Tens of thousands of people hit the streets of San Francisco and Berkeley against a series of far-right rallies attended by Alt-Right trolls, Proud Boys, and neo-Nazis. The mobilizations showed that there is broad popular opposition to the Alt-Right as antifascist groups, labor, faith-based organizations, and a multitude of sectors mobilized and organized to confront the far-right. The Bay Area mobilizations also showed that the autonomous power and energy that was unleashed after Charlottesville is still very much alive and is growing among the broader population.

But, in the face of growing mass popular opposition not controlled or contained by the Democratic Party, through building a coalition that includes anarchists and antifascists, both the Right, Center, and liberal Left began to launch a series of attacks in the media against "antifa." Attacks in rightwing media have been constant and borrow from viral stories coming out of the Alt-Right media eco-system and are often based on disinformation. Meanwhile, Center and liberal publications that weeks before had given airtime to antifascists now drew hard lines against it. The Washington Post ran an editorial saying that antifa was the "moral equivalent" of neo-Nazis, while others brought out old tropes that resisting fascism only helps it to grow.

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See Also: Keith “KPikklefield” Campbell’s Deep History of Alt-Right Trolling & Provocation | Remember the Nazi tiki torch march in Charlottesville & what it says about liberal appeasers

Related Feature: No Hate in the Bay: A Victorious Weekend of Resistance to Fascism