Arrest Communists, Not Trump

By Cliff Kincaid

March 23, 2023

More than one thousand communists, socialists, and fellow travelers rallied on March 18 in Lafayette Square, next to the White House, and then marched across town in support of Russia, China, Cuba, and causes such as reparations for blacks and massive defense cuts. I was there covering the rally, taking dozens of pictures, in order to prove to my fellow Americans that communism is not dead but very much alive.

Similar events were scheduled to take place in more than a dozen U.S. cities.

Noting the reports of only a few thousand communists in America, the late Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky wrote in his book Judgment in Moscow, “One should not forget that back in 1917, Lenin also started out with only forty thousand comrades.”

At the March 18 event, I counted not one or two, but almost a dozen socialist and communist groups. Brian Becker, the National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition, singled me out in the crowd and denounced me as the “right-wing media” for taking pictures of him and his comrades. I have covered his role in the “anti-war” movement for years and was evicted from one of his events.

I pulled out a copy of the Communist Manifesto for Becker to sign. He refused, calling it a “cute” trick. However, his own video on “The History of the Communist Manifesto” is on YouTube and is described this way: “Travel with us through a time machine to when the Communist Manifesto was written! You will learn about the political and economic forces that made writing the Manifesto not only possible, but necessary. This text created international and timeless ripples, inspiring the masses to organize themselves to fight for a worker-led society across the world.”

Becker’s resume includes stints with the Workers World Party (WWP) and the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), the main sponsor of this particular march.

A frequent guest on Russia Today, a Russian propaganda channel, he has been interviewed by the Chinese newspaper Global Times, where he praised dictator Xi and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).  He currently hosts a show on Radio Sputnik, a Russian propaganda operation, and a podcast called “The Socialist Program.”

His career in the communist movement includes strong support for the Stalinist North Korea dictatorship, even meeting with North Korea officials to praise their regime.

In addition to the WWP and the PSL, groups I captured in various photographs of the rally included the Communist Party USA, the Democratic Socialist of America, African People’s Socialist Party, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Socialist Unity Party, Spartacist League, the Party of Communists USA, and the Schiller Institute, a political cult once headed by Lyndon LaRouche, who began his career as a Marxist organizer.

Interestingly, the organizers of the rally were potentially subject to prosecution under the Communist Control Act, a law still on the books that criminalizes membership in or support for “Communist-action” organizations. But the Department of Justice refuses to enforce the law and instead spends its time arresting Trump supporters and pro-lifers.

Former President Trump, facing various political indictments, has openly identified and denounced those out to get him as Marxists and communists.

To their credit, House Republican congressional committees are examining the China threat and the “weaponization” of government but have shown no inclination to monitor and expose communist groups active on American soil. The last panel to do that was the House Internal Security Committee, which published the study, “The Workers World Party and its front organizations,” back in 1974, finding WWP links to Cuba, Arab terrorists, and prison agitation.

Some of the communist protesters on March 18 held banners and signs denouncing U.S. support for Ukraine, the Philippines, Israel, and South Korea, while others spoke fondly of the communist governments of Cuba, Brazil and Nicaragua.

When I attempted to take pictures of Medea Benjamin’s “Code Pink” organization, one of her associates spotted and identified me by name, denouncing me as a conservative. Her group was holding big pink balloons saying “China is not our enemy,” a bizarre slogan considering the release of a virus from the Wuhan lab that has killed 1 million Americans, devastated the U.S. economy, and damaged educational advancement and opportunities for millions of young people.

Benjamin smiled and posed for pictures, holding a sign urging Biden to call Vladimir Putin and end the war in Ukraine. (Biden encouraged the war by saying there might not be a U.S. response if the Russians staged a “minor incursion” into Ukraine and has since failed to supply Ukraine the weapons it needs to reclaim occupied regions of the country.)

The objective of these demonstrations is to divert attention from Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, whitewash the CCP of its evil nature, and blame the U.S. for global turmoil and problems.

While many of these groups enjoy unfettered access to social media, my organization’s 500 anti-communist videos were terminated a year ago by YouTube for violating “community standards.”

Just a few blocks away from the pro-communist rally was the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, with exhibits documenting how more than 100 million have died at the hands of the communists.

While Fox News on March 8 explored the significance of President Ronald Reagan’s “Evil Empire” speech 40 years ago, in recognition of the reality of Soviet communism,  the channel has refused to report the substantial evidence of communist involvement in the modern “anti-war” movement, probably because host Tucker Carlson endorsed a separate rally, held on February 19 in Washington, devoted to many of the same goals.  The Washington Times, a conservative paper, noted that the February 19 event featured “far left’ and “libertarian” speakers, rather than open and identified communists. Still, Russian and communist flags were hoisted above the crowd.

One dissident in the crowd on March 18 was a young woman holding a sign saying “arrest Putin” and “Kremlin kidnappers: stop them.” The statements were a reference to the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant for Putin being responsible for the unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.

For these sentiments, she was harassed by a communist activist who said America was the problem, not Putin. She courageously went on her way, holding the sign as she walked through the crowd.

(Order your 16-page copy, Special report: Arrest Communists, Not Trump: Inside the March 18, 2023 Washington, D.C. Communist Rally, with exclusive photographs by Cliff Kincaid from the March 18 Marxist rally against America. Educate yourself and your family and friends about how communism is not dead but very much alive.)

© 2023 Cliff Kincaid – All Rights Reserved

E-Mail Cliff Kincaid: kincaid@comcast.net