Dana El-Kurd

Participants in the planning chat agreed to wear black block and bring armor and rifles.

Song advertised the action in a larger group chat of dozens of quote-unquote trusted individuals.

The event was characterized in this chat as a low-risk noise demonstration involving fireworks.

A flyer was sent to this larger chat reading, share with trusted folks only, do not post, mask up, be loud, unquote.

According to cooperating witness Susan Kent, in the 4th of July party signal chat, when asked about bringing guns, Song stated, I'm not going back to prison, I'm not going to jail, I'm bringing guns, unquote.

Boy, okay, great.

This sentiment was also expressed at the gear check meeting on July 3rd, where defendants discussed bringing guns, and Song repeatedly stated that they would be bringing guns because he would not be quote-unquote going to jail.

They talked about guns as a deterrent.

They talked about how in previous instances, the presence of guns deterred police from engaging with protesters.

And this is how the presence of guns at the protest was largely framed in these meetings and chats.

It does not look good in writing in a court case, though.

Yeah, and this is what the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club had done, like sweep defenses and stuff where they'd shown up armed.

That incident was brought up.

Yeah, that was specifically referenced.

It had, in fact, worked that way, more or less.

I mean, there's a number of things to drill into here, but one of the issues is just, while that's a thing people have used firearms for and have done so in a way that worked in the past, obviously, which is what they were referencing, the problem is that you can't ever lose sight of the fact that a

A gun is a gun, and if you're bringing a gun into a situation... There's potential for that gun to be used.

There's potential for that gun to be used.

And if you're bringing that gun into a situation around a police station, the odds that you will use that gun in a way that is not going to cause a life-ruining legal nightmare for you and everyone else are a lot lower.

That's a real issue, yeah.