June 2nd for the Second Amendment

Photo of people on the State House steps, the person closest to the camera has a fist in the air and is wearing a 'Fuck Antifa' t-shirt. Two people behind are holding flags. One person at the top of the steps is also holding their fist up. There are five people visible in the photo total.

Event Date: June 2, 2018

Organized by: June 2nd for the Second Amendment

Organizations Present:

White Supremacists/Fascists Present:

  • Mark Sahady
  • Michael Moura
  • Michael “Red Pill Dragon” Costa
  • Samson Racioppi
  • Rickey Entwisle (a planner for Unite the Right 2 who was engaged in planning it at the time)
  • John Camden
  • Matt Smaller
  • Trevor Carey
  • John Medlar
  • Robert Burke
  • Jason Muscara
  • Luke Ballasteros

Key Takeaways/Facts:

  • Fascists and white supremacists counter-protested the March for Our Lives Boston march, and followed that action with this rally as part of a national day of action, supposedly around gun rights.
  • ThinkProgress’ reporting on Resist Marxism revealed their organization had direct ties to Unite the Right and the subsequent “free speech” rally on August 17, 2019. These organizations include Vanguard America, Patriot Front, and more.
  • Speakers at the rally incited violence against counter-demonstrators and deployed racist arguments around “illegal immigration,” and they couched their defense of gun rights in terms of defending against a liberal government.
  • A fascist rally attendee rushed counter-protesters and choked a counter-demonstrator. 
  • Boston Police Department maintained a perimeter around the rally and provided safe passage, while repeatedly harassing counter-demonstrators. Ultimately, 3 total arrests occurred.

Impact:

  • Investigative reporting from ThinkProgress before the rally popularized the information about the real intentions of Resist Marxism and other groups organizing the rally, leading to strain on Resist Marxism’s coalition and dampening turnout.
  • Resist Marxism’s momentum subsequently continued to falter. Turnout and coalition-building in their later rallies declined – indeed, the next attempt at a standalone mass rally in Boston, in August 2018, was organized by Boston Free Speech, not Resist Marxism – and for several months they focused energy on rallies in Providence and to a lesser extent New York City.

Media Coverage: