Antifa members caught talking about gouging eyes, ways to 'destroy enemy' in shocking Project Veritas sting
Antifa has been accused of teaching its members vicious and underhanded tactics such as eye gouging and is structured "almost like a company" to "destroy" their enemies and to incite violence, says a activist group.
Project Veritas, an American right-wing activist group that claims to use "disguises and hidden cameras to uncover supposed liberal bias and corruption," said they had sent a journalist undercover to infiltrate the organization and published a video "exposing the violent nature of the controversial group."
Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets to speak out against police brutality and racial injustice following the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old truck driver, in police custody.
Several of those protests have turned violent, with some suggesting that Antifa has been the driving force behind the riots that have resulted in vehicles being set ablaze, buildings being vandalized, and shops being ransacked.
While there is little evidence to suggest the same, Project Veritas is saying they have proof the far-left group actively encourages violence.
"I’ve been undercover with Rose City Antifa... depending on the setting, if I were to be caught or found out in a setting where I am present with them, it could escalate to violence against me," the journalist says at the start of the video.
It then goes on to show an alleged undercover video of an Antifa member identified as Nicholas Cifuni telling others, "Don’t be that f****** guy with the goddamn spike brass knuckles getting photos taking of you. Police are going to be like 'perfect we can prosecute these f**** look how violent they are' and not that we aren’t but we need to f****** hide that s***."
You can watch the video here.
While it is unclear when the video was shot, it does appear to have been before protests broke out over Floyd's death.
The undercover journalist said he was "about halfway" through the vetting process that it takes to become a member of Antifa and explained the steps the organization takes to secretly meet with prospective members.
"The whole goal of this is to get out there and do dangerous things as safely as possible," one member can be heard saying.
"Practice things like an eye gouge, it takes very little pressure to injure someone’s eyes," Cifuni adds. "Consider, like, destroying your enemy, not, like, delivering a really awesome right hand, right eye, left eye blow, you know? It’s not boxing, it’s not kickboxing, it’s, like, destroying your enemy."
The journalist reveals that Antifa encourages its members to dress in "Black Block" so they can be easily identified. "They do not hesitate to either push back or incite some kind of violence. In our classes and in our meetings, before we do any sort of demonstration or Black Block, we talk about weapons detail and what we carry and what we should have."
In a disclaimer attached to the video, Project Veritas Founder and CEO James O’Keefe insisted his group does not condone such violence.
"It is a sad time in our nation’s history with Antifa activists hijacking #blacklivesmatter protests in cities across the country, attacking the police and engaging in violence," he wrote. "In many places, it appears the violence is planned, organized & driven by anarchic left extremist groups — far-left extremist groups using Antifa-like tactics."