Prominent radical left-wing Democrat lawmakers are refusing to condemn an Antifa terrorist’s attempted firebombing of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, over the weekend.
Many Democrats have been demanding the abolition of ICE for the past year and in recent months they have begun comparing ICE agents to Nazis.
Now the four first-term small-c communist Democrat congresswomen who have come to be known collectively as “The Squad” for their strident over-the-top attacks on Republicans and for their aggressive opposition to the House Democrat leadership, especially Speaker Nancy Pelosi are remaining silent about the terrorist attack.
The four lawmakers – Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts – who like Antifa reflexively label people they don’t like “racist,” have become the guiding lights of their party dragging it ever leftward, and likely into electoral oblivion.
At Townhall, Katie Pavlich documented how Omar, Ocasio-Cortez, and Pressley refused to condemn the attacks when approached by reporters.
Omar refused to comment. Previously she has made light of the 9/11 attacks and praised al-Qaeda.
Ocasio-Cortez, who has called ICE detention facilities “concentration camps” also refused to comment.
Similarly, Pressley refused to comment on the attack but she did condemn reporter Caleb Hull for standing too close to her while asking questions she refused to answer, accusing him of “a lack of journalistic integrity” for “not respecting her physical space.”
Tlaib appears to be AWOL on the issue. In April she called on her supporters to launch a hunger strike at the border to “shut down” ICE.
“It’s going to take movements outside the halls of Congress,” she said. “I want you all to shut them down, we can shut them down,” she said to applause. “Don’t wait for this Congress to act, shut them down.”
Omar, Ocasio-Cortez, and Pressley were desperately trying to avoid commenting on the fact that an Antifa terrorist caught in the act of attempting to firebomb an ICE detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, was gunned down over the weekend by authorities.
Antifa figures have been calling for armed uprisings against ICE since at least September 2018. Antifa activist Ulrike Salazar, apparently a pseudonym, compared ICE to the secret police of Nazi Germany and called for the killing of “the fascistic Border Patrol dogs and their bosses.” He likened ICE officers to “shadowy Gestapo agents” who “take away young boys and girls, tear apart families, throw away undesirables into dark and cramped dungeons.”
This foiled attack on the United States government is yet another reminder that the totalitarianism-loving domestic terrorists of Antifa, who call themselves anti-fascist activists, are the real fascists in today’s America because, among other things, they use violent tactics pioneered by the fascist storm-troopers of Weimar Germany, the Sturmabteilung (SA). These Antifa goons opposed the Nazis but eagerly copied their tactics, using their fists to shut down political opponents and break up meetings and rallies. Some Antifa today even dress like Nazis, wearing black and red, the anarchist colors which traditionally have also been used by Nazis.
Antifa, which as a group has been warmly embraced by many Democrats, regained prominence in the post-Obama era by assaulting conservatives and Trump supporters. The hyper-violent anarchists and communists of the Antifa movement are notorious for promiscuously labeling those they target as fascists, Nazis, and racists, in the absence of evidence. Antifa routinely smear supporters of President Trump as fascists.
Carrying a rifle and Molotov cocktails, around 4 o’clock in the morning July 13, Willem Van Spronsen, 69, of Vashon Island, Washington, was killed by diligent police officers after throwing what police described as “incendiary devices” at the facility and nearby cars, causing one vehicle to erupt in flames. Four police officers arrived on scene.
“The male attempted to ignite a large propane tank and set buildings on fire,” according to the Tacoma police department. “The male continued throwing lit objects at the buildings and cars.”
No ICE employees were injured, PJMedia reports.
Evidence suggests that Spronsen, a violent anti-American radical, who had worked as a carpenter, contractor, and folk singer, viewed the attack as a suicide mission.
Deb Bartley, reportedly his friend of two decades, described her late friend as “an anarchist and anti-fascist.”
“He was ready to end it,” Bartley said. “I think this was a suicide. But then he was able to kind of do it in a way that spoke to his political beliefs. I know he went down there knowing he was going to die.”
In 2018 at a protest outside the same ICE facility Spronsen wrapped his arms around a police officer’s throat and shoulders as he tried to liberate another activist. When a collapsible baton and knife were found on his person, he was charged criminally.
Spronsen sent friends letters and a political manifesto before he died, Fox News reports. The manifesto described the holding facility as “an abomination” and urged “those burdened with the wreckage from my actions” to “make the best use of that burden.”
“I regret that I will miss the rest of the revolution,” he wrote. “Doing what I can to help defend my precious and wondrous people is an experience too rich to describe. I am Antifa.”
Tributes poured in from Spronsen’s America-hating comrades.
Something called the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement, tweeted, “RIP to anarchist fighter Willem Van Spronsen. The attack on the ICE facility in Tacoma is a proportionate action against enslavers and internment camp operators. He is joining a list of fallen anarchist martyrs who fought for a liberated world!”
Seattle Antifascist Action’s tribute also contained a terroristic threat:
When our good friend and comrade Willem Van Spronsen took a stand against the fascist detention center in Tacoma, he became a martyr who gave his life to the struggle against fascism. He was kind and deeply loved by many communities; we cannot let his death go unanswered. Throughout history we idolize figures like John Brown for their courage to take the ultimate stand against oppression, and today we stand strong in our support for yet another martyr in the struggle against fascism. May his death serve as a call to protest and direct action.
Meanwhile, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley condemned high-profile Democrats on Sunday for staying silent after activists protesting outside an ICE facility in Aurora, Colorado, last week yanked down the American flag and flew the flag of Mexico in its place.
The American flag was later returned to its rightful place. The activists also took down a pro-police “Blue Lives Matter” flag, spray-painted “Abolish ICE” on it, then raised the flag upside-down on a pole beside the Mexican flag.
“There are no words for why the Democrats are staying silent on this,” Haley tweeted. “If this is your way to winning an election, fire your strategist. This is disgusting. Love your country. And if you don’t like what is happening then tell the members of Congress to get to work and fix it.”
To no one’s surprise, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is seeking the Democrats’ 2020 presidential nomination, refused to condemn the flag atrocity.
“Well, I certainly respect the American flag, and my whole life I’ve been fighting to make this country — and to make sure this country welcomes everybody, and that this flag represents everyone,” said Hickenlooper, whom the media touts as a so-called moderate in the Democratic field.
“I think there are better ways to unite us,” was the strongest statement Hickenlooper could muster.
This article by Matthew Vadum appeared July 17, 2019, at FrontPageMag.