This Is How It Ends*: If you let it

I’m a photojournalist that has been working on this story for the last 15 years. I’ve been documenting the far right for the last 15 years. I’ve photographed and written about the 2017 Unite the Right Rally, white nationalist castles in West Virginia, voter intimidation in Georgia, Proud Boy rallies in Portland and Cleveland. I’ve been shot with rubber bullets and pepper sprayed during BLM protests, spit on during COVID, put on white supremacist hit lists after the Unite the Right Rally, sent death threats for covering bigot business owners in my own town.

Covering this story has been one that has wracked my body and mind. This project is one that I have literally spent blood sweat and tears on.

How did we get here? That’s the first question I had when I started thinking about this documentary. It didn’t start with Trump and it won’t end with him, that much I knew. Trump is definitely a new version of threat, but he isn’t the first. I came of age as a journalist during the second Bush Administration and was born under Reagan.

But the question is, where to start? If I had Ken Burns time and money I’d begin it with the Reconstruction, the original lie of the United State of America was the denial of the promises of 40 Acres and a mule - America’s closest version of restitution for America’s original sin, slavery. Or start it with Reagan, the man who truly started the destruction of the New Deal. But, I’m no Ken Burns and at least as of now I don’t have a multimillion dollar deal with PBS. So we’re going to begin this horror film at Roger Stones Brooks Brothers Riot, then hop to GamerGate then run through the next decade hitting key points as we go.

The Key Points:

Spiritual Warfare - Using religion to convince the masses that the “other” is out to get you. Not to care about your fellow American. Using abortion and fear of trans people to divide the country and have an enemy.

The Sheriffs - Many Sheriffs in America believe that since they are elected, and swear on the Constitution they are beyond the power of elected officials. Law enforcement in America has been infiltrated, much like the military with white power groups and nationalist orgs like the Proud Boys and Patriot Front.

The Vote - I’ve been covering voter suppression since 2006 and have investigated all the ways that Americans are disenfranchised and convinced that the election is stolen. The elections have been stolen, not by immigrants - but by Republican officials.

Justice and Judges - For more than 40 years the courts have been influenced and infiltrated by groups like the extremely right-wing Federalist Society, building up to the first Trump administration where the Supreme Court was lost for a generation.

Street violence - For years the threats of street violence from hate groups like the Proud Boys, OathKeepers and literal Nazis have caused blood to be spread on the streets of our nations Capitol and largest cities. Trump has freed the leaders of these groups and gained their trust and admiration.

Disinformation - Fox News is only the most obvious part of the disinformation - not misinformation of this long term plan. This is not accidental - this is purposeful lies told to the American public. Thanks to social media, this has become a career plan for many.

Immigration - It’s the scare tactic that has worked for white nationalists for 250 years. Thanks to SCOTUS and a lazy Congress that can’t figure out immigration reform - it’s now the justification to send federal forces into American streets to rip people out of their homes. The Border Patrol is an army that’s been waiting to be used and Trump has just called them up.

What the f*** do we do? - I’ll talk with activists and groups that work on the ground that have answers for how we survive the next 4 years and prevent it from happening again.

I’ll be interviewing journalists, academics and activists delving into the history of how we got here. It didn’t start with Trump and it won’t end when he goes away.

Project goals:

My goal for this project is a feature length documentary that can be eventually split apart for social media, news spots and how ever we can get the message and information out there.

I will also turn portions of the film into short tiktok/Instagram friendly videos that can be used by activist groups and citizens in general to warn their friends and followers, and hopefully push them to act.

The film itself will act as a fundraiser for organization fighting fascism as I will show it in theaters in towns, and use it as a launching off pad for people to speak on these issues.

Beyond the film, I plan to you use the information, interviews and visuals that I have complied in zines that can be distributed and used as fundraisers for groups as well.

Everything will be archived and available (like all my work has been in the past) for academic and activist research going forward.