Will Trump send the elder the cops knocked down to Gitmo?

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Gitmo

This is a serious question.

Ten days ago Trump tweeted:

The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020

Never mind that antifa is short for anti-fascists, like these guys:

#ExposeAntifa Here's some more old school Antifa. pic.twitter.com/xYeELw19Xf

— AllIsGood783 (@AGood783) June 4, 2020

And never mind that it's not an organization, just a label. The important point is that Trump considers anyone he labels as antifa to be a terrorist, and you know what they do to terrorists. They send them off to Gitmo or another black site for waterboarding and worst. From what I've seen, this important connection is being missed.

Martin Gugino photo by Justin Norman

Martin Gugino is the man Trump is threatening with terrorist status. He is a Buffalo native and long time peace activist. He has protested police brutality before, also military drones, climate change, and nuclear weapons. He is also a member of Witness Against Torture and has protested in the orange jumpsuit of a Guantanamo prisoner. Now it seems fair to conclude, Trump would like to see him wearing one for real.

On Thursday, 4 June 2020, he was knocked down by police in front of the Buffalo City Hall, and left bleeding on the ground. You've probably seen this video already. The really brutal part of how they all keep on marching off to war (against US citizens), and nobody even checks on Martin:



On Tuesday morning early, Trump sent out this tweet:

Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. @OANN I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2020

81 minutes later the Russian disinformation outlet Sputnik News is already out with a story on Trump's tweet:

Trump Says Elderly Buffalo Protester Shoved by Police 'Could Be Antifa Provocateur'
13:55 GMT 09.06.2020G
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested that an elderly man who was violently shoved by law enforcement during a protest in Buffalo, New York could be a "provocateur" member of the left-wing group Antifa. More...

Probably the reason they responded so quickly to Trump's tweet is that they gave him the idea in the first place. Trump references this report from the right-wing outlet OAN in his tweet:

Here's the absolutely insane OAN report that Trump is referencing: "The latest tensions in the Buffalo police department could be the result of a false flag provocation by far left group antifa" pic.twitter.com/d709XfSj8U

— Lis Power (@LisPower1) June 9, 2020

Turns out the reporter on this story also works for Spunik.

Everyone is pointing out the reporter has a Russian accent -- that's because, as many people have noted, he also works for Sputnik, the Kremlin's official propaganda outlet https://t.co/FBdQEAe91f

— Lis Power (@LisPower1) June 9, 2020

So, it would appear that Trump has taken a conspiracy theory propagated by a Russian agent through a right-wing outlet, and given it the strength of a presidential finding. Does he know he's a Russian asset? Anyway, it's easy to see why Sputnik was so quick to report its success, but this still leaves the question of why Democracy Now left out the Russian connection.

But the big question raised by these tweets is: Can the President of the United States so cavalierly equate a label to terrorism, and then apply that label to anybody with no due process and not even a shred of evidence? Given the awesome powers given to the president, and what he is allowed to do to terrorists, this is a most serious question that needs to be addressed.

Clay Claiborne