and they were absolutely convinced that antifa was some sort of organized terrorist organization. i.e. that there was a headquarters, regional affiliates, and a military structure.
They thought I was an idiot to believe otherwise.
They also refused to believe that there was right-wing elements that had infiltrated the protests in order to instigate violence. When I produced lots of newspaper articles backing up my claims, it was all fake news.

What Trump was doing was to try to put some anecdotal facts behind a story that he had already created...and broke the law in the process.

Fifty years ago, i organized my precinct in Dallas for McGovern. The delegates to the next level of the Democratic Party presidential nomination process would be selected at a precinct convention. I knew from family history that you could get a fast gavel from the "chair," and I brought that possibility up at our planning meeting. Some bozo, who just showed up in our ranks, offered the idea of climbing up the power line pole, and cutting off the electricity to the elementary school building where the official precinct convention would take place. That way, he explained, the Chair's microphone would go dead and "we" could control the proceeding with bull horns. I was only 19, but I could see through this jerkoff. and I asked the group if anybody thought that was a good idea -- effectively shutting him up.

Thereafter, I relocated to Austin as a student at the University of Texas and got involved with the anti-war demonstrations. There I met the Mother Fuckers Club, a handful of guys who were always in favor of violent action against the pigs. Their bullshit was so obvious that none of the hippie-type activists in our group took them seriously.

Finally, in my professional life as a union representative in 1984, I was directing strategy for a strike against Safeway. About two frustrating months into what turned into a three-month strike, one of the union business agents for our union took me aside and offered to get some dynamite and blow up one of the Safeways. I knew this guy was no ringer, but I recall the story now to get across how many loony birds there are in this world -- and it is frightening to contemplate how easy it is to wind up a guy like that and aim him at the target of opportunity.

I draw no conclusions from any tale I hear about ringers within a group that is trying to rock some boat or other.