Tim Miller at the Bulwark said it best on a pod cast. The “Don’t Tread on Me,” Gadsden flag waving, concealed carry crowd has become the Comply or Die crowd. Right now people are hot and the longer the occupation of Minneapolis continues, the hotter they’ll get. And in a country that has more guns than people, where all 50 states have laws that allow people to carry concealed firearms, it’s almost guaranteed that ICE and CBP agents will come across armed people. It’s also possible someone just throws on some fatigues and and a mask and pretends to be ICE to do god knows what. (CBP appear to have more regular uniforms but some ICE members look like they showed up in their personal gear).

It’s a little over nine months until the next election. Although it seems impossible now, as a country we have the ability to forget the scenes of yet another extra-judicial killing by armed paramilitaries. After January 6, 2021, it seemed that Donald Trump was un-electable in the United States. And yet, here we are. I don’t think the pressure for mass deportations is going away and I don’t think the administration will let of the pedal for very long. I strongly suspect Steven Miller, that fucking ghoul, will be back demanding more arrests. That angry little fascist cosplayer, Bovino, is likely going to pop up some place else with some other gig. And I’m sure it will be just as cruel. He’s too “central casting” for this administration.

Friedman suggested we play a game “ICE or Hamas.” Try to figure out if the masked paramilitary is a terrorist or a US Federal employee. The truth is, they’re both terrorists. They’re both trying to terrorize populations into submission. This is clearly evident as the Federal Government makes demands in exchange for “letting up.” They both try to use brutality to try to instill that fear. Maybe they’ll go smaller and in more cities. Maybe they’ll just go to blue enclaves in red states. Maybe they’ll start raiding farms. Who knows? But to further the fascist state, you need to have thugs do intimidate the masses.

This is exactly the second amendment crowd’s wet dream. Masked federal gunmen coming in to take peoples’ rights. But the second amendment crowd has never been about all citizens’ rights to have firearms. Or about all citizens’ need to defend their rights. They wanted to show up at a protest, armed to the teeth, to try to intimidate the other side. This is yet one more example of the lying through their teeth we’ve seen from many of these rights absolutists. Just like the thinnest skins on freedom of speech are with people who demand you don’t censor their racist comments. They are liars.