{"id":18189,"date":"2017-06-23T07:48:03","date_gmt":"2017-06-23T13:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/?p=18189"},"modified":"2017-06-23T07:48:03","modified_gmt":"2017-06-23T13:48:03","slug":"bozeman-to-host-far-right-red-pill-expo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2017\/06\/bozeman-to-host-far-right-red-pill-expo\/","title":{"rendered":"Bozeman to host far-right ‘Red Pill Expo’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"GE\"<\/a>

G. Edward Griffin<\/p><\/div>\n

We received a press release yesterday from the Montana Human Rights Network about a truly epic gathering scheduled for this weekend in Bozeman.<\/p>\n

I have been traveling way too much lately so I can’t be in Bozeman this weekend, but let’s hope the Bozeman Chronicle does as much thorough coverage as its reporters can stand. Meanwhile, it seems pointless to try condensing the network’s lengthy, well-researched press release, so we’ll just give it in full:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This weekend Bozeman will play host to the \u201cRed Pill Expo.\u201d The event is primarily a combination of paranoid conspiracy theorists; far-right, anti-democratic libertarians; and alternative health charlatans.<\/p>\n

The name of the event is a reference to The Matrix <\/em>and is used frequently by the white supremacist alt-right to indicate that its followers are the only ones who \u201cknow the truth\u201d about what is really going on in America today.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to remember that the so-called \u2018alt-right\u2019 is merely traditional white supremacist ideology repackaged in way to try and make it more palatable in mainstream circles,\u201d said Rachel Carroll Rivas, Co-Director at the Montana Human Rights Network. \u201cBy using the term \u2018red pill,\u2019 the event organizers are tapping into this ready-made crowd of extremists who advocate bigotry and are familiar with the term.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Red Pill Expo is a classic bait and switch. By using issues that have some appeal across the political spectrum, like alternative medicine and \u201cnatural\u201d farming, the organizers can push standard far-right pabulum, including conspiracies about Jewish people controlling the banking industry and pushing for one-world-government.<\/p>\n

The wide-ranging scope of topics is purposeful. The organizers hope to find people who will attend due to being interested in one topic and then be exposed to the wider right-wing agenda. Topics including whole foods and alternative medicine are designed to appeal to folks across the political spectrum, which is exactly what the white supremacist alt-right is working to do at college campuses, online, and in gated communities across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn looking at the speakers for the Red Pill Expo, it might have been more accurate to name the event \u2018Conspiracy Theory Carnival\u2019 for the bizarre stuff it is selling,\u2019\u201d said Carroll Rivas. \u201cMany of the speakers appear to make their living by writing about and presenting on the grand conspiracy theories they claim to have uncovered. They claim supposed evil doers have hijacked the: banking system, healthcare industry, conservation movement, and have falsified what happened on 9\/11. Folks should know what they are paying for when they walk in the door. Many well-meaning people may not have had their guard up about this event, but they should.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Red Pill Expo has little legitimate value. On one hand, it\u2019s simply vehicle to promote the far right\u2019s agenda and try to recruit more followers, while on the other it\u2019s the live version of an internet infomercial selling a cure for everything that ails you or is paining your loved one.\u00a0 While well-known \u201cnatural farming\u201d activist Joel Salatin may bring in a wide spectrum of attendees, any semblance of it simply being an educational gathering flies out the window when it features speakers like Richard Mack. Mack is a hero to the anti-government militia movement and a leader in radical-right efforts to trick county sheriffs into fighting federal agencies.<\/p>\n

\"CapreAir_Variable\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>The headliner of the Red Pill Expo, G. Edward Griffin, has long held minor celebrity status in the radical right for writing The Creature from Jekyll Island. <\/em>The book basically compiled all of the conspiracy theories about the Federal Reserve and banking system into one book. Many anti-government groups site the book as proof for their anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that Jews control the banking industry.1<\/sup> Griffin proudly declares he is a \u201clife member of the John Birch Society\u201d and served as a staff member in the 1960s when the organization made its mark as, not only an ultra-conservative leader, but an ardent opponent to the civil rights movement.2<\/sup> Much of the Bozeman Expo is dedicated to quack ideas about the source and cure for cancer. Griffin not only advocates for scientifically-proven falsities about cancer treatment, but HIV denial as well.3<\/sup><\/p>\n

Griffin\u2019s organization is Freedom Force International, and Montanan Dan Happel sits on its leadership team.4<\/sup> Happel is an anti-democratic activist and former Madison County Commissioner who has advocated for a variety of militia-based policies and conspiracy theories including: secession; the gold standard and usage of silver coin only; state supremacy; the supposed unconstitutional nature of the income tax, and \u201cbirtherism.\u201d5<\/sup> Happel has summarized the Red Pill Expo as being about \u201cindividualism vs. collectivism\u201d and a fight-back against socialism.<\/p>\n

