Should 'Death to America' chants be protected under free speech?



There’s a frightening trend growing in America. "Death to America" chants are making a comeback, the latest out of Dearborn, Michigan.

The chant began when Michigan activist Tarek Bazzi took to the podium at the International Al-Quds Day Rally in Dearborn.

“We’ve been asked in the past, why are our protests on the International Day of Al-Quds, why are they so anti-America? Why don’t we focus more on Israel and not talk so much about America?” Bazzi said.

“Gaza has shown the entire world why these protests are so anti-America, because it’s the United States government that provides the funds for all of the atrocities that we just heard about,” he continued.

“And this is why Imam Khomeini, who declared the International Day of Al-Quds, this is why he would say to pour all of your chants, and pour all of your shouts, upon the head of America,” he added, before the “Death to America” chants from the crowd began.

While the chant currently qualifies as free speech, Pat Gray wonders if it should be.

“Don’t you have to keep an eye on that?” Gray asks, adding, “I’m just fed up with it. If you hate America like that, get out. Why are you here supporting it with your tax dollars? Get out, go somewhere else, go back to Palestine where things are so great.”


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Genocide Joe has to go: Pro-Palestine supporters chant 'Death to America!' in Michigan, demand 'entire' US system be eliminated



Pro-Palestine supporters chanted "Death to America!" and called for the elimination of the "entire" U.S. system during a rally in Dearborn, Michigan. The anti-Israel also demanded that President Joe Biden be ousted while declaring the United States is "one of the rottenest countries that has ever existed on this Earth."

On Friday, a pro-Palestinian rally was held on International Al-Quds Day rally in Dearborn. The rally featured speaker Tarek Bazzi – a Michigan-based activist associated with the Hadi Institute.

Bazzi argued that pro-Palestine protests not only need to be anti-Israel, but also anti-American because it is "the United States government that provides the funds for all of the atrocities" in Gaza.

"Imam Khomeini, who declared the International Al-Quds Day, this is why he would say to pour all of your chants and all of your shouts upon the head of America," Bazzi declared.

Protestors at the rally then chanted: "Death to America!"

Bazzi then quoted Malcolm X from a rally in 1964, "We live in one of the rottenest countries that has ever existed on this Earth."

The Muslim speaker then took aim at President Biden and the American system.

"It’s not just Genocide Joe that has to go. It is the entire system that has to go," Bazzi proclaimed. "Any system that would allow such atrocities and such devilry to happen, and would support it – such a system does not deserve to exist on God’s Earth."

Bazzi then attacked "these fools" who ask if "Israel has a right to exist."

"The chant 'Death to Israel!' has become the most logical chant shouted across the world today," he claimed.

Demonstrators began chanting: "Death to Israel!"

Michigan-based Iman Usama Abdulghani commented that Israel is an "evil settler colonialist project" and a "cancer."

He said that the "people of conscious" recognize that "Israel is ISIS, they are Nazis, they are fascists, they are racists."

Protesters were then heard chanting "Free Palestine" and "From the river to the sea."

The "From the river to the sea" phrase calls for the establishment of a Palestine state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, while completely eliminating the state of Israel.

In February, Michigan Democrats turned against their own party's leader and urged voters to go against Biden during the state's primary over the Israel-Hamas war.

While in Dearborn, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) stumped for a progressive group vehemently against "Biden’s funding war and genocide in Gaza."

The pro-Palestine organization is so committed to opposing U.S. aid to Israel that it even hints at enabling former President Donald Trump to win the key state of Michigan in the 2024 presidential election.

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VIDEO: BLM protesters in Oakland channel Iran, shout 'Death to America!'



Several hundred Black Lives Matter protesters, many wearing black bloc, marched through the streets of Oakland, California, last Wednesday, shouting a chant usually only heard in Iran: "Death to America!"

Video of the protesters shouting the anti-American slogan posted to Twitter on Sunday by journalist Andy Ngô quickly went viral on the platform, garnering over 2 million views.

"On Wednesday night, around 700 black bloc militants and their supporters rampaged through Oakland, Cal. They chanted 'death to America' while starting fires and smashing cars and buildings," Ngô wrote in the post.

This wasn’t widely reported. On Wednesday night, around 700 black bloc militants and their supporters rampaged thro… https://t.co/5h8JWJRDDY
— Andy Ngô (@Andy Ngô)1598826949.0

According to the Oakland Police Department, the protesters had indeed wreaked havoc on the city by setting fires, smashing windows, and vandalizing several businesses.

