[ IN THE LAST DAYS BEFORE THE 2020 PRESIDENTAL ELECTION, THIS FILM FEATURES RADICAL POLITICAL MOVEMENTS IN THE USA ]
[ THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE NOT SHARED BY EITHER THE RT NETWORK OR THE FILMMAKER ]
[ NEVERTHELESS, THESE RADICAL GROUPS ARE NOW A VERY REAL PART OF THE USA’S POLITICAL LANDSCAPE, REACHING WAY BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL RACE BETWEEN REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS ]
[ THEIR INTRANSIGENCE AND DEGREE OF DIVERGENCE HIGHLIGHT THE POLARISATION OF AMERICAN SOCIETY ON THE VERGE OF THE TENSEST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FOR DECADES ]
[ Konstantin Rozhkov Correspondent ] The US has a history of complicated and heated presidential elections.
[ Konstantin ] What's different this time is that the biggest political event
of the last four years is happening amid the coronavirus pandemic,
an unprecedented level of civil unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd,
and the rise of the radical groups on both sides of the political spectrum.
[ Pops Activist ] Right now, we're breaking a city ordinance.
[ Pops Activist ] Where are the cops at?
[ Konstantin ] These groups attract very angry members,
who have taken to the streets, making protests look like full-scale war.
[ Gray hood ] What you see here was only a taste of what’s about to happen.
[ Konstantin ] These demonstrators are sometimes heavily-armed,
and they're not afraid of violence or law enforcement.
[ Mike Dunn Boogaloo Boys ] If you want a war, let it begin with us.
[ Konstantin ] We're going to travel across the US over the next week
to meet these groups and their leaders, to find out how far they're ready
to go to fight for what they believe is good for this country.
[ USA 2020: UP IN ARMS ]
[ Konstantin ] We're in Virginia to meet members of a group called the Boogaloo Boys.
[ Konstantin ] The Boogaloo Boys have been around for
several years now, but they recently came into
the media spotlight during this summer's anti-lockdown
and anti-government protests.
[ Konstantin ] In August, several dozen heavily-armed men
in tactical gear, carrying big guns, showed up for a rally in
Virginia's capital, Richmond.
[ Leader ] All of the rights to all of the people. [ Chant ] All of the rights to all of the people.
[ Konstantin ] Among the demonstrators were the Boogaloo Boys,
who could be identified from their bright Hawaiian shirts
they wore beneath their bullet-proof vests.
[ Konstantin ] This became one of their symbols, their 'style', if you will.
[ Konstantin ] It's been reported in the American press that many of the movement's adherents
are preparing for a Second Civil War.
[ Konstantin ] So now we're about to meet one of the most prominent Boogaloo Boys,
Mike Dunn, a flamboyant 20-year-old former Marine from Virginia,
who was at the forefront of an armed protest in this state.
[ Dunn ] I don't incite violence, I incite defence.
[ Konstantin ] How many guns do you have? [ Dunn ] Myself personally? [ Konstantin ] Yeah. [ Dunn ] Well, me and my brother collect,
but we probably have.
[ Dunn ] I dunno, over 50.
[ Konstantin ] Why do you need to have so many?
[ Dunn ] Why do I NOT need to have so many?
[ Konstantin ] So Boogaloo, exactly what does that mean? It's... [ Dunn ] It just means, to us, it means revolution.
[ Konstantin ] Revolution?
[ Dunn ] Yes sir.
[ Konstantin ] What kind of revolution?
[ Dunn ] Whatever revolution needs to happen, whether it be a mind revolution,
or if, you know, the US keeps going
the path it's going, we will re-instil the constitution
to its rightful place as the supreme law of the land.
[ Konstantin ] In one of your interviews, you talked about the French Revolution.
[ Dunn ] Yes, I did.
[ Konstantin ] How they, basically, guillotined all
the elite to start everything from scratch.
[ Dunn ] They got fed up with the way
the government was doing things and they did a complete reset.
[ Dunn ] And that's something I think is coming to the United States.
[ Konstantin ] Is it a distant thing, in your opinion, or is it something that is
right around the corner?
[ Dunn ] I can't really name a point where everybody will just rise up and say,
"We're done."
[ Dunn ] But we're in the early stages of a revolution as it is.
[ Dunn ] You look at the civil unrest across the US, you look at groups like mine
that are standing up and saying,
"We're tired, we're done with it."
[ Dunn ] We're already in the early stages of a revolution.
[ Konstantin ] Mike was arrested for openly carrying a pistol,
something that is prohibited in the city of Newport News,
where we are, but legal in the State of Virginia.
