(DCNF)—A nonprofit organizing nationwide protests against Elon Musk’s Tesla teaches activists how to find a “target’s” home address and lend aid to those who have been arrested, materials shared on the group’s website show.
The nonprofit, Disruption Project, cheered on Black Lives Matter protesters but is now leading the “Tesla Takedown” movement to stop Musk from destroying “democracy” through his government oversight role in the Trump administration. Disruption Project helped coordinate “Global Day of Action” on Saturday that saw more than 200 protests scheduled in the U.S. — a few of which reportedly turned violent.
Disruption Project joined activists online in calling for the event, archived webpages show. Dozens of scheduled protests were registered on Action Network, a website for posting petitions and activism plans. Disruption Project did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“[Our] research and analysis of the Tesla Takedown Movement has revealed an extremely sophisticated, extremely coordinated effort to engage in aggressive intimidation and political violence to ‘resist’ President Trump and destroy the Tesla company by any means necessary,” Gregory T. Angelo, president of the New Tolerance Campaign, told the DCNF in a statement.
New Tolerance Campaign gathers data on “hard left extremism” and released a “Hate Alert” warning of potential violence at the Saturday gatherings beforehand. There were reports of anti-Musk protesters physically attacking other people and displaying messages such as “Burn a Tesla save democracy” at demonstrations in Idaho, New York and California that were scheduled through the “Day of Action” page.
Disruption Project co-sponsored Saturday’s protests with Troublemakers, a group that calls Musk’s agenda a “coup” but stresses “nonviolent action” as its policy. The “Day of Action” webpage was later changed to “#Tesla Takedown,” removing references to Troublemakers or Disruption Project. Troublemakers did not respond to a request for comment.
Organizers of the event wrote that they “oppose violence, vandalism and destruction of property” and cited “our First Amendment right to peaceful assembly.” However, Disruption Project’s website offers resources for left-wing activists such as “jail support,” “finding a target’s home” and “what to do in an uprising,” or a mass protest that may provoke a police response.
The “jail support” webpages on the site advise protesters to use encrypted programs so that law enforcement can’t view their communications and to form “group legal support for people who may risk arrest.”
“For actions and demonstrations[,] the role of support in a civil disobedience action is crucial to those risking arrest,” one webpage says. “In actions where no one is planning on risking arrest, support roles are also important to think out in advance, both for taking on necessary tasks during legal actions, and to prepare for the contingency of unexpected arrests.”
Another webpage recommends keeping quiet if any detainees are “undocumented” migrants and to “get them out of jail before the police realize, then get them a lawyer.”
The website’s information on “what to do in an uprising” says it draws inspiration from chaotic Black Lives Matter protests in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 and the leftist “Occupy Wall Street” movement, which together led to hundreds of arrests and millions of dollars in property damage and law enforcement costs.
“First, do what you think is necessary for the struggle, not what everyone else is doing,” reads a document linked on the “uprising” webpage. “Know that you will have to use your own agency, no one else will tell you what to do during an uprising.”
The document claims activists should be prepared for risks because police have repeatedly “overreacted” to mobs of protesters.
“Armed struggle is a legitimate tool throughout the world, and though we are not advocating it here, as folks in Baltimore said, ‘Broken windows are less important than broken spines,’” the document says. “There are no good and bad protestors, we cannot let the power structure divide us.”
Adding another tactic to street protest, peaceful visits to the homes of those upholding the system. Could this be done in more cities? https://t.co/SuISV6yxES
— The Disruption Project (@DisruptProject) June 5, 2020
Disruption Project also encourages activists to visit a “target’s home address” because “in some cases, going to an office building is insufficient.” It suggests finding addresses through public databases such as White Pages, property records, and voter registrations and “scouting the property” before protesting.
Disruption Project describes itself as “dedicated to supporting uprisings, resistance and mass direct action” on its “about” page. The group says protesters around the world have been known to “nonviolently topple dictatorships and illegitimate governments.”
“Our belief is that when mass numbers of people stand up and take action against the unjust systems of racial capitalism, the heteropatriarchy, white supremacy and settler colonialism, we have the ability to force ruptures and dismantle these systems,” the organization’s “about” page says.
The Trump administration’s FBI has formed a Tesla-focused task force in response to several alleged instances of arson and vandalism around the country.
The FBI’s press office told the DCNF, “Director [Kash] Patel has been unequivocally clear: The FBI will be relentless in its mission to protect the American people.”
“Acts of violence, vandalism, and domestic terrorism — like the recent Tesla attacks — will be pursued with the full force of the law,” the FBI said.
“The FBI does not investigate solely based on protected First Amendment activity,” the agency told the DCNF. “The FBI focuses on individuals who commit or intend to commit violence and criminal activity that constitutes a federal crime or poses a threat to national security.”
Tesla’s press office did not respond to a request for comment.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Steve Jurvetson/Creative Commons/Flickr)
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