They're closer than you think

[StarfishSaver]

It looks like much of the violence we're witnessing is being started/exacerbated by white provocateurs.

Surely their work is not limited to looting and setting fires in the streets.

I wonder how many of them are also online stirring up sh!t ... Given what I've been reading online the past couple of days, I suspect some of them are closer to us than we think.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Governor Walz (MN) just held a press conference where he said

they believe that as many as 80% of the protesters causing unrest are from out of state. As they make more arrests they will be doing the equivalent of contact tracing to determine where these characters came from and with whom they are affiliated.

[roamer65]

2. Good job, Gov Walz.

[Mike 03]

4. Two guests on CNN both said they believe Minnesota authorities

have a lot more information about this than they've conveyed and are calling upon them to hold another press conference divulging more information "before tonight."

I'm mentally forming a suspect list. The FBI could also be very helpful here.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. Walz and the police commissioner said they'd been in contact

with various federal agencies, also including the NSA. I'm sure the FBI has been called in.

[Mike 03]

11. Good news.

[uponit7771]

7. +1

[brer cat]

5. Trace them and expose them.

Stirring up s$*% because their leader egged them on. If they get some black folk killed, so much the better from their perspective.

[Beakybird]

3. I'm sure the Russian government would welcome any mayhem

that would weaken our country. The want us fighting each other, killing each other, and hating each other. They want us to get sick and die. Their bots argue against social distancing, wearing a mask, and getting vaccinated.

[Bengus81]

8. Looked like a white guy busting out a window at CNN last night with his skateboard....

Or at least trying like hell. What's he pissed off at CNN about, do a bad segment on boarders??

[Mike 03]

12. Wasn't that suspicioius?

He wasn't the only white guy trying to break into CNN.

My view of the protesters is that the honest ones are informed people who certainly know that CNN has been siding with them and telling their story. So why attack CNN?

That was suspcious as hell.

[Upthevibe]

42. Bengus81....

I noticed that too....Kind of weird....But he looked really young...

[Andy823]

9. I agree

some of them are posting here and trying to spread division and start arguments. Sadly it seems to be working.

If a poster post something and they don't have any proof of their claims, they need to be called out for proof, and many of out long time DU posters area calling them out. Many questionable posts are done by a poster who posts and run. They never bother to come back and discuss their claims.

Remember the old saying "don't feed the trolls'!

[Mike 03]

13. But those posts are so easy to spot.

I just steer clear of them. Once I almost posted something, but I didn't feel like having a post removed.

I wish you could alert a post for being "disingenuous."

[Andy823]

17. I steer clear also

My point is the goal of those posts is to divide and spread false information. It's easy to get people worked up and arguing with each other and soon things get out of control, exactly what the poster wanted.

If everyone would ignore them they might go away.

[Mike 03]

20. Agree.

There isn't a good way to deal with those posts that are "on the line" where they seem insincere and intentionally provocative, or somewhat ignorant, but you can't really prove the post was made in bad faith.

[Bengus81]

16. Go look at this thread.......

Look down toward the bottom for an exchange I had with a "DU'er". You'll see my name several times.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2502670

[Andy823]

19. Yes that's what I am talking about

Divide and conquer.

[TheBlackAdder]

22. Notice the guy starting shit is a newbie, with 6 of their 9 total posts on just that one thread!

[CaptYossarian]

28. A lot of my comments are intended to piss off the infiltrators.

The things I say about Trump are word for word what I would say to his technicolor face.

Sadly, no Trump Troll has challenged me yet.

[KPN]

37. Pretty suspicious fopr sure. Member since April 11? Just waiting for the moment he/she knew

was coming sooner than later to throw logs onto the fire -- right here at DU? Sure looked like that.

[Maeve]

48. He's no longer a "DU'er"

Altho the posts are still there, the poster isn't still here

[Bengus81]

50. Many times they can make it to at least 25 posts before outing themselves

It was obvious to me when he was only on 6-8 or whatever.

[BComplex]

52. The ones I'm more worried about are the ones that make posts that make no sense, and ring up

a couple of thousand posts, and do nothing but stir up trouble once their numbers are higher. I wonder if DU could add an "alert" button of posters to "watch" who might be bots. We see them on here, we just don't know what to do.

[Tipperary]

14. Sooo, your previous post about how we should understand these riots is now moot?

If they are being started by outside agitators, they should be condemned. Right?

[Buckeye_Democrat]

15. This.

[StarfishSaver]

21. My previous posts are not at all moot

I can hold more than one thought in my head when analyzing complicated situations.

