weakening their election misinformation policies, like Facebook, have made it clear that one attempted insurrection wasn’t enough. They’re setting the stage for an encore.” </font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>In March, YouTube <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/google/youtube-just-reinstated-trump-and-its-weak-policies-will-allow-him-spread-harmful" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">reinstated</a> former President Donald Trump’s account </b><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b>–</b> </span></span></span>which was suspended following the January 6 attack on the Capitol <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">– </span></span></span>despite his <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/facebook/trumps-activity-truth-social-proves-he-too-dangerous-be-metas-platforms" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">continued</a> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/facebook/metas-policies-wont-stop-trump-pushing-election-misinformation-ahead-2024" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">attempts</a> to push the election misinformation that resulted in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/01/17/jan6-committee-report-social-media/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">real-world</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2022/11/08/election-day-disinformation/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">violence</a>. The decision to allow election conspiracy theories to circulate on the platform recklessly ignores social media as a major <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/waynerash/2021/01/19/disinformation-propelled-by-social-media-and-conspiracy-theories-led-to-insurrection/?sh=3117b79334e0" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">factor</a> in the deadly insurrection. </font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Some right-wing media outlets and figures are celebrating the policy change, claiming that it’s a win for conservatives, who </span><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/facebook/new-study-finds-facebook-not-censoring-conservatives-despite-their-repeated-attacks" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">falsely</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> </span><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/tucker-carlson/tucker-carlson-says-hes-starting-show-twitter-he-spent-years-complaining-about" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">claim</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> that social media platforms are censoring them. </span><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Others have also linked the decision to Elon Musk rolling back content moderation policies on Twitter, </b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">with <b>some saying Musk paved the way for YouTube’s decision.</b> </span></font></p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 1rem;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Right-wing outlets and figures celebrated that election conspiracy theories will be allowed on the platform again </font></strong></h3><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; clear: both; list-style: none; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding-left: 3rem; position: relative;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Reacting to the news, “Stop the Steal” organizer <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ali Alexander </strong><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4006581" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">declared</a> on Telegram that “Stop the Steal prevails.”</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding-left: 3rem; position: relative;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/right-side-broadcasting" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Right Side Broadcasting</a> reporter <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Liz Willis </strong><a href="https://twitter.com/LizWillis_/status/1664702167729700864?s=20" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">tweeted</a>: “HUGE - YouTube reverses ‘election misinformation policy,’ allows people to discuss the fraudulent 2020 election.” </font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding-left: 3rem; position: relative;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Former Epoch Times columnist-turned-QAnon influencer </b><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Brian Cates</span> </strong>celebrated the news on <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Telegram</span>, <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4006579" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">saying</a>, “First they mock and ridicule you. Then they angrily call you a bigot and a liar. Then they ban you. Then they admit you were right and THEN YOU WIN.”</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding-left: 3rem; position: relative;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Notorious election deniers and founders of <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/voter-fraud-and-suppression/how-true-vote-cultivated-relationships-qanon-influencers-target" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">True the Vote</a> </span><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Catherine Engelbrecht </span>and Gregg Phillips </strong><a href="https://twitter.com/onwardsocial/status/1664710593687715841?s=20" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">tweeted</a> about the news, saying of YouTube: “Just figured out they committed billions of federal crimes? …nope just figured out they lost 1/2 of Americas eyeballs and the money that comes with them.”