[ Konstantin ] He was later released, and today he's staging an armed rally
in front of Newport News Police Headquarters to demonstrate his disagreement
with the law that, as he sees it, takes away his right to bear firearms.
[ Dunn ] Well, them arresting me was the wrong thing for them do.
[ Dunn ] If you want a war, let it begin with us.
[ Dunn ] Alright, good.
[ Dunn ] Let me go find the chief of police.
[ Konstantin ] This is Portland.
[ Konstantin ] A city that's become a flashpoint for civil unrest that's probably
the most extreme this country has seen since the Vietnam era.
[ Konstantin ] Severe riots, vandalism, brutal street fights,
teargas, rubber bullets, even public burnings of American flags
and the Bible, have all become regular sights in Portland.
[ Konstantin ] There are constant fights between
left- and right-wing activist, between Trump and Biden supporters,
between rioters and law enforcement.
[ Konstantin ] A lot of people talk about deep divisions in America and
the polarisation that's taking place.
[ Konstantin ] Well here, you can see it completely out in the open,
and at its most extreme.
[ Marc Rodriguez History Professor, Portland State University ] Portland has a long history of active protests and
a long history of an activist culture.
[ Marc ] Many of these protests have their origin in the protests
after the 2016 election, and then later what we started
to see after Black Lives Matter,
the BLM movement, was a more sustained commitment to being out on the streets.
[ Konstantin ] President Trump has repeatedly accused an organization called Antifa
of the most extreme violence and destruction on Portland's streets.
[ Trump ] The violence and vandalism is being led by Antifa
and other radical left-wing groups.
[ Konstantin ] What is Antifa?
[ Marc ] Now the Anti-fascists tend to be committed to a couple of basic ideas.
[ Marc ] The idea that they're anti-racists.
[ Marc ] Many will also refer to themselves as anti-racist protesters.
[ Marc ] If you went out and interviewed people that self-describe
themselves as anti-fascist, you'd have a hard time
finding out who is the leader, because it doesn't seem
as if there are leaders.
[ Konstantin ] Are you guys with Antifa or are you just regular protesters?
[ Bearded Man ] Antifa is an ideology.
[ Bearded Man ] It's a belief that a lot of people hold, but it's not a group.
[ Bearded Man ] I myself, my wife, and most of us - we're just protesters.
[ Konstantin ] Why do you need the knife with you?
[ Bearded Man ] This is for several things.
[ Bearded Man ] One, I am a knife fanatic - I love blades.
[ Bearded Man ] And it's also for self-protection.
[ Konstantin ] Self-protection - from who?
[ Bearded Man ] A lot of people.
[ Bearded Man ] There's a lot of people that, they say me with my BLM shirt
or something like that, and they don't like it.
[ Bearded Man ] They try to start fights.
[ Konstantin ] What do you guys make of the upcoming election,
because I've heard a lot of things that probably this is the most turbulent.
[ Grey Hoodie Man ] With the upcoming election, I feel like if Trump ends up in office,
what you're seeing here was only a taste of what's about to happen.
[ Other Man ] If Trump gets re-elected, it will lead to civil war.
[ Other Man ] You can pretty much guarantee it.
[ Konstantin ] But when you say "civil war", how do you picture this?
[ Bearded Man ] Citizens like me and him are going to have to take up arms
against the police, against racist groups just to be able to live.
[ Konstantin ] People talk about the civil war and how they're going to take up
firearms so easily at this time, which is quite disturbing.
[ Konstantin ] Anyway, this man with a knife, he agreed to take us to
one of Portland's street protests tonight, and we'll see how it goes.
[ Konstantin ] Hopefully, no one gets hurt.
[ Konstantin ] We are in Lansing, the capital of the State of Michigan.
[ Konstantin ] And we came here for two reasons.
[ Konstantin ] First, there's going to be a huge 'Unity' rally
in front of the city's Capitol (building), which is about to start.
[ Konstantin ] And second, Lansing made the national news recently
when several local militia members were arrested for plotting to kidnap
the state's Governor.
[ Konstantin ] According to the FBI, the men were ready to storm the state's Capitol, right here,
and, if need be, to start a civil war days before the November election.
[ Konstantin ] So let's find out what's going on here.
[ Konstantin ] What's your name?
[ Masked Man ] I'm not giving my name, sorry.
[ Konstantin ] Oh, sure.
[ Konstantin ] So why do you need to cover your face?
[ Konstantin ] Is that a COVID thing, or you just don't want to be disclosed?
[ Masked Man ] A little bit of both.