And, yes, outside agitators should be condemned. But those arguing that "You're only hurting your own cause" and "You're insulting the memory of Dr. King" aren't condemning outside agitators.

[Tipperary]

25. Mayor Bottoms disagrees with you. nt

[StarfishSaver]

30. OK

Black people don't always agree about everything...

[Tipperary]

33. I think I will go with Mayor Bottoms on this rather than some random poster on du.

[StarfishSaver]

35. OK

[ancianita]

49. +1

[lpbk2713]

36. You make a good point.

Thank you for your input.

[davekriss]

18. Of course they are

We weren’t down for 2 weeks in November 2016 because a fuse blew.

[2naSalit]

23. +1

[Fla_Democrat]

51. Well.......

[relayerbob]

24. They are everywhere

You can be certain of that

[CaptYossarian]

29. Their side is international with deeper pockets.

We're not mobbed up either. We have the people--they have the rubles.

[relayerbob]

31. Yep

[yaesu]

26. I've spotted a lot of russian bots on twitter, many with African American profile pics that

look fake as hell stirring things up, blaming Antifa and looking at these accounts, they are new, the pretend to be on the left but tweet, retweet mostly rightwing propaganda.

[relayerbob]

32. All over FB, too

[Skittles]

46. "I'm black and I am totally MAGA"

yes, nothing suspicious about that

[ramapo]

27. Some of Trump's Very Fine People

Reaping what he has sowed

[Wounded Bear]

34. "I wonder how many of them are also online stirring up sh!t"

They are organizing on line. It's crowd sourcing and flash mobbing for evil purposes.

It is smart for LEO's to be monitoring this shit.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

47. Once upon a time we had an FBI that helped law enforcement

Dirty Billy Barr's Dirt Services is more likely to help coordinate the terrorists.

[cayugafalls]

38. A lot of them are online stirring the pot. That is what Agent Provocateurs do, they

infiltrate protest groups or create their own and gain followers on social media. They have been playing the long game for quite some time. The Russians did not pack up their computers and go home after the election, they ramped up their disinformation campaign bent on tearing this country apart from the inside.

This is a non-linear warfare, Hybrid Warfare, they have a coordinated online attack system that sows disinformation and foments anger using psychological warfare techniques. They also have boots on the ground, whether they are groups they have infiltrated, or groups they are in contact with that they have manipulated via social media.

They are not only Russian, they are racist and pro Trump groups as well. I would not be surprised though if the Russians have not infiltrated those groups online activities for their own benefit.

The Russians have infiltrated lots of American groups to use as they see fit.

I'll list links to my sources. This is just a tiny fraction of the information out there.

America's racism has long been Russia's secret weapon
https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/02/opinions/philando-castile-russia-history-of-infiltration-joseph-opinion/index.html

The latest front in Russian infiltration: America’s right-wing homeschooling movement
https://archive.thinkprogress.org/americas-biggest-right-wing-homeschooling-group-has-been-networking-with-sanctioned-russians-1f2b5b5ad031/

Evangelicals and the Kremlin: A history of collusion
Link to Article

Targeting Black Americans, Russia's IRA Exploited Racial Wounds
https://www.wired.com/story/russia-ira-target-black-americans/

The FBI warned about the possibility white supremacist groups infiltrating U.S. law enforcement agencies.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fbi-warned-about-white-supremacists/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/fbi-white-supremacists-in-law-enforcement

Edited to update and add a better source for FBI report...

[liberalla]

40. Good links - thank you for this! I hadn't heard of a RW homeschooling movement.

[SWBTATTReg]

39. I suspect that these white provocateurs will be caught on camera, and I'm kind of ...

surprised that nothing has been said yet, but like one prior DU poster mentioned, perhaps the authorities are sitting on evidence/leads that they haven't released yet, until they locate and / or arrest these people. With surely thousands (or hundreds) of cameras on people's cell phones, that some evidence is out there of their involvement in stirring up crap.

It's just a matter of time...too many people are out there, watching everything, and thus, it's just a matter of time before pics and more evidence pops up. I certainly hope so, for these people are trying to divert who really is at fault for inciting property crimes, getting others excited/hyper, etc.

[DesertRat]

41. Putin must be so happy right now

[Skittles]

45. his investment has paid off BIG TIME

yup

[Upthevibe]

43. And, I do think they may be involved in the

whole mask protest movement.....

[Skittles]

44. they've been emboldened by their cult leader, Trump

I hope the people who are genuinely angry VOTE.