'Shoot a couple, the rest will go home': Far-right groups are sharing scary messages ahead of 'No Kings' protests
By: Rhian Lubin (The Independent)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Accounts associated with extremist groups are sharing detailed information about protest organizers, including names and where they work
Far-right groups are sharing violent messages ahead of the "No Kings" protests this weekend to coincide with President Donald Trump's military birthday parade.
Accounts associated with extremist groups are also sharing detailed information about protest organizers, including names and where they work, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Protests in more than 2,000 cities are scheduled to take place Saturday.
"Shoot a couple, the rest will go home," one meme circulating on a Proud Boys Telegram channel said.
Another meme posted in the channel depicted four armed men. "HANG THE TRAITORS, EXPEL THE INVADERS," it said.
open image in galleryFar-right groups are sharing violent messages on social media ahead of the "No Kings" protests set for this weekend in over 2,000 cities (AFP via Getty Images)
The Northern Illinois Proud Boys shared a meme on their Telegram channel falsely claiming the LAPD was seeking support from vigilantes ahead of the protests this weekend.
Other far-right groups are frequently sharing memes in support of the Trump administration's efforts to increase raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Experts on extremism in America are alarmed by the posts because they could inspire "lone-actor violence" or persuade someone to "get off the couch, pick up a gun and go out to one of these cities," Jon Lewis, a research fellow at George Washington University's Program on Extremism, told The Journal.
University of Pittsburgh sociologist Kathleen Blee also told the outlet that white nationalists are uniting against nonwhite immigrants. Far-right beliefs are resonating in the mainstream media with these groups more than ever before, Blee said.
"It's by far the worst. It's scarily the worst. It's flashing red," she said. "It's a very precarious time right now."
open image in galleryOne of the memes in a Proud Boys Telegram channel. Experts said the posts were alarming because they could inspire 'lone-actor violence' (Telegram)
A faction of the Proud Boys group also shared an anti-immigration poster originally put out by the Department of Homeland Security.
In the image, Uncle Sam is depicted nailing a poster to a wall. "REPORT ALL FOREIGN INVADERS," it says.
At least two far-right X accounts claimed to have had some involvement in creating or disseminating the image before the department shared it, according to CNN.
Elisabeth Fondren, a journalism professor at St. John's University, told the network that the poster "fits within a long history of anti-immigrant rhetoric and, yes, state propaganda."
In response, DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that "every American citizen should support federal law enforcement in their just effort to deport criminal illegal alien invaders from our country."
As organizers across the country gear up for Saturday's mass demonstrations, Trump was asked for his take on the "No Kings" demonstrations this week.
"I don't feel like a king," Trump said, and proceeded to complain that he must "go through hell" to get anything done. "No, no, we're not a king. We're not a king at all."
Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was released earlier this year from his 22-year sentence for seditious conspiracy following Trump's pardons and commutations for January 6 rioters.
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Far-Right Extremists Prepare Violence for “No Kings” Protests
Edith Olmsted 21-26 minutes 6/12/2025
Far-right groups are humming with talk of potential violence ahead of massive “No Kings” Day demonstrations that are expected to attract millions of protesters Saturday, according to The Wall Street Journal .
In a Telegram channel used by groups affiliated with the Proud Boys, a violent white nationalist group , users have sent posts promoting violence.
“Shoot a couple, the rest will go home. I promise,” said one meme, featuring a photograph of Kevin Costner’s character in The Highwaymen , a 2019 film about Texas rangers tracking down Bonnie and Clyde, holding a shotgun.
“HANG THE TRAITORS, EXPEL THE INVADERS,” said another post.
Jon Lewis, a research fellow at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, told the Journal that the posts were alarming as they might inspire one to “get off the couch, pick up a gun and go out to one of these cities.”
Donald Trump has actively empowered far-right paramilitary groups by pardoning their leaders for crimes related to the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, including Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio. Upon release from his 22-year prison sentence , Tarrio vowed retribution .
Earlier this month, a coalition of Proud Boys leaders filed to sue the federal government for $100 million—plus 6 percent interest—alleging that, in light of their pardons, their arrests and various charges had violated their constitutional rights.
Rallies opposing Trump’s agenda are expected at roughly 2,000 locations across the country Saturday, according to the No Kings Day map . The demonstrations are a planned opposition to the massive military parade planned on the Army’s 250th anniversary (and also Trump’s birthday) in Washington, D.C.
Trump has previously said that any protesters at his precious parade would be “met with very heavy force.”
Right. And we have at least one participant here on NT who regularly makes the same sorts of threats against those on the right. Does anyone here think that person is doing anything other than talking tough?