WalkAway campaign
Formation | May 26, 2018 |
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Founder | Brandon Straka |
Purpose | Encouraging liberals to leave the Democratic Party[1] |
Location |
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Website | www |
The #WalkAway campaign is a
In 2021, the group's founder, Brandon Straka, a hairstylist from New York City,[2] was charged with and convicted of participating in the 2021 United States Capitol attack.[8][9] Following this, the group's Facebook page, which had more than half a million followers, was closed for violations of the site's terms of service.[10]
Organization
The campaign is set up as a foundation and a political action committee:
- The #WalkAway Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) organization defined as an Alliance/Advocacy Organizations within the Public, Society Benefit - Multipurpose and Other category. The IRS ruling year for tax exemption was 2019.[11] While no IRS annual return is on file for 2019, the 2018 filing shows contributions of $97,950 with officers reported as Brandon Straka, chairman; Maria Albanese, director, and Tracy Diaz, director.[12] As of October 28, 2020, the foundation was involved in an online fundraising campaign through classy.org which had raised nearly $125,000.[13]
- The PAC is set up as #Walkaway Campaign PAC and shows receipts of $29,000 through the 2020 cycle. The FEC registration is C00718197 and the treasurer of the PAC is indicated as Dan Backer.[14]
Methods and fundraising
Observers and commentators have raised doubts as to what extent #WalkAway Campaign is an example of
Activities
In the run-up to the
Straka in the 2021 Capitol attack
January 6 United States Capitol attack |
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Timeline • Planning |
Background |
Participants |
Aftermath |
Straka attended the
The next day, he urged protestors to take away a police officer's shield, shouting "Take it away from him" and "Take it! Take it!" Later, as others tried to charge through the entrance to the Capitol, he shouted, "Go! Go!"[23]
On January 8, Facebook closed the #WalkAway page, which had more than half a million followers at the time. The page was replaced with a message from Facebook saying the page had violated its terms of use.[10] The shutdown came in the wake of the Capitol attack, when Facebook and other social media platforms increased their enforcement of terms of service that ban the incitement of violence.[24] Facebook said the page violated a policy on content that was, "hateful, threatening, or obscene".[25]
On January 25, Straka was arrested in Nebraska by the FBI for "impeding law enforcement officers during civil disorder" and unlawful entry into a restricted building, as well as disorderly conduct in relation to his role in the violent disturbance.[23][26] He pleaded guilty to a lesser misdemeanor charge in October 2021, which could be punishable by up to six months in prison, and agreed to provide private social media and other evidence to investigators.[27] Prosecutors postponed Straka's December 2021 sentencing for thirty days to evaluate evidence he had provided.[28] Straka was later sentenced to three years probation for his role in the Capitol riot.[29]
Reactions
In 2018, David A. Love of CNN condemned the campaign as "pure propaganda [and] a psychological operation."[30]
That same year, Abby Ohlheiser wrote in The Washington Post, "There’s little actual evidence to suggest that #WalkAway represents a mass conversion of millions – or even thousands – of Democrats" and contrasted the broad appeal of true viral videos with the "Conservative Internet viral" nature of the WalkAway video.[31] ThinkProgress characterized the campaign as "a grifting operation," noting efforts by the organizers to sell dinner packages priced in the hundreds of dollars to march attendees.[32]
As well, Slate journalist Mark Joseph Stern accused Straka of presenting royalty-free stock images from Shutterstock and claiming they were of people who had left the Democratic Party,[33] though Straka denied that any such material originated from the WalkAway campaign. Fact-checking website Snopes stated that it could not determine whether this use of stock images had originated from campaign organizers.[34]
See also
- BLEXIT Foundation
- Astroturfing
References
- ^ "About". #WalkAway Campaign. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- ^ a b c FitSimons, Tim (August 21, 2018). "Meet Brandon Straka, a gay former liberal encouraging others to #WalkAway from Democrats". NBC News. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
- ^ Richardson, Davis (September 13, 2018). "#WalkAway Founder Is Latest to Spread 'Facebook Ban' Disinformation". observer.com. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- ^ Fernandez, Nick (October 2, 2018). "Fox & Friends hosts founder of astroturfed #WalkAway "movement" who has appeared on Infowars". Media Matters for America. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
- ^ "Russian Bots Linked To Viral Twitter Attacks On 'Hateful' Dems". HuffPost. July 8, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
- ^ "Pro-Trump & Russian-Linked Twitter Accounts Are Posing As Ex-Democrats In New Astroturfed Movement". June 28, 2020. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
- ^ Cooper, Alex (December 20, 2021). "Convicted Gay Trump Ally Brandon Straka Cooperating With Authorities". www.gaycitynews.com. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ Anderson, Jake (August 24, 2023). "Omaha man convicted for role in Jan. 6 riot will not have probation ended early". KETV. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- ^ a b Osborne, Duncan (January 13, 2021). "Social Media Platforms Run Away from #WalkAway Campaign – Gay City News". www.gaycitynews.com. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ^ "Walkaway Foundation". Retrieved October 28, 2020.