[ Masked Man ] We're here to have a conversation with Antifa/BLM militia groups.
[ Konstantin ] Then why do you have to carry a gun with you?
[ Masked Man ] Because it's my constitutional right to do so.
[ Speaker ] All of these women, men, whatever they identify as, up here,
have the right to arm themselves - key point - against the government. [ Cheers ] [ SECOND AMENDMENT, CONSTITUTION OF THE USA: «A WELL-REGULATED MILITIA, BEING NECESSARY TO THE SECURITY OF A FREE STATE, THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS, SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED» ]
[ Konstantin ] In the American media, groups like Boogaloo are usually
being portrayed as White Supremacists or nationalist or racist.
[ Konstantin ] Well, it's not exactly true because, as you just saw,
they had an African American guy on the steps,
on that makeshift stage, and he was giving a speech,
and he received a really good welcome.
[ Cheers ]
[ Konstantin ] What do you think about this story of the alleged kidnap plotting
of the local governor?
[ Masked Man ] I don't think it was a smart idea.
[ Masked Man ] I don't think it was good to do so at all.
[ Masked Man ] But I get why.
[ Konstantin ] And why?
[ Masked Man ] Well, the one guy he lost his job.
[ Masked Man ] He had no funding.
[ Masked Man ] He had to go and live
in another guy's basement.
[ Masked Man ] What would you?
[ Masked Man ] How would you feel?
[ Konstantin ] Well I could answer that,
definitely not attempting to
to kidnap a.
[ Masked Man ] Well, I get that
local official
but that there's nothing getting done in our government,
and that is why you have the Boogaloo movement.
[ Speaker ] The Founding Fathers did not envision a nation of 360 million people
being crowded under one centralised government.
[ Speaker ] The first step is to nullify some of those powers.
[ Konstantin ] Just a quick side note on what just happened.
[ Konstantin ] This guy, Mike Dunn, he came up to the Police Department
fully-armed with an assault rifle as well as
dozens of other Boogaloo Boys and guess what?
[ Konstantin ] Nothing happened.
[ Konstantin ] Not only were they not arrested, but the Police Department actually
provided them with a sound system so they can have
this makeshift stage
and you know, can have a demonstration.
[ Pops Activist ] Right now, we're breaking a city ordinance.
[ Pops Activist ] Where are the cops at?
[ Pops Activist ] Where are they?
[ Pops Activist ] I'm serious, like, where are they?
[ Reporter ] Why do you think no one here was cited or arrested today?
[ Masked Man ] Because we're all here and we're all heavily-armed.
[ Masked Man ] We're unified, and they know they mess with one of us, they mess with all of us, this town.
[ Konstantin ] And what kind of message does it send to these people?
[ Konstantin ] Well, the message would be, “If you're alone,
you won't get your way.
[ Konstantin ] But if you show up as a group that is organised and heavily-armed,
that's where you get other people, the police, the government to listen to you”.
[ Pops Activist ] One, two, three, four, five, and then this one...six.
[ Pops Activist ] The Black community is the biggest gun-purchasing community in America right now,
and has been for the last 4 years.
[ Pops Activist ] Now what changed 4 years ago?
[ Pops Activist ] Oh yeah...Trump.
[ Konstantin ] What's also interesting about that particular rally is that
white men with guns
have come out together here with members of the local Black Lives Matter community,
with African Americans, and you would think those groups are kind of natural enemies.
[ Konstantin ] But, as it turns out, it's not (the case).
[ Konstantin ] When they have a common foe, police or the government, by extent.
[ Pops Activist ] If you want a civil war, a lot of us are fully-prepared for that.
[ WILL IS GETTING READY FOR A PROTEST RALLY IN PORTLAND ]
[ Bearded Man ] Baseball helmet.
[ Bearded Man ] It's really good for stopping anything from hitting you in the head.
[ Bearded Man ] Military-grade gas mask.
[ Konstantin ] We went to Home Depot the other day to get some
for us, but they were out.
[ Konstantin ] It turns out they are not selling them since the start of
this rioting and protesting.
[ Bearded Man ] They say that the protesters use them as a way to avoid
the non-lethal tactics that they use at the protests.
[ Bearded Man ] So, he literally did it to stop us from having a way
to protect ourselves from the gas.
[ Konstantin ] Just to let you know about the environment in this city.
[ Konstantin ] We've come to the Portland Police Association's office
to interview members of the local law-enforcement community
about the ongoing protests and riots.
[ Konstantin ] But, as it turns out, the office was attacked by some angry demonstrators just a few days ago.
