A left-wing group called “ShutdownDC” has posted a plan to shut down the country and try to force Donald Trump from office if the election is close. Ironically, since it’s a guide to attempting a coup, it’s entitled, “Stopping the Coup: The Disruption Guide for 2020.”
Early on, they make it clear that they should act if the election close, whether Biden is actually ahead or not.
We can assume that there will be mass confusion about what actually happened on election day and the following ballot counting period. We know Republicans will lie, manipulate, red bait, and antifa-bait their base. And we also know that the president will use the power available to him to influence the election in his favor. An attempted coup is possible–and perhaps probable. In the end, the actual electorate might be split, half truly believing that Trump was elected legally, and half knowing that he was not.Â
It is in this muddied context of legal and political wrangling that we must take action. We cannot wait to see how the chips fall. That will only ensure more power for the violent white supremacist machine that is the Trump administration and its supporters.
It’s extremely ironic that these radicals, like many Democrats, are accusing Trump of wanting to illegitimately remain in power while admitting that there may be, “mass confusion about what actually happened on election day.” Normally, there isn’t “mass confusion” about who won the election, so why would there be this time? Well, because Democrats, over the objections of Republicans, insisted on doing widespread mail-in voting for the first time in our nation’s history. Doesn’t it strike you as strange that Democrats are going to create this confusing situation and then claim to be terrified that Trump will take advantage of it?Â
Essentially, the goal of the guide seems to be to turn all of America into Portland in order to get their way. For example, from the “Points of Intervention” section,
Can you shut down the entire downtown area or shut down a single highway? Should you pressure your target by going to their headquarters or by occupying a space that disrupts commerce and publicly forcing a reaction from them?
From the “Organizing to Prevent a Coup section.”
What goods are being produced in your region, and how do they move? The other way to think about shutting down business as usual is to think about how goods and people move. Your region might have a system of highways and rails and ports. You might even be able to find out how things move by looking at your local Port Authority Website, if there is one. If there isnât, search for âlogistics hubsâ in your city.
As you start to plan, think about what it would take to shut things down, and remember to build in redundancy. One highway blockade can be cleared, but multiple ones are more challenging. Encampments outside homes combined with street blockades build in a kind of protection that if one tactic does not work, another one might.
What’s being discussed here is not “protesting.” What they are advocating is an insurrection with a goal of overthrowing the government. The Constitution gives us a right to peaceably assemble to petition the government, but that does not include deliberately blocking highways, setting up street blockades, or trying to institute a coup. There is no Constitutional right to do any of those things, nor should they be allowed anywhere in the United States.
