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aristarchus [soylentnews.org] writes:

Turns out the mass protests are just three guys. Sort of knew that already, but now we have proof, from The Star-Tribune [startribune.com] of Minnesota.

A trio of brothers who for years have confounded Minnesota lawmakers with their die-hard views on gun rights have emerged at the center of a national network behind a series of protests against state shutdown orders to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The brothers Aaron, Ben and Christopher Dorr, with roots in Minnesota and Iowa, have helped promote protests stretching from New York to Minnesota, where about 800 demonstrators urged on by President Donald Trump rallied outside the governor's residence in St. Paul on Friday.

Recent protests across the country have varied in size from a few dozen in some states to rallies of several thousand in Michigan and Washington state. The Dorrs have not been connected to all of them.

Everyone knows what to call fake grassroots? Yes, it is "astroturfing", well known tactics of rich people that no one besides khallow likes.

But the family has been linked to a host of Facebook groups in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio and other states that have tallied more than 200,000 followers. Some of the Facebook pages and websites affiliated with the Minnesota protest redirect to pages for groups like Minnesota Gun Rights and sister organizations. That is one of more than a dozen groups operated by the Dorr brothers, who are asking shutdown opponents to join their gun groups and donate up to $1,000 to show support.

"I'm the gun guy and I'm, well, I'm the quarantine guy," said Ben Dorr, political director of Minnesota Gun Rights, in a video of the protest against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. "We want our freedom, we want our rights, we want our country back. We want our state back. We want it opened up and we are here to fight for it."

The Dorrs' work setting up protests and Facebook groups largely in states led by Democratic governors reflect an effort to portray their movement as grass-roots and organic. Yet recent polling suggests that a majority of Republicans and Democrats alike support social distancing and stay-at-home measures to mitigate the spread of a virus that has so far killed 200 people in Minnesota and nearly 50,000 nationwide.

You know, if anyone else killed 50,000 Americans, which by the way for you Trump supporters, is more than died on 9/11, we would consider them an enemy. Domestic terrorism? I would say so.

Of course, the other major funders of astroturf, the Cock Brothers (ex, only one left), have Buggered off, on this one [yahoo.com].

And the Mercers? The Father/daughter Wacko right billionaire duo? They gots their in! From the
Anchorage Daily News:

A network of right-leaning individuals and groups, aided by nimble online outfits, has helped incubate the fervor erupting in state capitals across the country. The activism is often organic and the frustration deeply felt, but it is also being amplified, and in some cases coordinated, by longtime conservative activists, whose robust operations were initially set up with help from Republican megadonors.

The Convention of States project launched in 2015 with a high-dollar donation from the family foundation of Robert Mercer, a billionaire hedge fund manager and Republican patron. It boasts past support from two members of the Trump administration - Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Ben Carson, secretary of housing and urban development.

So,usual suspects. But, where is the Pillow Man? [breitbart.com]

More coverage:
Duluth News Tribune [duluthnewstribune.com].
Channel 3000 [channel3000.com]!
Mercury News [mercurynews.com].
WaPo [washingtonpost.com].
Al Jazeera [aljazeera.com].
Salon, for goodness sake! [salon.com]
Guardian [theguardian.com], Overhyped, they say thousands, only hundreds, actually.
Urban Milwaukee [urbanmilwaukee.com].
Daily Mail [dailymail.co.uk].
Krebs on Security [krebsonsecurity.com].

Everywhere, except SoylentNews, which does not "beg the question", but does beg for the question to be asked, "Is the SoylentNews Editorial Staff in bed with the Dorr Brothers? Are they getting funding from Right-wing wacko nut-job billionaires to "manage" the news? #Freearistarchus!!!!

Original Submission