Joey Gibson (political activist)

Joey Gibson
Personal details
Born 1983/1984 (age 34–35)
Camas, Washington
Political party Republican
Known for Patriot Prayer

Joseph Gibson (born 1983/84) is an American far-right[1] political activist. He is the founder of Patriot Prayer, a group which has organized protests in Portland, Oregon and other cities.[2]

Political activism

Gibson founded the far-right[3] group Patriot Prayer in 2016.[4][5]

On February 25, 2018, Gibson announced that he would be running as a Republican in the 2018 election for the United States Senate seat from Washington, seeking to unseat incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell.[6] Gibson lost, receiving only 2.3% of the votes cast.[7]

Personal life

Gibson resides in Vancouver, Washington.[8] He was born in Camas, Washington, and is of Irish and Japanese descent.[9][10]

Gibson is married to Haley Gibson.[11]

Politics

Gibson describes himself politically as a "moderate libertarian",[12][13] but his organization has been described in the media as "alt-right".[14][15] Gibson denies that his group is alt-right, and has disavowed white supremacists[16][17][18][19] who frequently appear at his events.[20]

Gibson supports a pathway to citizenship for non-criminal illegal immigrants. He supports decriminalization of marijuana, and same-sex marriage.[21] Gibson advocates for establishment of term limits for the U.S. Congress, implementation of a national sales tax, and abolition of the Internal Revenue Service.[22] He opposes what he describes as undue influence of the pharmaceutical industry on healthcare in the United States.[17]

During a March 2018 campaign rally in Spokane Valley, Washington, Gibson expressed opposition to Antifa, a group that frequently protests at his events, and said regarding white nationalists, "I would say the same thing to them that I would say to any black nationalist or Mexican nationalists [sic] group, we have to drop the identity of politics and focus on what is on the inside."[23] He has said freedom of speech is a central element to his platform. Gibson's views have been described as "a complicated muddle" by The Inlander and "basically Alex Jones meets Bernie Sanders" by The Stranger.[24]

Gibson's political activity is frequently met with criticism. Nine days after a Patriot Prayer-aligned protester allegedly stabbed three men on the Portland transit system, TriMet, Gibson hosted a rally met by thousands of counter-protesters.[25] The Proud Boys, a far-right group,[26] have also been present at several of his events.[27][28][29]

References

  1. ↑ Wilson, Jason (2018-06-03). "How a gun-carrying, far-right activist plots a run at the US Senate". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  2. ↑ "Joey Gibson aims to 'liberate conservatives' via his Patriot Prayer group". The Columbian. 2017-07-02.
  3. ↑ "Patriot Prayer Is Recruiting Out-Of-Town Far-Right Activists—and Alex Jones—to Protest In Portland On August 4". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  4. ↑ May, Patrick (August 23, 2017). "Who's behind this weekend's right-wing rally at Crissy Field?". Mercury News. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  5. ↑ "San Francisco shuts down 'Patriot Prayer' rally by walling off city park". Fox News. Associated Press. August 26, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson plans U.S. Senate run in Washington". The Oregonian. 2018-02-26.
  7. ↑ "Washington Primary Election Results". Washington Post. 2018-08-24.
  8. ↑ Brown, Doug (December 12, 2017). ""Proud Boys" Founder Wants to "Trigger the Entire State of Oregon" by Helping Patriot Prayer's Joey Gibson win the Oregon Person of the Year Poll (Updated)". Portland Mercury. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  9. ↑ Fowler, Lilly (August 25, 2017). "Patriot Prayer leader dislikes racists, but they seem to hear a whistle". Crosscut.com. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  10. ↑ "San Francisco shuts down 'Patriot Prayer' rally by walling off city park". Fox News. Associated Press. August 26, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  11. ↑ May, Patrick (August 23, 2017). ""Who's behind this weekend's right-wing rally at Crissy Field?"". Mercury News.
  12. ↑ "A Beating in Berkeley". The Weekly Standard. 2017-09-11.
  13. ↑ "Report: Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson to run for Senate". KGW. February 25, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Leader of Patriot Prayer promises rally, march Tuesday in Berkeley". The San Jose Mercury-News. 2017-09-25.
  15. ↑ "Alt-right Rally: San Francisco Dog Owners to Cover Site with Dog Poop in Counterprotest". Newsweek. 2017-08-25.
  16. ↑ Vercammen, Paul (5 June 2017). "14 arrested as the many extremes of Portland collide in protest". CNN. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  17. 1 2 Matarrese, Andy (February 25, 2018). "Patriot Prayer leader Gibson announces Senate run against Cantwell". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Photos show OSU student govt. rep making Nazi salute, waving swastika flag". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  19. ↑ "Patriot Prayer whips up anger in Seattle, but not much of a crowd". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  20. ↑ ""Patriot" Rally Trolls Portland's Left for Violence, But Only Smatterings Occur". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  21. ↑ Dixon Kavanaugh, Shane (February 25, 2018). "Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson plans U.S. Senate run in Washington". The Oregonian. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  22. ↑ Herzog, Katie (February 26, 2018). "Patriot Prayer's Joey Gibson is Running for Senate". The Stranger. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  23. ↑ Hammer, Hawk (March 26, 2018). "US senate candidate Joey Gibson holds rally in Spokane amid counter protests". KXLY-TV. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  24. ↑ Walters, Daniel (March 23, 2018). "US Senate candidate Joey Gibson, magnet for the violent alt-right, is holding a rally in Spokane Valley on Sunday". The Inlander. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  25. ↑ Wilson, Jason. "'Alt-right celebrities' are holding a rally in Portland. Who are they?". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  26. ↑ "PROUD BOYS". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  27. ↑ Williams, Anna. "Brawlt-right: Antifa squares off against skinhead, Proud Boy rally". PSU Vanguard. Portland State University. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  28. ↑ Graham, Natalie; Hsieh, Steven. "Police Made Five Arrests and Deployed Pepper Spray at the UW Patriot Prayer Rally". SLOG. The Stranger. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  29. ↑ Fairbanks, Phillip. "In The Wake Of Charlottesville Patriot Prayer, Proud Boys Marked White Supremacist Hate Groups". Inquisitr. Inquisitr. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
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