So, Santilli is covering the event live from California and also controlling the donation money, Zeeda Andrews still sees lizard people, Earl Conlon is threatening arrest of government officials, and Larry Klayman is on the scene telling President Obama to put down his Quran and turn himself in. What could possibly go wrong.
Let's back up a few steps. Friday's low numbers warranted no media coverage. The government was blamed because of made-up threats of the National Guard shutting down the Beltway, and because they controlled the media. Saturday, it turns out, was no better. 30-50 trucks ran the Beltway in protest but were little more than a minor annoyance. General Lee and Pete Santilli continued coverage, promising bigger things to come for Sunday.
Sunday came, but more truckers didn't. Event organizers stated there were almost 1400; VA law enforcement confirmed 50-60. Santilli in his Guerrilla radio broadcast said that 48 truckers dropped their trailers, broke off from the massive convoy, and were headed to the WWII to add support to the veterans' protest march on the memorials that was also happening.
The truth is that about a dozen trucks went in to DC to the WWII memorial.
So, a group that promised massive turnout, encouraged revolution, wanted to arrest government officials, and repeatedly threatened the President was coming into Washington in a show of force. How do you think law enforcement would respond?
It seems now that leaders of the trucker protest saw that their event was a flop and was getting no media coverage. What could they do? They played upon the patriotism of the truckers and sent them to a place where there were people, cameras, and as it turned out riot police, to try to make their failed event appear to be more than it was.
When the truckers arrived on the scene, and when the barricades were being taken to the White House, the truckers were the first to harass and taunt the police who came on site. What do you think happened next? Riot police were sent in to keep order. While there was some minor pushing and shoving on both sides, things stayed relatively calm. It was the veterans event, after all, and they wanted a peaceful protest. The truckers and the radicals were held in check.
Pete Santilli continued the broadcast. His personal spin was put on it, and the unknowing listener would think that the veterans came out to support the truckers, the veterans were the radicals, and the police used Nazi-like tactics to bully and oppress the veterans and the truckers. Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz also came for the veterans. Of course, in Santilli's twisted realm, they came to side with the truckers and to avoid citizen's arrests that were sure to come.
General Lee broadcast from the parking lots, over-stated the numbers of trucks involved, and sounded like a true patriot. On a serious note, I think he went into this in good faith, but was duped. No one wants to admit they've been had or have failed, so Lee seemed to be trying to minimize the apparent failure and make the best of a bad situation.
Only after the protest ended and everyone went home did another truth come to light. We mentioned before that Pete Santilli had access to the donation money. Many speculated that there was as much as $500,000 in the donation PayPal account. Low numbers of truckers required little money to be spent, so the fund was presumably large.
The truckers who came out for the protest found out on Monday that the fund had been emptied over the weekend. During his weekend broadcasts, Santilli was questioned about the money and often called a fraud. He hung up on callers and eventually shut the broadcast down. The websites and social media pages for the event saw webmasters and page admins booted, and Santilli in their place. When questions about the money reached epic proportions, Santilli shut the fund down. No money in; no money out, unless it was done by him.
Now, there is bickering and infighting. Santilli denies everything. Zeeda Andrews is covering for him and blaming Larry Klayman. Klayman is blaming Santilli and Andrews.
You can't make this stuff up, and it's sad! There are two groups of unfortunates in this whole sordid mess. The first is the truckers who were promised fuel money, large numbers, and the chance to speak up. They were doomed from the start, but they didn't know it. Those who came thought with their heart and not with their head. The end result? They spent money, lost work, and had little overall effect.
The second victim is the veterans. They wanted a peaceful demonstration. They were invaded by a group of truckers who's organizers wanted to steal their thunder and steal their event. Unwanted politicians also came on site, and many veterans thought they were being used in a game of politics. The trucker's organizers promised revolution and armed insurrection, and the veterans saw their peaceful protest almost turn violent.
It's a sad situation for all involved. I hope they track the money down, recover it, and nail all involved.
Keep reading, because I'm going to add an addendum in which I'll explain my thoughts on the event organizers, what happened, how and why.
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