As I feared, it looks like Charlottesville was a mere prelude (from Amanda Marcotte):
In recent weeks, right-wing extremists, furious that Democrats have finally won control of Virginia’s state house and plan to pass a series of rather minor gun control laws, have whipped themselves into a frenzy online, spreading outrageous rumors — such as claims that all self-defense training, even in martial arts, will become a felony — in an effort to stoke mass hysteria. There are real concerns that this could turn into another situation like the one that unfolded not far away in Charlottesville in the summer of 2017, when a white supremacist rally descended into a riot, resulting in multiple injuries and one murder.
Thousands of pro-gun fanatics are expected to descend on the Virginia state capital on Martin Luther King Day, and, until Northam’s declaration of a state of emergency, clearly had expected to brandish weapons and look as menacing as possible to lawmakers who want to reform the state’s gun laws. Many have taken to social media, saying they are showing up armed anyway and promising a “boogaloo,” which is far-right code for an armed insurrection against the government.
Naturally, the choice of MLK Day is no coincidence.
The timing of this rally on MLK Day is, of course, eyebrow-raising, as many of the people hyping it are blatant white nationalists. Virginia Citizen Defense League, unsurprisingly, claims innocent motives in choosing this day for its annual pro-gun rally, saying that “date is picked because it is a federal holiday, which allows more gun owners to be able to come.” But given that King was assassinated in 1968 by a gun-wielding right-winger, it’s hard to imagine there was no ulterior purpose in using this day as one where gun-wielding right-wingers celebrate themselves.
In other words, for these guys, it’s really James Earl Ray Day:
Amanda thinks it’s possible it may not get violent:
There’s certainly room for hope that, for all the chest-thumping from gun nuts, this Richmond rally will peter out without any real trouble. Unlike the white supremacists who descended on Charlottesville a few years ago, who tended to be much younger on average than conservatives generally, the radical gun-loving world tends to be on the grayer side. No matter how many memes suggest they are seeking a violent confrontation, these people are probably not inclined to provoke situations where they’re likely to get arrested or injured. It’s easy to talk big on social media, but most will likely chicken out before trying to bring weapons into a heavily barricaded and policed gun-free zone.
I certainly hope she’s correct.