</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding-left: 3rem; position: relative;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Following the policy reversal, the <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/rumble/qanon-supporters-find-home-rumble-dominating-platforms-leaderboard-most-liked-daily-videos#::text=The%20Badlands%20Media,month%20to%20date.%E2%80%9D" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">QAnon account</a> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Badlands Media </strong>suggested the account would post election misinformation on YouTube, <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4006580" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">saying</a>, “Let's see if YouTube is actually going to backtrack on censorship. If you're on there, be sure to subscribe to Badlands Media! We'll be putting it to the test.”</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding-left: 3rem; position: relative;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gateway Pundit writer and Badlands Media host <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Brian Lupo</strong>, who is known online as “CannCon” and was allegedly <a href="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/06/youtube-reverses-course-election-misinformation-censorship/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=youtube-reverses-course-election-misinformation-censorship#::text=The%20Gateway%20Pundit%E2%80%99s%20Brian%20Lupo%20(CannCon)%20was%20banned%20from%20YouTube%20in%20June%202021%20after%20a%20hit%20piece%20from%20Media%20Matters%20made%20claims%20against%20several%20channels%20that%20were%20covering%20the%202020%20Arizona%20Audit%20in%20Maricopa%20County." style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">banned</a> from YouTube in June 2021 for posting election misinformation, celebrated YouTube’s policy reversal. Lupo <a href="https://twitter.com/CannConActual/status/1664706106499780614?s=20" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">declared</a> on Twitter, “YouTube back in play!!!!”</font></li></ul><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 1rem;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Right-wing media figures and outlets praised Musk for “moving the needle” and implied his actions influenced YouTube’s decision</font></strong></h3><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; clear: both; list-style: none; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding-left: 3rem; position: relative;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On Twitter, right-wing influencer <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">ALX </strong>credited Musk for YouTube’s decision, <a href="https://twitter.com/alx/status/1665724503660306434?s=20" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">saying</a>, “Last week, YouTube reversed their policy on talking about election fraud just as <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Twitter has been focusing on long form content. … Twitter is moving the needle and forcing other platforms to swing toward Free Speech.”</span></font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding-left: 3rem; position: relative;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Cheering on YouTube’s move, Judicial Watch President <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Tom Fitton</strong> <a href="https://twitter.com/TomFitton/status/1664695775098535937?s=20" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">tweeted</a> that the decision was a sign “of the impact of @ElonMusk's free speech reforms.”</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding-left: 3rem; position: relative;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On Twitter, former Fox Business host <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Trish Regan</strong> <a href="https://twitter.com/trish_regan/status/1664748377228169225?s=20" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">asked</a> if YouTube made the decision because the platform is <b>“worried about Twitter competition.”</b> </font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding-left: 3rem; position: relative;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The right-wing outlet </span><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Epoch Times </strong><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/youtube-reverses-policy-on-censoring-claims-of-stolen-2020-election_5309982.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=digitalsub" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">e</span>mphasized</a> Musk in coverage of YouTube’s policy reversal and parroted Musk’s framing that he is a free speech “‘absolutist’ … who took over Twitter last year with a pledge to remove political bias from the platform and make it more balanced.”</font></li></ul></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy7wvj/lions-of-liberty-oath-keepers-midterm-ballot-boxes">https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy7wvj/lions-of-liberty-oath-keepers-midterm-ballot-boxes</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>
</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Armed Fringe Groups Are Gearing Up to ‘Protect’ Midterm Ballot Dropboxes</b></font></font></font></font></div><div><b>The groups, inspired by conspiracy theories and the Big Lie about the 2020 election, could deter some voters, experts warn.</b></div><div>TO</div><div>By Tess Owen</div><div>October 6, 2022Screenshot of a YCPT meeting in August led by Jim Arroyo</div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">A “patriot group” in Arizona called Lions of Liberty—which is closely tied to the Oath Keepers—is organizing their supporters to go out and conduct round-the-clock surveillance of ballot dropboxes during the midterm elections. It’s the latest sign that groups with clear ties to extremists, galvanized by conspiracy theories, are seeking to take matters into their own hands this election season. </span></div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">Ballot dropboxes have become the central focus of election fraud conspiracy theorists, thanks to the debunked documentary 2,000 Mules, by right-wing commentator Dinesh D’Souza.</span></div><div>
