Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Christopher Mathias

Mark Bray @mark-bray.bsky.social · 5h

Our plane to Spain is in the air!

🙌🙌

Thank you so much to the countless people supporting us in every way and in particular all of the Rutgers students and faculty who have supported us every step of the way.

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 4h

www.wweek.com/culture/2025...

Can you put into words what that purpose is? You and the frog have really become icons of this protest.

There’s been a nice overall whimsy that has shown up. The frog is amazing. We had a bunch of other inflatable people here last night, too. I saw people playing Twister the other day.

What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we’re actually not that afraid.

It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as “war-torn,” it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 9h

NEW: A federal judge hands win to clergy (and others) who say ICE agents violated their religious freedom by, among other things, shooting them with pepper balls.

Also: a pastor tells me senior Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino personally shoved him last week. religionnews.com/2025/10/09/f...

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Mark Bray @mark-bray.bsky.social · 12h

Friends and comrades made a crowdfunding page for my family.

It’s really hard to post this. I know that there are a lot of other important issues asking for money but things have gotten to the point where we need to open ourselves up to your support.

Thank you for your consideration.

"Help us leave safely" on FreeFunder

Click here to support "Help us leave safely" by Dara on FreeFunder!

www.freefunder.com

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Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 11h

Really enjoyed talking with @caitlinmoriah.bsky.social & @trentrichardnelson.bsky.social about antifa & the history of the antifa bogeyman.

Think it’s a good listen after that batshit White House presser abt antifa yesterday www.liberalcurrents.com/half-the-ans...

Half the Answer #39: What Is Antifa, and How Do You Catch a Fascist?

Christopher Mathias, author of "To Catch a Fascist," speaks to Caitlin and Trent about the events of 2020, clashes between violent fascist clubs and "community defense" groups. They discuss misconcept...

www.liberalcurrents.com

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dr. caitlin m. green @caitlinmoriah.bsky.social · 11h

loved talking with @letsgomathias.bsky.social about fascists and reheated antifa nachos

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Liberal Currents @liberalcurrents.com · 15h

Half the Answer #39: Christopher Mathias, author of "To Catch a Fascist," speaks to Caitlin and Trent. They discuss misconceptions about what "antifa" is and what kinds of activities they are engaged in, and the Trump administration's demonization of community defenders and antifascists in 2025.

Half the Answer #39: What Is Antifa, and How Do You Catch a Fascist?

Christopher Mathias, author of "To Catch a Fascist," speaks to Caitlin and Trent about the events of 2020, clashes between violent fascist clubs and "community defense" groups. They discuss misconcept...

www.liberalcurrents.com

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Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 1d

“Critics have said” the sky is blue

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 1d

no they're LITERALLY exaggerating this issue. there is absolutely no data backing up their claims. ffs just say that!!

NBC news: The discussions come as Trump has sought to deploy National Guard troops in several major cities — including Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon — saying they’re needed to reduce crime and protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials from protesters. Critics have said that the Trump administration is exaggerating issues in those cities.

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Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 1d

And another really great convo I had with @grza.bsky.social about the antifa bogeyman here! open.spotify.com/episode/5smM...

Did Nothing Wrong 09/29/25 - Chris Mathias

open.spotify.com

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Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 1d

Also check out this great convo I had with @michaelehayden.bsky.social and @jaredlholt.bsky.social about the antifa bogeyman here open.spotify.com/episode/7xlC...

Spotify – Web Player

open.spotify.com

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Ali Winston @awinston.bsky.social · 1d

The 1488 Project

Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 1d

Incredible.

Jack Posobiec references the earliest version of antifa -- the anti-fascists in the Weimar Republic who were opposed to the Nazi Party -- as the bad guys.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 1d

These things, of course, are exactly why Donald Trump and his hospice nurse Stephen Miller like him

Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 1d

Jack collaborated with neo-Nazi twins to make a documentary. He was a fan of white supremacist Richard Spencer. He has tweeted 1488, the alphanumeric code for Heil Hitler. He wrote an unreadable anti-antifa book. Last year he wrote a book abt the left called “Unhumans.” That he’s now speaking here…

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 1d

From Donald Trump's Roundtable on Antifa just now —
"Antifa has been around in various iterations for almost 100 years in some instances, going back to the Weimar Republic in Germany."
— special guest Jack Posobiec

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Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 1d

Anyway my book abt antifa is much better. You can preorder To Catch A Fascist here www.simonandschuster.com/books/To-Cat...

