by Anthony Gockowski
One section of the leaked manifesto, titled “Theory of What Will Happen,” declares that “mass mobilization will and must happen in Minnesota to defend democracy.”
A leaked document allegedly created by TakeAction Minnesota warns of “mass mobilization” and “unrest” in Minneapolis if President Donald Trump is reelected, or if the results of the election are contested.
The document was obtained by Breitbart News and is labeled a “confidential working draft — not for public.” While no organization is listed in the document itself, Breitbart reports that TakeAction has been circulating the memo among its leadership.
TakeAction Minnesota, the “hub for Minnesota’s progressive movement,” was founded in 2006 as an affiliate of the national organization People’s Action. Its member organizations include various labor unions, such as Education Minnesota, and left-wing advocacy groups.
One section of the leaked manifesto, titled “Theory of What Will Happen,” declares that “mass mobilization will and must happen in Minnesota to defend democracy” regardless of the “strength of the Minnesota election system.”
“We expect that this mobilization will create space and opportunity for unrest, primarily in Minneapolis. In this context, the situation could rapidly spiral beyond control depending on the nature of the unrest and the State’s reaction,” the document says.
The document warns about the “possibility of right-wing violence” enabled by the Minneapolis Police Department.
“During the uprising immediately following the murder of George Floyd and since then, the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) is either disengaged or instigating tension. The governor has activated the National Guard and State Patrol twice, and is prepared to do so again,” says the document. “It is unclear who the MPD is accountable and answering to.”
If the election results are contested in Minnesota, the document suggests supporting “efforts by the State to resolve the contest rapidly and to prevent right-wing vigilantes, with or without support of local officials, from interfering with the certification of Minnesota’s electors by the safe harbor date.”
“In addition, we must be prepared to support state efforts to prevent illegitimate federal efforts to intervene on behalf of local right-wing groups,” it adds.
If a nearby state experiences contested results, the document recommends “finding opportunities to add capacity and people-power to the region and to states whose electors and votes might be more directly contested than ours.”
Regardless of the outcome, the document predicts that “Trump and the GOP” will “use institutional capacity to control election information and manipulate the result.”
“Here, our response will focus on mass mobilization efforts,” it says, noting that groups need to be prepared to take action from “Election Day to Inauguration Day.”
The document calls for “sustained mass mobilization” and “strategic disruption” in the event that Trump wins while “credible concerns regarding election inference and vote counting” remain.
The document also includes plans for establishing “healthy lines of communication between the field and governing actors.”
“Agreement from and establishment of communication from state leadership and the field maximizing our aligned efforts” is one of several “goals” listed in the document.
Another goal is to “establish a set of mass mobilization containers, on and offline, that can serve to advance our agenda in the days immediately following Election Day.”
“This is a moment for all hands and no elbows. It’s a time for organizations to be clear on their highest and best use in this moment and to find their lane. This will require a degree of trust that we may not fully have as a collective and as parts,” begins a section called “Role and Responsibility of Democracy Defense Organizations.”
The role of these unidentified “democracy defense organizations” will be to “collect and share information,” “prepare and care for people,” “mobilize popular support,” “advance a bold, clear narrative” and “interface with elected officials and former candidates.”
These organizations will also establish a “coalition that can function as a credible actor and broker in back-end negotiations with the DFL and elected officials.”
TakeAction Minnesota has been holding virtual 45-minute sessions “about the scenarios most likely to unfold on election night, [and] strategies to get grounded and ready to #SquadUp and ensure all votes are counted.”
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Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and reported for The Daily Caller.
Photo “MN Riot” by Chad Davis CC BY-SA 2.0.
