Rage Against the War Machine

Rage Against the War Machine protesters in Washington, D.C. on February 19, 2023

Rage Against the War Machine was a major anti-war rally in Washington, D.C. on February 19, 2023 that was organized by the Libertarian Party and the People's Party. Credited with reviving the anti-war movement in the United States (US), 2,000-5,000 people showed up in attendance to protest US funding of the neo-Nazi war effort in Ukraine against Russia. Many notable American politicians spoke at the event, including former members of the United States Congress Ron Paul, Tulsi Gabbard, and Dennis Kucinich.

The rally brought together thousands of Communists (primarily MAGA Communists and Patriotic Socialists), libertarians, paleoconservatives, and Alt-Right conservatives. Some notable socialist speakers were Jimmy Dore and Jackson Hinkle, whereas libertarians were Ron Paul and Daniel McAdams, and one paleoconservative was Tulsi Gabbard.

Prelude

In 2022, the Libertarian Party underwent an internal revolution, with the Libertarian Party Mises Caucus (LPMC) taking over the party leadership. Under the LPMC, the party reformed into an anti-imperialist organization and centered the party to be based on the political positions of Ron Paul. The newly Mises Caucus-led Libertarian Party reached out to Nick Brana of the People's Party, hoping to build an alliance between the populist "right" with the populist "left," an alliance previously predicted by the MAGA Republican Matt Gaetz.

Planning for Rage Against the War Machine started in December 2022, being organized by the Libertarian Party and the People's Party. The Libertarian Party officially announced the rally on January 20, 2023, setting the official date for February 19.

On February 7, 2023, the Green Party officially endorsed the rally, though they neglected to sponsor it.

Demands

The official demands of Rage Against the War Machine, as stated by the Libertarian Party and the People's Party, were:

1. Not One More Penny for War in Ukraine
2. Negotiate Peace
3. Stop the War Inflation
4. Disband NATO
5. Global Nuclear De-Escalation
6. Slash the Pentagon Budget
7. Abolish the CIA and Military-Industrial Deep State
8. Abolish War and Empire
9. Restore Civil Liberties
10. Free Julian Assange

Speakers

By the time planning for Rage Against the War Machine had been finished, the official speakers lined up for the event were:

• Jimmy Dore
• Ron Paul
• Tulsi Gabbard
• Dennis Kucinich
• Cynthia McKinney
• Scott Horton
• Ann Wright
• Gerald Celente
• Chris Hedges
• Roger Waters
• David Swanson
• Daniel McAdams
• Garland Nixon
• Max Blumenthal
• Anya Parampil
• Jill Stein
• Tara Reade
• Diane Sare
• Dan McKnight
• Tatiana Moroz
• Jordan Page
• Kim Iversen
• Jackson Hinkle
• Craig Jardula
• Wyatt Reed
• Dan Cohen

Rally

Preparation

On the morning of February 19, 2023, the Rage Against the War Machine organizers began setting up platforms, microphones, and cameras for the speakers at the rally to use at the start of the event at 12:30 PM. At 12:000 PM, 30 minutes before the rally, Scott Ritter gave a speech streamed on YouTube and Twitter that was originally intended to be delivered at the event itself.

Lincoln Memorial

Max Blumenthal at Rage Against the War Machine

The rally speakers and protesters in attendance met at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. At 12:30 PM, the rally officially kicked off. Nick Brana, the Chairman of the People's Party, and Angela McArdle, the Chairwoman of the Libertarian Party, gave the opening remarks for the event, then passing the microphone to The Grayzone editor-in-chief Max Blumenthal to give the first speech. Blumenthal first spoke about his upbringing during the 1980s CIA crack epidemic and Operation Condor in Latin America, connecting it to the Vietnam War veterans who were left betrayed by their government. He talked about First World War veterans from the United States Army who rallied against the government in opposition to Jim Crow, regardless of political affiliation and race. He then talked about how Douglas MacArthur demonized the anti-war movement, and how the US government cracked down on Communists during the Second World War and the subsequent Cold War. He followed this by connecting it to the contemporary economic crisis in the United States, stating the necessity of standing together against the imperial war machine. His speech was 8 minutes long.

Chris Hedges at Rage Against the War Machine

Following Max Blumenthal was Chris Hedges, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. Hedges opened by talking about idolatry and, emphasizing how those who commit idolatry must commit suicide in the name of their idols. He connected this to imperialism, explaining how empires commit suicide in the name of their idols. He followed by stating the need to denounce "the unelected, unaccountable high priests of empire" that launder endless somes of money to fund their massacres of Muslims, Russians, and Chinese people. He emphasized that the United States had no "rational objectives" in the Iraq War, the War in Afghanistan, the Syrian Civil War, the First Libyan Civil War, the Somali Civil War, and—now—the Russo-Ukrainian War. He explained how imperialism moved from "the Republican Party to the Democratic Party and then back again, mutating from Cold Warriors to neocons to liberal interventionists." He then went on to condemn US imperialism in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Palestine, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, explaining how the imperialist actions in the country exposed the "moral bankruptcy, intellectual dishonesty, sick bloodlust, and delusional fantasies" of the global elite. His speech was 10 minutes long.

Kim Iversen at Rage Against the War Machine

Chris Hedges was followed by Kim Iversen, an independent journalist and the host of The Kim Iversen Show, making her the first woman to speak at the rally as a featured speaker. Her speech was 2 minutes long.