While Happel\u2019s summary might ring true for some Expo speakers, the Human Rights Network views the event as a bit of a relapse to the mixed ideological company that appeared at Preparedness and Survivalist Expos in the late 1990s that promoted and tried to capitalize on Y2K fears. Like the scare then, the Red Pill Expo seems to tap into the weird crossover of conspiracy theorists on the right and left.<\/p>\n

The variety of extremists that an event like the Red Pill Expo can bring together became apparent to the Human Rights Network when a local bar reported that a self-described attendee from out-of-state left literature at the establishment emblazoned with a swastika. The attendee is reportedly part of the right-wing libertarian anarchist community. These anarchists blatantly oppose democracy, labeling America\u2019s system of government as an:<\/p>\n

\u201cunconstitutional totalitarian cults of parasites, criminals, and terrorists — opposed to liberty, freedom, self-determination, sovereignty, and nature — that pretend to be some form of a unanimously elected majority in order to tax, rob, indebt, and enslave the individuals of a society through denying and usurping their life, liberty, property, and natural rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

These Expo attendees are promoting some kind of utopian anarchist state based in extreme purist libertarianism that is destructive to democracy and community.6<\/sup><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest problems we have in the nationalist sphere is that we don\u2019t have any money. This isn\u2019t because we\u2019re all broke NEETs (well\u2026 for the most part), but rather because the Jews keep shutting all of our stuff down. They can do so because they have total control over the banking and financial system. Some people promote the use of silver or gold as an alternative to the Jew banking system. The problem with that, other than the fact that Jews own most of the gold, is that you can\u2019t send it through these tubes to support activists. Bitcoin, on the other hand, doesn\u2019t suffer from those problems\u2026make no mistake, these [sic] \u2018federal reserve-style\u2019 debt-based currencies are a key factor in how the Jews have enacted our dispossession, at the material level. Bitcoin makes it possible to completely bypass the Jew system, and trade among ourselves without our enemy\u2019s permission. \u201d7<\/sup><\/p>\n

\u201cIf the attacks on Montana\u2019s Jewish community this winter teach us anything, it\u2019s to be weary of these anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and stop them in their tracks before they lead to harassment, intimidation and violence,\u201d said Carroll Rivas. \u201cThere is no reason Bozeman needs to put out the welcome mat for a gathering like the Red Pill Expo that builds off of conspiratorial tendencies and props up extremists.\u201d<\/p>\n

From every angle, it seems that the organizers of the Red Pill Expo are preying on potential attendees.\u00a0 They are offering a solution to every problem, someone or thing to blame for every challenge, and a simple answer to an increasingly complex world. This event is nothing more than a recruiting attempt by the alt-right. It does nothing to bring the community together and form real solutions to move the community forward.<\/p>\n

Some of the Speakers Scheduled for Red Pill Expo<\/strong><\/p>\n

Richard Mack, Militia Hero<\/u><\/p>\n

Richard Mack is a former county sheriff in Arizona and a hero to the anti-government militia movement. He became a rising star in the militia movement during the 1990s when he sued the federal government over the Brady Bill, a gun control measure. He now does the militia speaking circuit, peddling a brand of county supremacy in tradition of the white supremacist Posse Comitatus. The Posse viewed the sheriff as the highest legitimate law officer in the land. It believed citizens were not subject to state or federal authorities. Mack\u2019s statements over the years reflect the Posse tradition that the federal government doesn\u2019t have any jurisdiction to tell the sheriff what to do. Following the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 by a militia adherent, Mack said, \u201cPeople get all upset when they hear about militias, but what\u2019s wrong with it? I wouldn\u2019t hesitate for a minute to call out my posse against the federal government if it gets out of hand.\u201d In 2004, he edited a book by Randy Weaver, whose standoff at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, was a seminal moment for the militia movement of the 1990s. More background on Mack can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Christopher Monckton, Anti-Science Activist<\/u><\/p>\n

Christopher Monckton Is a well-known skeptic of mainstream science\u2019s understanding of climate change. He toured Montana last fall with two militia groups in the state, the Northwest Liberty News and Concerned Citizens of Northwest Montana. At the event in the Flathead, Monckton went so far as to boast of Montana\u2019s right to secede from the United States.8<\/sup> He is no stranger to controversy, including: advocating that all those with AIDS should be forcibly separated on an island; falsely claiming that LGBT people are sinners and more promiscuous than drug abusers; and questioning President Obama\u2019s citizenship as a supporter of the \u201cbirther\u201d conspiracy.9<\/sup><\/p>\n

Alex Newman, Anti-Public Schools Author and Speaker<\/u><\/p>\n

Alex Newman is the co-author of Crimes of the Educators<\/em> in which he claims public teachers\u2019 crimes include child abuse, treason for deliberately dumbing down the nation in order to overthrow the government, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor for including sex education in health curricula. Newman claims that public schools were meant to teach Christian religion, but instead promote Satanism and do everything they can to destroy a child\u2019s belief in the Bible. He also complains that public school teachers promote the \u201cpropaganda\u201d of evolution. Newman claims schools push drugs and are engaged in extortion. He calls for the abolition of the Department of Education and for teaching from the Bible in schools.10<\/sup><\/p>\n

