The #DisruptJ20 group may find itself hauled into court by pro-Trumpers who are celebrating the inauguration on Thursday night.
Mike Cernovich, the author and filmmaker who is one of the organizers of the “Deploraball,” says his group has filed a criminal complaint in connection with the anti-Donald Trump #Distrupt20-affiliated operatives who allegedly planned to set off stink bombs at the pro-Trump inauguration party. A civil lawsuit is also in the works.
As indicated by its name, #DistruptJ20 plans a “festival of resistance” to protest the inauguration ceremony for President-elect Trump which takes place on Friday, January 20, in the nation’s capitol.
The Deploraball — which is a callback to Hillary Clinton’s famous “basket of deplorables” remark about Trump supporters — is a social event scheduled for the night before Donald Trump is sworn in for about 1,000 pro-Trump grassroots activists and social media luminaries who backed Trump for president. The gala will take place at the National Press Club in D.C.
A Project Veritas video released yesterday purports to show members of the D.C. Anti-Fascist Coalition, which apparently is part of the #DisruptJ20 umbrella organization, allegedly discussing deploying a pint of butyric acid (a.k.a. stink bombs) into the HVAC system of the National Press Club during the party. Triggering the venue’s fire alarm sprinkler systems to send Deploraball attendees out into the freezing cold is another scheme that the activists allegedly consider on the James O’Keefe Project Veritas undercover video.
After the edited footage had emerged, #DisruptJ20 responded that the individuals in the hidden camera video were engaging in something along the line of a reverse sting, in that they were purposely feeding bogus information to O’Keefe’s undercover journalist, and that they had no intention of engaging in any violent acts.
James O’Keefe insists (see below) that more video content is forthcoming to challenge that assertion.
“In a statement, #DisruptJ20 said the activists in the undercover video figured out the Project Veritas investigator was a plant and ‘gave him false information about … what they felt was the most humorous red herring available: a false plot to use stink bombs at an event called the Deploraball with the so-called ‘Alt-Right,’” the Washington Times detailed .
In a Periscope video (embedded below), Mike Cernovich accuses the activists, who allegedly purchased tickets to the Deploraball, of conspiring to commit domestic terrorism, Real Clear Politics reported .
“They seem to think it is just a prank, and I would refer them to the Dept. of Justice’s own website. It is actually a felony…This isn’t funny at all. It is terrorism…We have filed a criminal complaint against the conspirators, and the FBI is investigating that right now, and tomorrow we will be filing a civil action against them also, against the domestic terrorists who purchased tickets…This is a criminal conspiracy to commit terrorism, and we’re treating it like the serious criminal felony that it is…”
“When you go on video, and you admit to committing an act of domestic terrorism, and then you buy tickets, that is an overt act,” he claimed.
Cernovich, a former lawyer who runs the Danger & Play website, adds that security will be tight at the Deploraball, and as a condition of entry, names will be matched to tickets, a form of extreme vetting as it were, but that any attendee who feels unsafe can obtain a refund.
Part 2 will be out later today, but here’s our response to #dj20 and their claim that they were “just playing along” pic.twitter.com/uaZ5TruDi1
— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) January 17, 2017
In a statement, the Deploraball separately announced they it has hired a professional security team to oversee the party and that “With all the high-testosterone veterans and alphas attending, a protester would be foolish to try to infiltrate the party — but we are still taking every possibility seriously,” Gateway Pundit reported . The announcement also comes with a recommendation to avoid engaging with any protesters that attendees might encounter outside the National Press Club.
[Featured Image by Seth Wenig/AP Images]