Beware liberal infiltrators, Tea Party organizers are looking for you.
Tricksters aiming to crash next week’s nationwide Tax Day protests to taint the activists as racist will have to dodge the eyes of event organizers, Tea Partiers say.
“We are going to very aggressively police the crowd,” said Matt Kibbe, the president of FreedomWorks, who is helping plan Tea Party events both in Washington and across the country, of the April 15th event.
Kibbe said a team will be on the ground during next Thursday’s protest on the National Mall looking to remove anyone displaying any sort of racist behavior. Yet he said the only types of people he expects to show up with that in mind are infiltrators seeking to discredit the protest.
FreedomWorks helped organize protests on the mall the weekend the House voted on President Obama’s health-care bill and pushed back on media reports of racism and violence towards black members.
“I didn’t see any violence,” Kibbe, speaking of the alleged events, told a group of reporters on a Wednesday morning conference call. He said he doesn’t “really get the lack of diversity” argument used against Tea Partiers, pointing to a list of diverse speakers, including a popular black minister, who are well-received at events.
Ryan Hecker, who developed the idea of a Newt-styled document of legislative proposals desired by Tea Partiers, said the Contract from America document will be unveiled at the Washington rally. Levi Russell, spokesman for Tea Party Express, said the organization will end their bus tour in Washington on Thursday.
Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, said by e-mail that more than 400 events around the country are planned for April 15th.
Kibbe said invitations have been sent to a number of Republican members of Congress, and Rep. Ron Paul and Rep. Tom Price will speak at the Washington event.