While writing about the pro-Hamas protesters blocking Interstate 5 for hours over the weekend I got an alert about a similar protest happening in Manhattan. And I got to wondering.
How different are the tactics of protesters from the terrorists they support anyway?
It's the same kind of question I ask about Joe Biden's decision trees. If you wanted to tarnish the image and imperil American citizens, would you do anything differently from what Biden has done?
On Saturday, Jan. 6, protesters supporting Hamas, the terrorist group that runs Gaza, blocked Interstate 5 in Seattle for nearly three hours.
It was the same dangerous stunt Black Lives Matter (BLM) pulled on the same Seattle freeway on July 4, 2022. One protester died, and another was grievously injured by a motorist.
Tens of thousands of hours, dollars, shipping, working, and entertainment opportunity costs were stolen as protesters were allowed to block roads, bridges, and the interstate to throw their collective hissy fit.
Related: This Happened After Hamas Protesters Trapped Thousands of Drivers on Seattle Freeway for Hours
On Monday, Jan. 8, pro-terror protesters conspired to cut off traffic to the island of Manhattan at the same time. It was obviously a conspiracy. The pro-Hamas protesters blocked the Holland Tunnel, Manhattan Bridge, and Brooklyn Bridge to block commerce on the island of Manhattan.
Pro-Palestine protesters in NYC simultaneously blocked off the Holland Tunnel, Brooklyn Bridge, and Manhattan Bridge to cause traffic all over NYC. Where are the police?? Arrest them all and deport the non citizens! pic.twitter.com/gbBc5YfuLg
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 8, 2024
Pro-Hamas/anti-Jewish protesters blocked roads to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City on New Year's Day.
In Portland, Ore., in May 2021, armed Antifa and Black Lives Matter "protesters" held people hostage at a checkpoint and beat two men, sending at least one to the hospital.
In Portland, BLM free radical cells, if you will, at various times stopped traffic, beat one man, vandalized cars, and robbed people of their right to freedom of movement. In one notorious incident, they chased an old man in his car down the street.
Another time in Portland in 2016, before most people had ever heard of Antifa or BLM, a mob surrounded a reporter they didn't like and tried to "beat him out of" a protest held on a public street they'd commandeered without a permit (there's that pesky time, place, and manner situation again). The reporter pulled his legally concealed gun, never had his finger on the trigger, never fired a shot, and lived another day. The reporter was prosecuted.
This same bunch has tried to kill reporter Andy Ngo, who was forced to move from the country to escape their violence. This was after the mob came after his parents — Vietnamese refugees who fled from the communists.
Related: Special West Coast, Messed Coast™ Winners and Losers Gun Grabber Edition
You might be wondering now: how are these "protester" tactics differ from people we call terrorists?
Here's how the FBI defines terrorism.
The FBI defines terrorism, domestic or international, as the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government or civilian population in furtherance of political or social objectives. [emphasis added]
This nationwide attempt to intimidate or coerce the government and civilian population into a cease-fire to help the terrorist group or attempt to get the government to capitulate to them is coercion. Do what we say, or we'll handcuff your citizens.
ISIS, Al Qaeda, and every other terror group block roadways, conduct armed checkpoints, prevent commerce, shipping, and groceries from getting to hungry mouths, and deprive humans of going where they want to go. They use terror tactics to instill fear in citizens.
After the 1993 attempt to bring down the World Trade Center Towers with a truck bomb that killed six people, the same Al Qaeda terrorists plotted to blow up the Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel, George Washington Bridge, and other landmarks in New York City, including the UN.
They used airplanes as missiles on 9/11.
What are the first things an enemy force would do before attacking? Prepare the battlefield. That means they spread propaganda, and attempt to gain power over information sources. The protesters have already done this. The media already give these pro-terror protesters a platform and publish their propaganda.
Then what else do enemies do? Well, they shut down or command power over transportation sources. Freeways, airports, trains.
What do enemy invaders do? Invade. Look at our Southern Border.
The question is whether enemies of the United States would do anything much different than these protesters already are. And are these dry runs for a real thing?
I'm obviously not in favor of criminalizing speech. After what the FBI has done to Jan. 6 protesters I don't trust them. After it or other federal agencies acted as agents provocateurs, I don't trust them. After the Gretchen Whitmer "kidnapping" plot by the same bad actors who brought you the Jan. 6 "insurrection," I don't trust them.
Related: AOC Gives Away the Game on America's Southern Border Crisis
Longtime readers of PJ Media will certainly know that I am a Civil Libertarian, capital C, capital L. I'm not talking about outlawing protest, that would be unconstitutional. But remember that the government can impose time, place, and manner restrictions on such speech. Most times the radical and violent protesters conduct their protests without government approval. I understand the sentiment, but if you do break the law, the cops should get their Freddie Gray van ready and round them up.
The feds, local cops, and sheriffs had better take their thumbs out of their backsides, knock off the ridiculous Jan. 6 prosecutorial overreach BS, and demonstrate their willingness to harden these essential targets from "protester" takeovers. The year 2024 is like a hanging curveball for bad actors to do their bad stuff.
It would be nice if we could tell the difference between the good guys and the bad.
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Thank you. And a happy new year! It's going to be a doozy.