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Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 1d

Jack collaborated with neo-Nazi twins to make a documentary. He was a fan of white supremacist Richard Spencer. He has tweeted 1488, the alphanumeric code for Heil Hitler. He wrote an unreadable anti-antifa book. Last year he wrote a book abt the left called “Unhumans.” That he’s now speaking here…

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 1d

From Donald Trump's Roundtable on Antifa just now —
"Antifa has been around in various iterations for almost 100 years in some instances, going back to the Weimar Republic in Germany."
— special guest Jack Posobiec

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Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 1d

in the Bible it says to help people only if they have papers and a Cigna plan

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Mike Johnson: "If you're a young, pregnant American citizen women who shows up in an ER and you get treated and they pay the hospital less for treating you than some illegal rabble rouser who came in from some South American country to do us harm, that is wrong."

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Jared Holt @jaredlholt.bsky.social · 1d

On the premium episode this week, @michaelehayden.bsky.social and I set out to answer our show's existential question: "Who Are These Freaks on My Screen?"

We looked at the cohort of right-wing influencers who have flocked to Portland to make MAGA agitprop

www.patreon.com/posts/043-wh...

043: Who Are These Freaks On My Screen? | Posting Through It

www.patreon.com

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Michael Edison Hayden @michaelehayden.bsky.social · 1d

I love when Andy Ngo does one of his David Attenborough-style posts about Antifa and highlights some kid who took a bong rip and waddled into the protest dressed like a giant muppet.

My favorite flavor of his commentary by far.

Andy Ngo wants to draw your attention to Barney the dinosaur

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Stanislav Vysotsky @professorstas.bsky.social · 2d

Knowing that they have the full support of the federal government, the Proud Boys are going to try invading Portland again.

Since Portland residents won’t passively accept it, this attack will only serve to reinforce the fascist narrative that the city is a war zone.

Alex Kaplan @alkapdc.bsky.social · 2d

On Friday, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio announced on his podcast that because "it seems like [the] Portland Police Bureau is not doing their job," "the Proud Boys will be coming back to Portland" in "one capacity or another."

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Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 2d

Solidarity with @mark-bray.bsky.social, a fantastic, thoughtful, and generous scholar whose work about antifa is so important in this moment.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Rutgers professor moving to Europe after threats over antifa accusations

Mark Bray says threats intensified after a Turning Point USA petition accused him of promoting political violence

www.theguardian.com

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Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 2d

NEW: I talked to scholars who study political contagion about how America’s freefall could affect the rest of the world. They are… concerned. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Is America contagious?

Scholars in political extremism are documenting the global spread of right-wing populism.

www.motherjones.com

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Jessica Pishko @jesspish.bsky.social · 2d

After Reconstruction, the media refused to believe that white supremacists were massacring entire towns of Black people attempting to claim local sovereignty over their own lives. It is not true that violence, even when it's "plain as day," necessarily moves public opinion.

The white- run news transformed this event from a coup that overthrew an elected Republican government into a horror story of armed Black men, turning the massacre into a legitimate act of white self- defense. The Shreveport Times described the event as “the most deplorable and bloody affray ever

perpetuated.” Years after the event, white Democrats would periodically fearmonger about a Black militia that would return to overthrow the government, blaming power- hungry Republicans.

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Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 2d

walking into random nyc businesses screaming "let's do the fucking news"

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Megan Greenwell @greenwell.bsky.social · 2d

gotta say I don't think it's a great sign for society that the top editor of a major American news outlet thinks we're in a "fight for the West." (against WHOM, Bari?)

Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 2d

bellissima

We're thrilled to announce that Anduril founder Palmer Luckey will join Bari Weiss live in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, October 8, at 7:00 p.m. for a conversation on the future of American power-and the fight for the West.
Tickets are LIVE- get them here!

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Bruno J. Navarro @brunojnavarro.bsky.social · 2d

free link archive.ph/besFb

By law, to question somebody, immigration officers must have reason to think they could be an illegal immigrant.
To arrest somebody, they need probable cause. Ms Brooks, who is black, with an American accent, says she repeatedly asked officers why she was being arrested, and pointed out her citizenship. Nobody asked her any questions. When she continued to object to her arrest, an officer knocked her to the ground, removed the zip-ties and replaced them with handcuffs, locked as tightly as they would go. By the time she was released, together with several other citizens, she says the sun was coming up.

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Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 3d

This is the least of the issues with Bari I know but I’m also just struck by the fact that she’s always been a pundit? Like never done a day of actual reporting in her life?

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