It doesn't always have to be a kinetic revolution, it doesn't always mean bloodshed in the streets. “I feel that we are going through a revolutionary country right now.
While Flynn called for a military coup, what Lewis says he wants is not bloodshed but a grassroots revolution. But the conference helped boost the Praetorians’ profile, and it helped Lewis make some new friends. In Dallas on Memorial Day weekend, Lewis’ crew of a few dozen Praetorians didn’t have any threats to deal with other than a couple of journalists-including one from VICE News-who were ejected from the event. Now Lewis, a QAnon believer, is helping establish a nationwide network of survivalist training camps to prepare patriots for the coming revolution. It is part of a growing network of right-wing extremists groups who are pushing baseless conspiracies about election fraud, and has direct links to violent militias, notably the Oath Keepers. The Praetorians are a new paramilitary organization that Lewis says has grown to “hundreds” of members in just nine months, in almost complete secrecy. The QAnon conference-called “For God & Country: Patriot Roundup”-was a perfect fit.
The group was founded last September and has since acted as security for more than a dozen events, as well as providing security for Flynn himself. The group consists of former military, law enforcement, and intelligence personnel whose stated mission is to provide pro bono security for “patriotic and religious events across the country.” Lewis is a full-fledged QAnon believer and founder of the 1st Amendment Praetorians, named after the elite Roman soldiers who protected the emperor. So he fired up a YouTube livestream and spoke straight to camera: “We need to talk about a revolution.”
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