</div><div>That film claims that a shadowy network of hired “mules” in contested states were hired by nonprofits as part of a giant ballot trafficking operation to stuff dropboxes with fake absentee ballots, all with the goal of stealing the 2020 election from Donald Trump. The film was released in May, six months before the midterms, reinvigorated the “Stop the Steal” movement and inspired vigilante efforts around the country—in some cases spearheaded by innocuous-sounding groups that obscure the known ideologues and extremists behind them. </div><div>
</div><div><b>Lions of Liberty is the “political arm” of a newly-formed nonprofit called Yavapai County Preparedness Team (YCPT),</b> l<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">ed by the former vice president of Arizona’s Oath Keeper chapter, Jim Arroyo</span>. At a meeting in August that was posted to YouTube, Arroyo explained that they had turned the Oath Keeper chapter into a corporate nonprofit under the name of YCPT, which in turn gave them the ability to get a bank account. </div><div>
</div><div><b>In an email to VICE News, Arroyo said that the Arizona chapter officially broke ties with the national leadership of the notorious militia group after it was implicated in the violent riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6.</b> (Five members are currently standing trial for seditious conspiracy charges, including the group’s leader Stewart Rhodes. Prosecutors allege that Rhodes and his cohort plotted an “armed rebellion to shatter a bedrock of American democracy.”) However, they had been operating more or less independently from the national organization for about four years, said Arroyo; Rhodes broke ties with the Arizona contingent after they declined to assist in armed vigilante activities at the border, out of respect for Border Patrol. </div><div>
</div><div>News</div><div>The Oath Keepers’ Jan. 6 Texts Sure Do Look Damning</div><div>GREG WALTERS</div><div>10.05.22</div><div>
</div><div>Arroyo, who insists YCPT is not a militia, led that August meeting in an Oath Keepers hat and T-shirt. He explained to the crowd that he would need volunteers to monitor ballot drop boxes, and that he was particularly concerned about the period between midnight and 6 a.m. “If you saw the movie 2,000 Mules” he said, that timeframe was “when the bulk of the problems happen, that’s when we will be on scene with a camera and flashlight.” Arroyo told VICE News that some volunteers might be armed. “This is Arizona; almost everyone is armed, all the time,” he said. “That's not a big deal here.”</div><div>
</div><div>Arroyo said he will likely pick up a couple of shifts to monitor dropboxes. </div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In the August meeting, Arroyo assured members of the crowd that they’d be welcome to continue wearing their Oath Keepers merch, even while conducting ballot dropbox surveillance. “Your shirts and hats are what tell the world you’re not ashamed to be an Oath Keeper, or afraid of the government just because of that crap that happened on January the 6th, which was completely staged. It was a setup,” Arroyo said, before acknowledging, “Yeah, they did something stupid beyond all belief.”</span> </div><div>
</div><div><b>During the meeting, Arroyo also stoked fears of an imminent civil war. “This is not the same as (Black Lives Matter) and George Floyd or antifa. This is a direct confrontation with the federal government,” he said. “This is now the federal government of the United States of America in direct conflict with its own citizenry.”</b></div><div>The Lions of Liberty describe themselves as a “resolute nucleus of concerned, passionate conservative patriots who are determined to correct the course for our country which has been hijacked and undermined by global elites, communists, leftists, deep state bureaucrats, and fake news.” Their goal? “To bring God back to our leadership and win this spiritual battle for the soul of our nation.” </div><div>
</div><div>The Lions of Liberty aren’t the only ones calling for and coordinating vigilante activity around the midterm elections. </div><div>
</div><div>Devin Burghart, executive director of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, a Seattle-based nonprofit, has been closely tracking this trend. </div><div>
</div><div>“The threat of groups of far-right vigilantes, some potentially armed, fueled by Big Lie misinformation, lurking near ballot dropboxes, could potentially deter some from casting their votes,” warned Burghart. “The possibility of conflict in such a scenario is real.” </div><div>
</div><div>Burghart added that “dropbox vigilantism” perpetuates unsubstantiated claims of rampant voter fraud that “keep the Big Lie alive and further erodes confidence in elections and democracy.” </div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">
</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Former Washington state Rep. Matt Shea runs On Fire Ministries, an apocalyptic Christian nationalist church in Spokane, and has been leading “training sessions” for prospective volunteers to monitor dropboxes. </span></div><div>
</div><div><b>“We are doing something for the community. How many of you watched 2,000 Mules? Raise your hands,” said Shea during a service in September. “I think it would be good if we had some folks who were certified, trained, dropbox observers, in Spokane County.” The training took place on Sept. 30. </b></div><div>
