PHOTOS: Armed Proud Boys, Militias And Black Panthers Gather To Protest In Richmond

• Several armed groups including militias, the Boogaloo Bois and the Black Panthers participated in Lobby Day demonstrations in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday. 
• Most participants wore similar-looking base-layers of clothing, including khaki colors and camouflage shirts and pants with various velcro patches. 
• The militias of Virginia notified law enforcement officials of their motivations for protesting through a memorandum obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. 

RICHMOND — An estimated one hundred people, most of whom open carried firearms and wore tactical helmets and vests, participated in an annual Second Amendment protest in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday.

Several groups attended Lobby Day demonstrations including the Proud Boys, the Black Panthers and a group wearing a turquoise and yellow “/k/” patch representing a 4Chan board associated with weapons. Self-proclaimed Boogaloo Bois leader Mike Dunn said that the only answer to the “unconstitutional” city ordinances is “armed revolt” and that the members of the group were open carrying firearms loaded with magazines holding twice the legal limit of ammunition.

“The only answer to our problem, the only answer to this governmental infringement, is armed revolt, and I’m proudly guilty of sedition,” Mike Dunn said to a crowd of press Monday. “We’re here to stay and openly defy these laws, these unconstitutional city ordinances, and no one is going to stop us because we’re not going to bend, we’re not going to ‘kuk’ to the statists.”

A police officer told the DCNF that the department expected “at least 10,000” people to participate in the annual demonstrations on Sunday afternoon. Last year, around 22,000 people participated in Lobby Day demonstrations, WUSA 9 reported.

The Richmond City Council voted to ban the open carry of firearms at public events on Sept. 8, 2020, VPM News reported. The Virginia Citizens Defense League started Lobby Day in 2002 as a way for people to advocate against gun control measures, according to their website.

Dunn said that the group would “gift” a box of shot up notice signs that were given to him anonymously to law enforcement. (RELATED: Report: Virginia Governor Ralph Northam To Ban Firearms At Gun Rights Rally) 

Dunn told the DCNF on Sunday that the Boogaloo Bois would use their Second Amendment rights against law enforcement officials if they attempted to arrest anyone in the group for illegally carrying firearms during a demonstration. Police did not attempt to arrest any of the Boogaloo Bois on Monday, and no altercations occurred.

A few men with the Virginia Mutual Assistance Group (VMAG), a militia group participating in the Lobby Day demonstrations, held a food drive near the Court House as a way to give back to the local community.

“I’m Jewish. My ancestors are from Eastern Europe. I won’t ever tolerate the kind of genocidal hatred they faced, and I’m fortunate to have the rights and resources to effectively protect myself against fascism, Bolshevism, or whatever other kind of genocidal ideology hateful people want to buy into,” a man who identified himself as a concerned citizen with VMAG told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Several self-identified “militias of Virginia” sent a joint memorandum to law enforcement officials notifying them that numerous groups would be participating in Lobby Day demonstrations, according to a document obtained by the DCNF. Some of the participant’s intentions were distorted by private and public actors, according to the group.

The memorandum added that some participants would be wearing protective equipment while open carrying firearms as part of the Second Amendment demonstrations.

“The possibility of bad actors infiltrating patriotic and otherwise peaceful events is high, therefore these citizens have their weapons and armor for their own self defense in the case of an attack, false flag, or if civil unrest should occur. This equipment will allow them to defend themselves while evacuating from the area if attacked,” the memorandum said.

The Richmond Police Department did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

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