Keith Ellison, DNC deputy chair, slammed after posing with 'Antifa Handbook' - Washington Times
Democratic National Committee deputy chairman Keith Ellison is facing backlash online after he tweeted a smiling photo of himself holding a copy of “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook,” a book that has been criticized as promoting left-wing violence.
“At @MoonPalaceBooks and I just found the book that strike fear in the heart of @realDonaldTrump,” Mr. Ellison, Minnesota Democrat, tweeted Wednesday afternoon.
“Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook,” written by Dartmouth visiting scholar and historian Mark Bray, serves as a history of anti-fascism movements and guide to aspiring radicals.
Antifa came into prominence after President Trump’s election, with some Democrats being forced to disavow the movement for initiating violence on college campuses and other counter-protests. In August, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi denounced the “violent actions of people calling themselves antifa.”
Mr. Bray explained at the time that members of the left-wing collective sometimes resort to violence as a form of “social revolutionary self defense” against neo-Nazis and white supremacists. He announced in November that half of all proceeds from the book would be funneled into legal, medical and personal expenses to defend antifa activists.
Mr. Ellison’s tweet Wednesday was met with 2,100 retweets and more than 6,500 responses — many of them angry that the Democrat was appearing to endorse a violent organization in an effort to burn the president.
LOAD COMMENTS (37)