[ Konstantin ] A crowd came in, blocked off the street with cars, and then set fire to the building
after hammering windows and the front door.
[ Konstantin ] And these captions on adjacent buildings: "Cops are killers" and "Kill the President".
[ Konstantin ] Aren't you guys concerned
just about the level of division, the anger?
[ Bearded Man ] We're getting so much hate,
and all we're trying to do is spread love.
[ Bearded Man ] We're trying to get equality.
[ Bearded Man ] We don't want to be better than you,
we just want to be equal to you.
[ Bearded Man ] It's been five-and-a-half months and nothing worse has happened.
[ Bearded Man ] We haven't bombed any buildings yet.
[ Bearded Man ] We haven't started any f...ing mass fires all across Portland,
or run around and started taking hostages.
[ Bearded Man ] What are you afraid of?
[ Konstantin ] Explain to me about the Black Block.
[ Konstantin ] What is it?
[ Bearded Man ] It's a tactic of covering everything from head to toe in black,
that leaves nothing else showing but the eyes.
[ Bearded Man ] That's the exact same part of the tactic - look at the police force
that's down there.
[ Bearded Man ] What are they wearing?
[ Bearded Man ] They're wearing black from head to toe with body armour.
[ Bearded Man ] We're not afraid of them.
[ Bearded Man ] We're not afraid of the people who are supposed to be here
to serve us, and to protect us.
[ Bearded Man ] They're the ones that are gonna be afraid.
[ Konstantin ] We met a few Boogaloo Boys
at the rally in Lansing and some of them invited us to one
of their shooting practices.
[ Konstantin ] All of them are big gun enthusiasts and it would be really interesting
to see them in a more relaxed and informal setting.
[ Konstantin ] What do you guys do for a living?
[ BB1 ] I work in a factory, that's about all I want to say.
[ Konstantin ] But you all have like regular jobs?
[ All ] Yes.
[ BB1 ] Tax-paying, y’know, 9 to 5 jobs.
[ BB2 ]We're just normal people
I mean, we go about our day, we go to work,
we pay our bills, we take care of our families.
[ Konstantin ] So I know that gun sales soared in the US.
Is that something that bothering you?
[ BB2 ] We're glad that they're buying guns,
because it's their constitutional right to do so.
[ BB1 ]Yep.
[ BB2 ] To, you know, to defend the mselves if need be.
[ Konstantin ] Aren't you afraid that the country may be on the path that leads
to greater civil conflict, revolution, civil war?
[ BB2 ] I do worry that we're headed down that path.
[ BB2 ] I think it is, you know, inevitable.
[ BB2 ] Americans have 3 ways to voice their opinions.
[ BB2 ] You have the voice box, you have the ballot box and, unfortunately,
you have the cartridge box.
[ BB2 ] I worry what becomes of our election.
[ BB2 ] It's a wait-and-see approach right now.
[ BB3 ] If Trump doesn't get re-elected, then blah-blah-blah's gonna happen,
or if Biden doesn't get elected, there's gonna be more rioting.
[ BB1 ] Politics have become so polarising, I don't see either side conceding,
no matter which candidate wins.
[ Reporter ] Will you commit to making sure that there's
a peaceful transferral of power after the election?
[ Trump ] Well, we're gonna have to see what happens.
[ BB2 ] There is no more conversations happening.
[ BB2 ] In the Boogaloo movement, you know, we do feel concerned for
what happens when the talking stops.
[ Konstantin ] Portland is like a training ground for everything that might go
wrong after the presidential election.
[ Konstantin ] It already has an ongoing turf war between rival political movements.
[ Konstantin ] You have Antifa and BLM on one side, and then you have all sorts of
far right or right-wing organisations such as Proud Boys or Patriot Prayer on the other.
[ Konstantin ] American mainstream media usually portrays them as racists or white supremacists.
[ Konstantin ] So, let's find this out.
[ Konstantin ] Why do you call yourselves Patriot Prayer?
[ Konstantin ] What does that mean?
[ PP1 ] I believe that, in order to truly fight for freedom, you
have to be able to have a connection with God.
[ PP1 ] Or at least it helps you in that great fight.
[ PP2 ] Heavenly Father, we just thank you so much for this beautiful day.
[ PP2 ] It's cold, but we love it.
[ PP2 ] Lord, we're just so thankful that you've given us this country.
[ Konstantin ] All in all, it really looks like a regular demonstration, a rally.
But the only thing is they have armed guards
across the area, patrolling and constantly being on alert.
[ Konstantin ] You came for the rally?