Garland Nixon at Rage Against the War Machine

After Kim Iversen was Garland Nixon, a radio talk show host, YouTube/Rumble streamer, Center for Political Innovation (CPI) member, D.C. resident, and political analyist, being the first African-American to speak at the rally. His speech was 4 minutes long.

Dan McKnight at Rage Against the War Machine

Following Garland Nixon was a brief video about World War III as a mass-extinction event, then succeeded by Dan McKnight, a veteran of the War on Terror and founding Chairman of Bring Our Troops Home. His speech was 7 minutes long.

Diane Sare at Rage Against the War Machine

Dan McKnight was followed by was Diane Sare, a musician, political activist, candidate for the United States Senate from New York, and RT journalist, making her the second woman to speak at the rally as a featured speaker. Her speech was 7 minutes long.

After Diane Sare was Tara Reade, a writer, poet, actress, former Senate aide to Joe Biden, the host of The Politics of Survival, producer of the The Kim Iversen Show, CPI member, and political analyst, being the third woman to speak at the rally as a featured speaker. Her speech was 3 minutes long.

Following Tara Reade was Jackson Hinkle, a prominent MAGA Communist, independent journalist, ally of Infrared, and host of The Dive with Jackson Hinkle. His speech was 4 minutes long, and is considered to be the best speech at the entire rally by many of the Communists in attendance.

White House

After the initial rallying at the Lincoln Memorial and 4 hours of speeches, the crowd organized a march all the way to the White House. Beginning at 4:30 PM, the march lasted approximately 30 minutes. The crowd then gathered outside the fence that protected the White House, and then continued to protest. New speakers from the Alt-Right and the African People's Socialist Party (APSP) gave remarks outside the White House, encouraging the protests to continue their movement against imperialism and the Deep State. Among the topics discussed by the protests gathered outside of the White House were FBI COINTELPRO raids, particularly those against the APSP in August 2022.

After about an hour at the White House, Nick Brana declared Rage Against the War Machine a success and the main crowd dispersed. The protest officially ended at around 6:00 PM. Smaller crowds continued to remain in D.C. throughout the rest of the day, with flags of Russia and the Soviet Union being seen around Washington in the next few hours.

CPI reception

After the rally came to its formal closure, the Center for Political Innovation (CPI) held a reception in Washington, D.C. entitled "Preventing World War Three." The reception featured CPI founder Caleb Maupin, anti-Iraq War activist Scott Ritter, APSP leader Yejide Orunmila, and other prominent members of the American anti-war movement as official speakers.

Controversies

Scott Ritter

Main article: Scott Ritter

Initially, Scott Ritter was lined up as a speaker for the Rage Against the War Machine rally. However, allegations of involvement in sexual misconduct generated significant outrage among leftists over his presence in the coalition. Similarly, the Libertarian Party Classical Liberal Caucus (LPCLC) pushed for the Libertarian National Committee (LNC) to remove Ritter from the lineup. Ultimately, Ritter was barred from speaking at the rally. The day before the rally, Flame of Liberation (FOL) accused Rage Against the War Machine of being a coalition of sex offenders for even considering Scott Ritter. Regardless, he both attended the rally and gave delivered his Rage Against the War Machine speech via online video. Ritter also paritcipated in the CPI reception as a guest speaker afterwards.

"Flagman"

Main article: Ryan Cotten

Ryan Cotten flying the Russian flag behind Angela McArdle

During the Rage Against the War Machine rally, there were various instances where an unidentified individual was carrying the Russian flag. The man was became known colloquially as Flagman. He was criticized on the Jimmy Dore Show by Max Blumenthal, which generated some tension among members of the Rage Against the War Machine coalition. Flagman was later identified as a CPI member named Ryan Cotten. Caleb Maupin platformed Cotten by interviewing him on YouTube on February 25, 2023. There, Cotten was able to explain his position.

Aftermath

Second American Revolution

Main article: Second American Revolution

Shortly after the rally, it was remarked that a Second American Revolution had begun. On February 22, 2023, The Bolshevik Panther posted a Wikipedia-style infobox on Twitter that labeled the rally as "part of the Second American Revolution."

Operation Warhawks Removal

Main aritcle: Operation Warhawks Removal

On March 8, 2023, the Libertarian Party and the People's Party collaborated again to launch Operation Warhawks Removal in response to the United States House of Representatives striking down a resolution to end the occupation of Syrian territory by the United States Armed Forces. The operation identified major populist Republicans, including Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert, as anti-warhawks, however it identified the vast majority of Democrats as warhawks.

Defend the Guard

On March 13, 2023, Bring Our Troops Home launched an operation entitled "Defend the Guard" to call six Arizona Senators that support funding the Ukrainian war effort against Russia. The Rage Against the War Machine coalition endorsed the operation.

Intervention training

On March 15, 2023, the Libertarian Party and the People's Party collaborated again to launch a campaign about training the American people to intervene when their Representatives in Congress vote in favor of pushing towards the Third World War. The intervention training campaign explicitly called out Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), a Democrat with ties to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) who supports funding the Ukrainian war effort against Russia.

Peace in Ukraine

On March 18, 2023, CODEPINK organized an anti-war protest in Washington, D.C. known as Peace in Ukraine. The Rage Against the War Machine coalition endorsed the rally, encouraging attendants of the February 19 rally to attend Peace in Ukraine. Peace in Ukraine failed to gather the attention or garner the numbers that Rage Against the War Machine had, however.

Defeat the Deep State

The Rage Against the War Machine coalition has planned a second rally for Washington, D.C. that is scheduled to occur on February 17, 2024. This second rally, advertised as a sequel to Rage Against the War Machine, is entitled Defeat the Deep State.