Trump rally leader: Evergreen State College is next
Jun 5, 2017, 3:26 PM | Updated: Jun 6, 2017, 9:45 am
Joey Gibson has led pro-Trump rallies and freedom of speech demonstrations in Liberal communities. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, file)
(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, file)
Joey Gibson, the leader of multiple pro-Trump, Conservative rallies along the West Coast, has set his sights on Evergreen State College after racial tensions spiked on campus.
“Yes, Evergreen State College, you should start freaking out. Have your meltdown. We are coming,” Gibson told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson.
Gibson’s group Patriot Prayer organizes rallies and events to publicly showcase a Conservative, pro-Trump, Libertarian perspective. He led a demonstration and march in Seattle on May Day. He held a free speech rally in Portland on June 4 despite objections of that city’s mayor. He hasn’t organized it, but he is also throwing his support and influence into the anti-Sharia rally in Seattle on June 10.
RELATED: Patriot Prayer leader rejects Portland mayor’s request to cancel event
There is no set date for Gibson’s Evergreen visit, but he affirms that he will bring a right-wing rally to the college campus known for its left-leaning culture.
“We have tons of people doing some research, organizing,” Gibson said. “We are not going to release any details right now. We are going to make sure we follow the law and make sure we are respectful. But they are going to hear from us.”
Gibson stresses that the purpose of his visit is to bring an alternative viewpoint to Evergreen. He also wants to prove that, despite negative press and rumor, his organization does not promote hate speech.
“The students there are being misled, as if we are some sort of hate group and white supremacists,” Gibson said. “But that is not what we stand for. That has nothing to do with us.”
“In the end, I guess someone like me and Patriot Prayer, I guess we are extremists on a campus,” he said. “Because they have gone so far to the left, when someone shows up in the center, they freak out. They are very uncomfortable with it. It’s not a good situation for them because they are going to have to hear someone who has a different point of view.”
Evergreen State College has recently been plagued by tense incidents involving racial overtones. A conflict arose between educators and students after a professor refused to stay off campus when a student group called for a day without whites. The event was meant to create an awareness of racial issues in America. The professor was called a racist by students. Gibson has called this professor “a patriot, for standing tall and not being pushed around.”
The college has since been the target of two anonymous threats that have shut down the campus. State lawmaker Matt Manweller has even called for the state to drop Evergreen from its higher education system.
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