[ Konstantin ] Or are you with security, so to speak?
[ PP3 ] A little bit of both.
[ Konstantin ] A little bit of both?
[ PP3 ] Making sure Antifa or anyone doesn't come in.
[ Konstantin ] In the mainstream media they usually call you racists or white supremacists.
[ Konstantin ] What do you have to say about that?
[ PP1 ] Yeah, so that's what people say when they don't have any other argument.
[ PP1 ] So, they can't attack what I say.
[ PP1 ] They can't attack what I do.
[ PP1 ] And so they just go to 'racist'.
[ Konstantin ] So you have absolutely no issues with African Americans
or any other people of colour?
[ PP1 ] Of course not! We have tons of them that come to
the rallies with us.
[ Konstantin ] You are an African American and you support Donald Trump, obviously.
[ Konstantin ] This is kind of unusual, I would say.
[ Trump Supporter ] Oh, not really.
[ Trump Supporter ] There's a lot of Black people that support Donald Trump.
[ Konstantin ] How do other African Americans treat you when they find out
that you are on the right side of the political spectrum?
[ TS ] Most of the time it's normal, but if you get some of
the hardcore BLM guys, then they want to use 'house negro',
'coon', call you 'Uncle Tom'.
[ Konstantin ] What do you think about the movements like BLM, about Antifa?
[ TS ] I think Antifa is a domestic terrorist organisation.
[ TS ] Again, I was stabbed in downtown Portland.
[ TS ] I approached them and said, "Hey, what's up, buddy?
[ TS ] Why do you keep following us?"
[ TS ] That's when he pulled the knife out and stabbed me in the side.
[ Konstantin ] That's kind of one of the local stars at the rally.
[ Konstantin ] This guy's name is Philip.
[ Konstantin ] He was punched brutally in the face.
[ Konstantin ] He lost his teeth.
[ Philip Anderson Activist ] I don't know him.
[ Philip ] I never met him before.
[ Philip ] He literally just ran up behind me and sucker-punched me,
just because he saw that I was going into an event
that was pro-Trump.
[ Philip ] I think that Donald Trump will win, and I think after he wins,
they're going to burn down a lot of things, and murdering, kill
and beat up a lot of people.
[ Philip ] That's what I expect to happen, unfortunately,
because that's the 'tolerant left' for you.
[ Philip ] The 'tolerant left', that what they do.
[ Bearded Man ] We, at this point, are willing to settle for Biden because we
don't have any other alternative.
[ Bearded Man ] But Biden's going to be the last one.
[ Bearded Man ] He's gonna be the last time that we accept a president rather than select.
[ Bearded Man ] The goal of not just the BLM, but the goal of the whole country
is to change the system.
[ Konstantin ] And if the next president doesn't give you your way, then what?
[ Bearded Man ] Then we bring him down too.
[ Chant ] F*** Donald Trump!
[ Konstantin ] What's going on here?
[ Bearded Man ] This is one of the many chapters for the BLM movement.
[ Bearded Man ] This was a kind of a get-together to help boost the spirits.
[ Rapper ] "We come and we don't stop.
[ Rapper ] I ain't gonna stop till my body really drops.
[ Rapper ] I get on that shit, I got some target.
[ Rapper ] Straight to the drop, like I was partying.
[ Konstantin ] What was that closing line?
[ Konstantin ] It was something about the revolution?
[ Rapper ] Do you know what time it is?
[ Crowd ] Revolution time!
[ Rapper ] What time is it?
[ Crowd ] Revolution time!
[ Bearded Man ] "What time is it? It's revolution time."
[ Konstantin ] Is it?
[ Bearded Man ] It's been.
[ Bearded Man ] We are going to make this country great for the first time
since Christopher Columbus set foot on it.
[ Bearded Man ] November 3rd's coming up and no matter who wins,
things are gonna be so, so tense, because if Trump's re-elected
it's going to be on a far more a far worse level.
[ Bearded Man ] We're going to have a lot more people that's gonna be out here,
p***ed off, and at that point, I don't believe it's going to be civil anymore.
[ Konstantin ] So, it's a wrap for tonight.
[ Konstantin ] There wasn't much of a protest going on in Portland this weekend, which is weird.
[ Konstantin ] But as many people who
we talked to think, this might be calm before the storm before the election.
[ Mike ] We should have a revolution years every 20 years.
[ Mike ] The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time
with the blood of patriots and the tyrants.
[ Mike ] And you know it’s time for all good men to stand up.
[ Mike ] The tree needs watering.
USA 2020: UP IN ARMS