</div><div>Shea is a particularly controversial character; a 2019 investigation by the Washington Legislature concluded that he’d “participated in an act of domestic terrorism” for his involvement in three armed conflicts against the federal government between 2014 and 2016, including the Bundys’ armed standoffs in Nevada and Oregon and an armed conflict with the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department in Priest River, Idaho. </div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">And a group called True the Vote, which was involved in the 2,000 Mules documentary, is also teaming up with the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) to monitor dropboxes nationwide. CSPOA is headed by Richard Mack, who has long-standing ties to the militia movement, including to the Oath Keeper</span>s.</div><div>
</div><div>“The plan from national Big Lie groups, like True the Vote, is to use those “voter fraud” claims to get sympathetic sheriffs to intervene in elections,” said Burghart. </div><div>
</div><div>Dropbox surveillance efforts started getting underway earlier this summer, during the primaries, described then by the New York Times as a “nascent” movement. In some places, like in Arizona, groups were planning dropbox “tailgate parties.” One person with a handle referencing QAnon posted a photo of their party to Trump’s platform Truth Social, and credited Seth Keshel, a former U.S. Army intelligence officer and conspiracy theorist, for the idea.</div><div>
</div><div>[Screenshot from the app TruthSocial showing a "dropbox tailgate party"</div><div><b>
</b></div><div><b>
</b></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"><b>Brian Cates, a columnist for the fringe-right publication The Epoch Times, has long been a proponent of the “Big Lie” and has been riling up his more than 120,000 followers on Telegram around the idea of taking matters into their own hands this election season</b>. </span></div><div>
</div><div>“The time for calling for people to just show up to vote is long past. We’re moving into another completely different era,” he wrote. “Citizens will be given the tools to monitor all the dropboxes and engage in massive real-time information operations in order to bring about election integrity.” </div><div>
</div><div>“Forewarned is forearmed,” he added. “An army of patriots is going to force compliance with the election laws in their states before these next elections are held.” </div><div>
</div><div>One of the primary examples of “evidence” of nefarious activity offered by 2,000 Mules was surveillance videos that appeared to show individuals posting multiple ballots into a dropbox, including in Georgia. Submitting multiple ballots on behalf of other people is known as “ballot harvesting,” and it is legal in several states, including Georgia. </div><div>
</div><div>However, the fact that submitting multiple ballots has been presented as a telltale sign of election fraud lays the groundwork for possible confrontations between dropbox “monitors” and people who are acting entirely within the law. (Right-wing political commentator Monica Matthews, from Clear Talk Media, even tried to remind her followers of this fact. “Before you all plan Dropbox tailgate parties to monitor the integrity of your elections- MAKE SURE you check your new state laws. Some states allow harvesting,” she wrote on Twitter in August. “Confronting people at dropboxes could land you in jail.”)</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Earlier this summer, ahead of Washington’s August 2 primary, some signs began showing up near dropboxes near Seattle saying “This Ballot Dropbox is Under Surveillance” and warned of criminal penalties for ballot harvesting, the Seattle Times reported. However, it’s also legal in Washington to drop off multiple ballots at once on behalf of family members.</span> </div><div>
</div><div><b>The signs also had a QR code that allowed passersby to report “suspicious activity” to the King County Republican Party </b>(whose chair disavowed the vigilante activity). Amber Krabach, a GOP activist, QAnon conspiracy theorist and member of the Kings County Republicans’ “Election integrity Committee”, was behind the signs. The county elections office asked the sheriff’s department to investigate whether Krabach had broken a state law barring civilians from influencing someone’s vote within 25 feet of a ballot dropbox. They didn’t press charges, but they did refer the matter to the FBI. </div><div>
</div><div>All these vigilante efforts are taking place against a backdrop of increasingly incendiary rhetoric from GOP figures and far-right forums alike, about what will happen if they get even so much of a whiff of “voter fraud” this election season. </div><div>
</div><div><b>“If our election systems continue to be rigged and continue to be stolen, then it’s going to lead to one place—and it’s bloodshed,” said ex-Congressman Madison Cawthorn at a GOP event in North Carolina this summer. </b></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">On Patriots.win, a pro-Trump forum, some have discussed the need to bring guns to monitor dropboxes. Someone shared an article from the right-wing Gateway Pundit claiming they’d found evidence of massive voter fraud in Detroit during the 2020 election. “We need people waiting for that shit this time and take that shit at gun point,” someone responded. “Use walkie-talkies and don't park anywhere near there or use fake plates and a vehicle wrap.”</span></div><div>
</div><div>Others, like Arroyo from YCPT, have stoked fears of an imminent civil war instigated by the Democrats. “Keep your powder dry until after the midterms,” one person wrote. “No matter what, they are going to try like hell to provoke a civil war before then.” </div><div><b>
</b></div><div><b>“Hold the line till Nov… then do whatever the fuck you gotta do,</b>” another user on patriots.win wrote.</div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">===</font></div>