Key Takeaways
- Rutgers professor Mark Bray faced death threats after 'Antifa' was declared a terrorist organization.
- Bray, author of 'Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook', left the U.S. for Spain due to escalating threats.
- Right-wing groups launched a campaign to have Bray terminated from Rutgers over his academic work.
- Bray views political struggles as cyclical, with progressive actions historically triggering conservative backlashes.
Deep Dive
- Rutgers professor Mark Bray received death threats after President Trump declared 'Antifa' a terrorist organization.
- Bray, author of the 2017 book 'Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook,' became a target despite clarifying he is not a member of Antifa.
- Due to mounting threats, including those against his children, Bray, a leftist academic, left the United States for Spain.
- Mark Bray wrote 'Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook' in 2017 to explain historical resistance against rising far-right and white supremacist groups.
- Bray clarifies Antifa is a political movement with affiliated groups, not a unified organization, emphasizing self-defense with minimal force.
- After the 2017 Charlottesville rally, Bray's media appearances, where he discussed self-defense against neo-Nazis, led to denouncements and death threats.
- Over 100 Dartmouth faculty publicly supported Bray's academic freedom amidst the backlash.
- Harassment against Bray included a bomb scare at his work, part of a broader pattern following a Trump-era executive order targeting 'Antifa'.
- Bray initially believed Trump's 2020 election loss might end his political influence but predicted the continuation of his political style.
- The guest described a 'paradox of leftism,' where progressive actions historically trigger conservative reactions, citing examples from the 1920s-30s and Civil Rights era.
- Bray's renewed troubles began after a tweet from Jack Posobiec labeled him a 'domestic terrorist professor' and an article in the Washington Examiner, leading to his first death threat.
- He states the Rutgers community largely supported him, viewing the situation as amplified by a small group of Rutgers students acting as a proxy for a larger right-wing organization.
- A petition by Turning Point USA at Rutgers demanded Bray's termination, referencing Trump's executive order on Antifa.
- The petition demanding Bray's termination, which had fewer than 100 signatures, was deemed a 'manufactured story' that nonetheless escalated into more threats and doxing.
- Bray decided to leave the U.S. after receiving a doxing email, experiencing a mysterious last-minute flight cancellation, and facing an hour-long interrogation by customs agents.
- His children experienced distress, including one having a nightmare about police, leading Bray to tell them they are on a 'research trip' in Spain.
- The guest describes the current political climate as a 'new red scare,' noting he has become a reference point for discussions on academic freedom and free speech.
- Bray contrasts the current situation with 2017, observing a 'stranger and more serious' invocation of his eight-year-old work without recent anti-fascist/far-right conflicts.
- He attributes the relatively low 1800 signatures on the Change.org petition to manufactured outrage, noting overwhelming student support at Rutgers.
- Bray confirms feeling safe and happy in Spain, indicating his departure from the U.S. was motivated by safety concerns.