Patrick Wood, One-World Government Conspiracist<\/u><\/p>\n

Patrick Wood is an author and radio host who is followed by anti-government activists and anti-Semitic white supremacist groups as the foremost authority on the conspiracy theories about the Trilateral Commission and \u201cone world\u201d globalist agenda. He also warns against \u201ctechnocracy,\u201d or the idea that scientific thinking, and the scientists and engineers that promote science, are attempting to control world governments with a scientific dictatorship.11<\/sup> The technocracy conspiracy concludes that Christians are being oppressed and religions will be banned under this Satanic plan.<\/p>\n

Holly Swanson, Anti-Conservation Activist<\/u><\/p>\n

The Red Pill Expo site bills Swanson as a \u201cleading authority on the hidden agenda of the environmental movement.\u201d It says her research confirms that conservation ideology promotes communism, and environmental education is used to brainwash children. Swanson is the founder and director of We Choose Freedom, an organization that promotes her conspiracy theories regarding the conservation movement using schools to indoctrinate children. In a video interview with the John Birch Society\u2019s magazine, Swanson said the environmental movement is pushing communism in public schools in order to ultimately \u201cchange our government system, change our economic system, and change our culture. That is definitely a treasonous act.\u201d12<\/sup> In her worldview, conservation education must be defeated in order to save America itself.<\/p>\n

Endnotes<\/h1>\n
    \n
  1. Southern Poverty Law Center, \u201cMargins to the Mainstream\u201d<\/a> and \u201cMidwifing the Militia\u201d<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  2. Political Research Associates, “The John Birch Society\u2019s Anti-Civil Rights Campaign of the 1960s, and Its Relevance Today”<\/a>.<\/u><\/li>\n
  3. G. Edward Griffin, YouTube, “The HIV=AIDS Fraud – G Edward Griffin ON HIV AIDS Big Pharma Fraud” and Media Matters, “Who Is G. Edward Griffin, Beck’s Expert On The Federal Reserve?”<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  4. Freedom Force International, Leadership Council, website.<\/li>\n
  5. Montana Human Rights Network, \u201cBozeman Tea Party Promoting Anti-Government Activists\u201d<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  6. People for Anarchy, Voluntaryism, Non-Aggression, and Liberty, Facebook page.<\/li>\n
  7. Daily Stormer, \u201cNazi Currency Bitcoin Hits $1000 USD Value,\u201d website.<\/li>\n
  8. Flathead Beacon, <\/em>\u201cClimate Science Skeptic Calls Global Warming a \u2018Huge Exaggeration\u2019\u201d<\/a> and DESMOG, \u201cClimate Science Denier Lord Monckton Tours Montana Thanks To GOP Group And An Extreme Fringe\u201d<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  9. Washington Post, <\/em>\u201cLord Monckton mocked as \u2018newest Sacha Baron Cohen\u2019 character\u201d<\/a> and Huffington Post, <\/em>\u201cChristopher Monckton Argues That Gays Have As Many As 20,000 Sexual Partners, Defending Anti-LGBT Lawmaker\u201d<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  10. Alex Newman, YouTube, \u201cCrimes of Educators\u201d and Eagle Forum, book review, website.<\/li>\n
  11. The Mental Militia, \u201cPatrick Wood Reveals the Foundation of the Globalizing Statist Thrust Toward \u2018A New International Economic Order\u2019\u201d and Amazon description of Technocracy Rising.<\/em><\/li>\n
  12. The New American, <\/em>\u201cEducation Author Exposes Environmentalist Movement\u2019s Agenda\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    We received a press release yesterday from the Montana Human Rights Network about a truly epic gathering scheduled for this weekend in Bozeman. I have been traveling way too much lately so I can’t be in Bozeman this weekend, but let’s hope the Bozeman Chronicle does as much thorough coverage as its reporters can stand. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18190,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[5979,1209,5980,391],"class_list":["post-18189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-alt-right","tag-bozeman","tag-conspiracies","tag-montana-human-rights-network","prominence-category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18189"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18192,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18189\/revisions\/18192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

This libertarian anarchist perspective is represented at the Expo by speaker Jeff Berwick. Berwick is a major Bitcoin investor and popular anarchist. Bitcoin is well-liked by libertarians who like that it\u2019s not controlled by a government or a central bank. The much hated Federal Reserve can\u2019t regulate inflation of Bitcoin, and it\u2019s based on the supply and demand of a free market. Bitcoin isn\u2019t taxed, because income can be hidden from the government. Because of these features, Bitcoin can attract criminals<\/a> looking for new ways to move their funds without government scrutiny. This includes popular white supremacist alt-right websites that praise Bitcoin as a solution to their \u201cJewish problem,\u201d including one that states:<\/p>\n