A Utah anti-deportation group reportedly endorsing violence against conservatives said Saturday that the FBI came looking for its members.
People of Provo Against ICE told the leftist outlet Fight Back! News that agents knocked on multiple doors to track down three advocates for undisclosed reasons on Friday. The organization made headlines days earlier over leaked audio, first reported by The Cougar Chronicle, in which members said they need to kill society’s wealthy “one percent,” President Donald Trump, other right-wing politicians, and their children. A recent photo in their Discord group chat also showed participants praising artwork with the words “shoot Trump” on it, the local paper reported.
The claims of an FBI inquiry also came after Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained a Venezuelan national tied to People of Provo Against ICE, according to multiple reports. He reportedly helped create the violent anti-Trump art.
People of Provo Against ICE and the FBI’s Salt Lake City office did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment. The group said officials asked to speak to activists Venna Burkhardt, Collin Grannis, and Chase Barrett. The allegations are another example of radical organizers’ heightened fears of legal consequences under Trump.
“You just can’t get away from capitalism,” a person reportedly said in the group’s leaked audio discussions, to which another replied, “No, unless we kill everybody.” Participants listed the various political enemies they deemed deserving of death versus “reeducation,” according to The Cougar Chronicle. A member allegedly added that “you also have to kill their children.”
“If you’re talking about politicians or billionaires? No. Those f***ers gotta go,” a People for Provo Against ICE leader reportedly said. “Period and point blank.”
Fight Back! News is run by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, which itself warned supporters in August that it appeared to be under an FBI investigation in Florida. The group has a history of law enforcement scrutiny and raids, and it alerts activists to FBI sightings to urge them not to answer questions.
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“The FBI’s investigations into People of Provo Against ICE are meant to intimidate activists,” Fight Back! News wrote. “Protesting is not a crime, and PoPAI will not stop fighting back against ICE.”
“Activists should not talk to the FBI,” Freedom Road Socialist Organization member Chrisley Carpio said. “We need to meet them with a wall of silence.”