- ^ "Walkaway Foundation - NYS Attorney General - Charities". Retrieved October 28, 2020.
- ^ "Walkaway Foundation- Donate Now". Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
- ^ "Walkaway Campaign PAC - OpenSecrets". Retrieved October 28, 2020.
- ^ Isaacs, Deanna (July 10, 2019). "A dramatic confrontation between the right-wing political group #WalkAway and Theater Wit ends up on YouTube". The Chicago Reader.
- ^ "Hi everyone, I'm Brandon Straka, founder of #WalkAway Campaign, a true grassroots movement..." August 7, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
- ^ Suggs, Ernie (September 17, 2019). "#Walkaway movement to hold Atlanta event amid questions about support". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ "Walkaway Campaign PAC Summary | OpenSecrets". www.opensecrets.org. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ Scott, Henry E. (August 8, 2020). "Nearly 300 #WalkAway Demonstrators Rally in West Hollywood to Support Trump". WEHOville. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- ^ "Activist Dominique Alexander, others detained following incident at Dallas WalkAway Campaign rally". WFAA. September 5, 2020.
- ^ Satterfield, Kolbie (October 3, 2020). "Political protests and rallies fill DC streets 1 month before election". WUSA9.
- ^ "MAGA influencer Brandon Straka arrested in connection with Capitol assault". NBC News. January 26, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ^ a b c Gerstein, Josh (January 25, 2021). "Stop the Steal organizer charged in Capitol riot". Politico. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
- ^ Fischer, Ashley Gold, Sara (January 8, 2021). "Facebook, Twitter and the long march toward banning Trump". Axios. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Anti-Democrat WalkAway Campaign banished from Facebook". Fox News. January 9, 2021.
- ^ "MAGA influencer Brandon Straka arrested in connection with Capitol assault". NBC News. January 26, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Hsu, Spencer (October 6, 2021). "Pro-Trump social media influencer and speaker at Jan. 5 rally pleads guilty to disorderly conduct in Capitol riot". The Washington Post.
- ^ Kyle, Cheney (December 17, 2021). "Trump ally Straka has provided potentially significant information". Politico.
- ^ "Pro-Trump influencer sentenced to three years of probation for his participation in the Capitol riot". January 24, 2022.
- ^ Love, David A. "Russian bots are using #WalkAway to try to wound Dems in midterms". CNN. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
- ^ Ohlheiser, Abby (July 2, 2018). "Analysis | The #WalkAway meme is what happens when everything is viral and nothing matters". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
- ^ Michel, Casey (October 16, 2018). "Pro-Trump #WalkAway March has all the signs of a grifting operation". ThinkProgress.
- ^ "These people who "walked away from the Democrats" are stock-photo models". Fast Company. July 24, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
- ^ "FACT CHECK: Did the #WalkAway Campaign Use Stock Photographs for People It Claimed Left the Democratic Party?". Snopes.com. Retrieved November 3, 2018.