I became a free speech and conservative activist after participating in the second Boston Free Speech rally on August 19^th, 2017.  While not an organizer, I attended the rally as a patriotic American who was intent on listening to others exercise their First Amendment rights.  The events that occurred preceding, during, and after the rally convinced me that our Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, especially freedom of speech, are under attack.  The lies of the mainstream media, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, and others triggered a mob of tens of thousands of people to show up in opposition.  The city manipulated events so that the rally could not take place by refusing to let media and the public into the event and only enforcing the agreed upon rules on the side of the rally and not on the side of the mob.  At the same time, far-left activists violently attacked those trying to get into the rally. They posed such a threat that participants needed to be evacuated under armed escort.

The free speech rally was my personal introduction to how the fake news media, politicians, and far-left activists slander patriotic Americans when they dare to speak in public.  They wantonly label people as “white supremacists” and “Nazis” without a shred of evidence and have no concern for the truth.  Radical activists publish lies which the fake news media repeats and amplifies in order to support an agenda.  They aim to intimidate patriotic Americans into silence.  I became an activist in order to join the fight to stop them and protect our right to free expression.

Several of us that were at the free speech rally were determined not to let what happened define the state of free speech in the Boston area.  We were quickly joined by others and knew that we had to hold another rally in order to demonstrate that patriots would not be deterred from exercising our First Amendment rights.  We started an organization called “Resist Marxism” with other activists from around the country.  The name was chosen because we deemed Marxists to be driving the efforts to shut down free speech.  The “Rally for the Republic” in November of 2017 was Resist Marxism’s first public event.  Despite hostility from the city administration and threats from far-left activists, patriots came from all over New England and were able to listen to the invited speakers.

After the success of the “Rally for the Republic”, we were motivated to make Boston a hub of free speech activity.  Since then Resist Marxism and other groups have held several events in Boston and Providence.  While the organizers tend to be conservatives, people from across the ideological spectrum have been invited to speak in order to stay true to the free speech ideals.  Unfortunately, far-left opponents have sometimes engaged in violence as they do not respect the free speech rights of those which whom they oppose.  However, that only serves to re-enforce our belief that what we are doing is necessary in order to defend freedom.

I was introduced to John Hugo during an interview at a local radio station.  He was running for United States Congress at the time and invited me to attend meetings of a Republican organization in which he was a member.  We discussed how the City of Boston rejected Camp Constitution’s application to raise the Christian flag.  This was despite the City approving communist flags on its flag poles.  We reasoned that since the LGBTQ flag was permitted at city hall, the 1^st Amendment and anti-discrimination laws required that the City must approve a straight pride flag.

Samson Racioppi, another free speech activist, John, and I decided to work together on defending free speech and other causes that conservatives, libertarians, and Republicans could all support.    We formed Super Happy Fun America and submitted our application to fly the straight pride flag.  When the City rejected our application, we filed a discrimination complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and then applied for a parade.

When a New York Times editor discovered our application and reported on it, our cause went viral.  It was reported on by media around the world and discussed on news stations, the late shows, and daytime talk shows.  It wasn’t long before leftist media outlets slandered us and fabricated lies about us.  We were then attacked by the mainstream media, Democrat politicians, global corporations, pundits, and even educators.  One of our goals was to demonstrate how free speech was under attack and our methods were revealed to be very effective.

Despite all of the opposition and relentless attacks by the far left, we actually held the Boston Straight Pride Parade on August 31st with hundreds of people attending.  While we peacefully walked down the street, held a rally, and displayed patriotic fervor, far-left activists attempted to block streets and fought with the police.  After the parade we received hundreds of messages from conservatives, libertarians, and Republicans around the country thanking us for standing up for free speech, traditional values, and American patriotism.