In a tweet the following day, the department said, "600-700 people took part in violent & destructive protests Wed. night. numerous fires set, dozens of windows broken, multiple businesses vandalized. Protesters threw objects at officers, thankfully no officers were injured. Several people arrested."

On Monday, the department posted an update, sharing with the public that 24 arrests had been made as a result of the protests, with the majority of the arrested individuals being from out of town.

The City of Oakland experienced large crowds during a 3 day period, Aug. 26, 28, & 29. The crowds were violent, des… https://t.co/Q3IuDOyDL5
— Oakland Police Dept. (@Oakland Police Dept.)1598919040.0

The department noted that the protesters were "violent, destructive, [and] displayed hostility towards our community members and police officers."

In Kenosha, Wisconsin, last week, a young woman shouted "Death to America" as she burned an American flag outside the county courthouse, but the protesters in Oakland kicked things up a notch by chanting the phrase en masse.

Several people replied to Ngô's tweet suggesting that the protesters should relocate to a different country, perhaps one run by a totalitarian regime, to see what real oppression looks like.

The "Death to America" chant has been used in Iran for decades since the 1979 Iranian Revolution in order to foment an anti-American sentiment in the country.

Its use by Black Lives Matter protesters is a sign that such a sentiment is also growing among leftists in America, who likely take their cues from progressive politicians who desire the toppling of American institutions.

The fact that the majority of those arrested in Oakland were not residents of the city suggests that recent violence in some American cities is not entirely the result of local unrest. It is more likely that rioters and agitators are taking advantage of bubbling unrest to accomplish their own goals.

It was recently reported that 102 of the 175 arrestees in the Kenosha riots were from out of town.

(H/T: Daily Wire)

Video surfaces of WaPo op-ed contributor chanting ‘Death to America’

Less than two months after he was given prominent op-ed space in the Washington Post, a video has surfaced of Houthi rebel leader Mohammad Ali al-Houthi launching a shoulder-fired missile and then reciting the Houthi slogan, which calls for “Death to America.”

The Washington Post contributor chants, “Allah is the greatest. Death to America. Death to Israel. Curse the Jews. Victory to Islam.” He has also taken to his unverified but media- and think tank-cited Twitter account to repeat the infamous Houthi slogan.

Ali Shihabi, the founder of the Arabia Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based Middle East think tank, confirmed to Conservative Review that it is indeed al-Houthi in the video. Shihabi tells CR that it is “documentary evidence of the type of leader” that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen is up against, whom “many critics have ignored.”

Other videos have surfaced showing Mr. al-Houthi traveling in a vehicle with very young male soldiers (the Houthi rebels draft child soldiers) while stationed at a mounted machine gun.

al-Houthi is the head of the Houthis’ Supreme Revolutionary Committee. He is described as “one of the most powerful men” in the Iran-backed rebel group.

On November 9, the radical extremist leader was given valuable space in the Washington Post’s Global Opinions section, edited by Karen Attiah, a passionate advocate for the controversial slain Saudi activist Jamal Khashoggi, who in his last days worked as a de facto asset to the Qatari and Turkish regimes. 

After Jamal Khashoggi’s death, Attiah worked to turn the Global Opinions section into a space to pursue his pro-Islamist, anti-Saudi monarchy agenda. 

In his Washington Post column, the Houthi radical claimed to want “peace for Yemen.” 

“We love peace — the kind of honorable peace defended by our revolution’s leader, Abdulmalik al-Houthi. We are ready for peace, the peace of the brave. God willing, Yemenis will remain the callers of peace and lovers of peace,” al-Houthi wrote. 

Of course, to al-Houthi, the road map to peace begins and ends with placing blame on all of the issues in Yemen squarely with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Nowhere in the piece did the Washington Post add a disclaimer or note the fact that the Houthis routinely commit war crimes.

The facts tell a story far removed from al-Houthi’s unchecked propaganda. The Houthis have become notorious for their ruthless behavior, which includes the systematic detention and torture of journalists and the forced recruitment of child soldiers. The UN’s World Food Program has recently alleged that the Houthis are to blame for stealing desperately needed aid meant for the people of Yemen, letting commanders like al-Houthi eat well while the group contributes to the ongoing famine and mass starvation inside the country.

 

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